FYS 402: Peer Mentor Practicum

Fall 2017

August 23th – December 5th

Instructor:Meagan West, Assistant Director of First-Year Studies, FYS 101 and Peer Mentors

Email:

Office Hours: By appointment, Greve 205

Instructor:Ashley Roberts, Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Office of First-Year Studies

Email:

Office Hours: By appointment, Greve 201

Peer Mentor Coordinators:

Kristina LeavMary Duggan

Email/#:, (901) 428-2882Email/#:, (865) 696-2096

Office Hours: R 9am-11am, Greve 201Office Hours:T 11am-1pm, Greve 201

Anslee DanielDanielle Kerksick

Email/#:, (678) 315-9963Email/#:, (865) 617-2951

Office Hours:W 10am-12pm, Greve 201Office Hours:T 2pm-4pm, Greve 201

Course Description:

This course allows student leaders who have successfully completed FYS 401 to engage in facilitating a FYS 101 course. This course will focus on allowing students to develop within their class, with the supervision of both their assigned instructor and the First Year Studies staff. Students will be assessed based on their performance and ability to develop within their FYS 101 course as well as their engagement and growth within the assignments outside of their FYS 101 course. FYS 402 is a one (1) credit hour course.

Learning Outcomes:

Students successfully completing FYS 402 will have facilitated their knowledge and skills learned during FYS 401 to foster the development of the FYS 101 students. Specifically Peer Mentors will:

  1. Use their understanding of FYS 101 to make an impact on the experience of their first-year students
  2. Exercise their knowledge of the information pertaining to UT and the subsequent resources available to students within the university community
  3. Serve within a support role for the students within their FYS 101 course
  4. Engage with a supportive network of peers, instructors, and FYS staff
  5. Engage with FYS hosted workshops which strive to enhance personal leadership skills and allow for self-recognition of areas for improvement.
  6. Execute their understanding of student develop and student transition.

Textbook & Readings:

There is no required textbook for this course.

Grading:

You will receive a grade for this course. You are strongly encouraged to monitor your progress in the course. The following grading scale will be used to assess your performance in FYS 402.

Points / Letter Grade
93-100 points / A
92-85 points / B
77-84 points / C
70-76 points / D
Below 69 / F

Point Values:

Points / Assignment
5 / PM & Instructor Agreement Form
5 / Meeting with Meagan or Ashley
5 / Mid-Point Check-in with Instructor
5 / Final Assessment
40 / PM Workshop Attendance (10 pts each workshop)
10 / PM Community Involvement (Homecoming Parade &
1 PM Social Event
30 / Attendance/Participation within FYS 101
100 / TOTAL

Submission of the Peer Mentor & Instructor Agreement Form

The Peer Mentor and Instructor will meet at the beginning of the FYS 101 course, by Friday, August 25th, to set their roles and expectations for the course. The agreement form will outline how the course will be facilitated and how the Peer Mentor can best develop within the course. Upload agreement on Canvas.

Completion of 1 on 1 with FYS Staff

Peer Mentors will meet with either Meagan or Matt to discuss their experience within their FYS 101 course. These meetings are notmeant to assess the Peer Mentor at all, rather this is an opportunity to discuss your experience and how we can improve it moving forward. You must make an appointment with one of us via GradesFirst from September 18th-October 13th.

Submission of Mid-Term Agreement

The Peer Mentor and Instructor will meet at the midpoint of the FYS 101 course, by Friday, October 20th. They will review the agreement form and reassess any changes that need to be made for the remainder of the semester. Upload agreement on Canvas.

Submission of Final Assessment

Peer Mentor will complete the electronic evaluation of the full peer mentor experience by December 5th.

Attend all 4 of the Peer Mentor Practicum Class Sessions/Workshops

  • Tuesday, August 29th 6:30-8:30Location: Panhellenic Building MMP
  • Group Process/Facilitation
  • Tuesday, September 26th 6:30-8:30Location: Panhellenic Building MMP
  • QPR Training
  • Tuesday, October 24th6:30-8:30Location: Panhellenic Building MMP
  • Career Focus
  • Tuesday, November 28th 6:30-8:30Location: Alumni Memorial Building
  • UT History & Traditions Showcase

***If you have a class conflict, you need to let Meagan know ASAP and we will work out a way to make-up the points for the workshops.***

Peer Mentor Community Involvement

  • Participate/attend the Homecoming Parade on November 3rd with FYS
  • More times and details to come, but plan to have from 3pm-8pm available.
  • Attend 1 of the PM Social Events
  • More details to come from the PMCs

Attendance/Participation within FYS 101

Each FYS 101 Instructor will complete an evaluation of your attendance and participation in the FYS seminar.

Extra Credit Opportunities as they become available!

University Withdrawal Policy

It is important to familiarize yourself with the University’s Withdrawal and Drop Policies. These rules apply to all of your full-term courses at the University of Tennessee:

Withdrawing from Full-term Courses:

  • No W on transcript: September 1stis the last day you may drop full-term courses

without a W on your transcript.

  • W on transcript: November 14th is the last day you may drop full-term courses and receive a “W” on your transcript that is not computed in your GPA.
  • Classes end – December 5th.

The following additional regulations relate to dropping classes after the “No W” drop deadline:

  • Students are allowed four drops during their academic career (until a bachelor’s degree is earned).
  • Students holding a bachelor’s degree who return to pursue a second bachelor’s degree are allowed four additional drops.
  • Students pursuing more than one major or degree simultaneously are not allowed additional drops.
  • The W grade is not computed in the grade point average.
  • After the 84th day, no drops are permitted.

Courses may be dropped on the web ().Failure to attend a course is not an official withdrawal and will result in the assignment of a NC/F grade pending the course.

Disability Accommodations

If you have a documented disability, the Office of Disability Services (ODS) can assist you by firstdetermining your eligibility and then working collaboratively to determine reasonable accommodations and services to give you equal access to the University. In the college setting, it is your responsibility to request disability services. You must self-register with ODS before any accommodations can be provided. Visit ods.utk.edu for more information or call 974-6087.

University’s Honor Statement

(From the Undergraduate Catalog)“An essential feature of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is a commitment to maintaining an atmosphere of intellectual integrity and academic honesty. As a student of the university, I pledge that I will neither knowingly give nor receive any inappropriate assistance in academic work, thus affirming my own personal commitment to honor and integrity.” See catalog.utk.edu for more information.

 Plagiarism

(From the Hilltopics student handbook): “Students are also responsible for any acts of plagiarism. Plagiarism is using the intellectual property of someone else without giving proper credit. The undocumented use of someone else’s words or ideas in any medium of communication (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge) is a serious offense, subject to disciplinary action that may include failure in a course and/or dismissal from the university. Specific examples of plagiarism are:

  • Copying without proper documentation (quotation marks and a citation) written or spoken words, phrases, or sentences from any source;
  • Summarizing without proper documentation (usually a citation) ideas from another source (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge);
  • Borrowing facts, statistics, graphs, pictorial representations, or phrases without acknowledging the source (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge);
  • Collaborating on a graded assignment without the instructor’s approval;
  • Submitting work, either in whole or in part created by a professional service and used without attribution (e.g., paper, speech, bibliography, or photograