Peer Assisted Study Sessions

Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) is an academic support program of guided study groups. Sessions are facilitated weekly by a PASS leader, who assists groups of up to 30 students with their understanding of unit materials from the previous week. They are friendly peers that impart useful study skills, encourage active university life, help first year students make friendships in class, and motivate students to do the required work to achieve desired results.

PASS incorporates what to learn with how to learn. It is a facilitated session run by a PASS leader that uses a range of activities to promote active and independent learning. PASS always encourages learning and is a great opportunity to assist with preparing for assessments and end of semester exams.

2023 PASS sessions information 

• PASS sessions will be delivered both online and on-campus in 2023.
• Find more information on your unit's Moodle or the PASS Moodle (both accessible via your Moodle dashboard).
• You can enrol in PASS sessions on Allocate+. If sessions appear full on Allocate+, please use the PASS Moodle to check session details and attend anyway.
• You can join PASS at any point in the semester. We recommend attending as many sessions as possible.

PASS leaders facilitate PASS group study sessions and need to be supportive, inclusive and focus on the needs of students. You will not be teaching or reteaching new material, but will instead be guiding students to find their own answers, encouraging them to use university resources and to collaborate with other students. It is a supplemental program to lectures, tutorials and workshops.

A PASS leader runs between two to four one-hour PASS sessions a week. PASS leaders are paid and have the opportunity to participate in the program for several semesters. Experienced leaders have the opportunity to train and mentor new leaders as well as other opportunities.

Being a PASS leader helps you develop the skills most highly valued by employers (2007 Monash Graduate Employers Survey):

• oral and written communication skills
• teamwork and leadership
• problem solving
• time management
• ability to learn new skills
• ability to cope with pressure.

Eligibility

You must:

• be currently studying or have studied the relevant PASS unit
• be an undergraduate for undergraduate units, or postgraduate for postgraduate units
• be in Australia for the duration of the role
• have successfully completed at least 48 credit points of your Monash degree
• be available to fulfil the role for at least two semesters
• have a weighted average mark (WAM) of 60 or more
• have a distinction or higher for the relevant PASS unit/s
• commit 4-5 hours per week during semester
• attend PASS leader training (usually held in the week before O Week).

PASS leaders must also have excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills. Any experience in tutoring, coaching, customer service and leadership roles in clubs, societies, teams or at high school will help to demonstrate these skills. Preference is given to students who have regularly attended PASS.

Position description

PASS leader (pdf, 0.11 mb)

PASS participants are first year undergraduate or postgraduate students wanting to stay on top of university expectations and unit content, and connect with potential study-partners.

The sessions delivered target difficult core units that a large number of students need to do. The study skills and friendships developed through PASS are useful and support students throughout university life.

Whether you're a high-achiever or nervous about a difficult unit, PASS can provide you with the support you need. Sessions are held on-campus with 12 to 30 students per session. The sessions are run as a fun and active group approach to help you feel engaged with your course and develop study skills you need to be successful in it.

Benefits

Students who regularly attend PASS are more likely to score a D or HD, and are less likely to fail the unit. Each session provides revision and consolidation while lecture concepts are still fresh in your mind, and provides support for assignments. The notes from PASS are useful for exam revision at the end of semester.

The program aims to help you with:

• What to learn (unit content)
• How to learn (developing study skills)
• Keeping you up-to-date and motivated in your studies
• Establishing study groups and friendships to enrich your student life

PASS participants

"PASS helped give me a better idea of what concepts are important, refined and established my understanding. I recommend PASS because it's a fun way to revise, meet other students, and really prepares us for exams. I also benefited by receiving academic mentoring from the PASS leader running the session, who helped me with my problems and questions I had."

- PASS participant, BIO1011

"PASS gives me the opportunity to go through practice problems, and practise issue spotting and writing up responses, especially towards the end of semester. It's a lot more relaxed than a workshop or tutorial. Everyone is a lot more open and I felt confident to speak up and share my answers in a non-judgmental environment."

- PASS participant, LAW1114

"PASS is very interactive and fun. The benefit of students teaching first-years is that they can give an insight from their experience and advise them on what to do. It is the best mode of revision you can opt for."

- PASS participant, FIT1047

"I liked how PASS used a combination of MCQs and SAQs to consolidate our knowledge. I also really liked how we worked on the questions together, allowing me to not only learn from my peers but also share my ideas. The PASS leaders' quizzes also help me realise which details I may have missed during my own study."

- PASS participant, BMS1031

"Going through different questions in each PASS session really helps with my own analysis and study structure. The academic mentoring in PASS provides helpful insight into the unit that we can't get from lectures, as we receive a student perspective on the unit from the PASS leader who has been in our shoes and succeeded."

- PASS participant, BTC1011

Art, Design, and Architecture

• AHT1101 - Introduction to the history and theory of art, design and architecture
• ARC1001 - Foundation studio 1
• ARC1301 - Architecture communications 1

Business and Economics

• BFF1001 - Foundations of finance
• BTC1110 - Commercial law
• BTF1010 - Business law
• ECB1101 - Introductory microeconomics

Engineering

• ENG1005 - Engineering mathematics
• ENG1011 - Engineering methods
• ENG1013 - Engineering smarter systems
• ENG1014 - Engineering numerical analysis

Information Technology

• FIT1006 - Business information analysis
• FIT1008 and FIT2085 - Computer science
• FIT1045 - Introduction to programming
• FIT1047 - Introduction to computer systems, networks and security
• FIT1051 - Programming fundamentals in java
• FIT5197 - Statistical data modelling
• FIT9131 - Programming foundations in Java
• FIT9132 - Introduction to databases
• FIT9136 - Algorithms and programming foundations in Python

Law

• LAW1114 - Criminal law 1

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

• BMA1901 - Human structure and function 1
• BMS1021 - Cells, tissues and organisms
• BMS1031 - Medical biophysics
• NUR1112 - Fundamental skills and knowledge for nursing and midwifery practice 1 (Clayton and Peninsula)
• NUT1101 - Science foundations
• OCC1021 - Psychology for occupational therapy

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

• BPS1011 - Human Physiology I: Cells to systems
• BPS1021 - Medicinal Chemistry I: Structure
• BPS1031 - Physical chemistry I: Equilibria & change
• PHR1021 - How Medicines Work I
• PHR1031 - How the Body Works

Science

• BIO1011 - Blueprints for life
• CHM1011 - Chemistry 1
• ENG1090 - Foundation mathematics
• MTH1010 - Functions and their applications
• SCI1020 - Introduction to statistical reasoning

Art, Design, and Architecture

• ARC1002- Foundation studio 2
• ARC1102 - Technologies and environments 1
• TDN1002 - Design and the avant-garde

Business and Economics

• BFB1001 - Foundations of Finance
• BFF1001 - Foundations of finance
• BTF1010 Business law
• BTB1010 Business law
• BTC1110 - Commercial law

Engineering

• ENG1005 - Engineering mathematics
• ENG1011 - Engineering methods
• ENG1013 - Engineering smarter systems
• ENG1014 - Engineering numerical analysis

Information Technology

• FIT1008, FIT1054, and FIT2085 - Computer science
• FIT1045 - Introduction to programming
• FIT1047 - Introduction to computer systems, networks and security
• FIT1051 - Programming fundamentals in Java
• FIT5197 - Statistical data modelling
• FIT9131 - Programming foundations in Java
• FIT9132 - Introduction to databases
• FIT9136 - Algorithms and programming foundations in Python

Law

• LAW1113 - Torts

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

• BMA1902 - Human structure and function 2
• BMS1062 - Molecular biology
• NUR1114 - Fundamental skills and knowledge for nursing and midwifery practice 2 (Clayton and Peninsula)

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

• BPS1012 - Human Physiology II: Body systems
• BPS1022 - Medicinal chemistry II: Reactivity and biomolecules
• BPS1032 - Physical chemistry II: Solutions, surfaces and solids
• PHR1022 - How Medicines Work II

Science

• PHS1002 Physics for engineering
• MTH1020 Analysis of change
• BIO1022 - Life on Earth
• CHM1022 - Chemistry 2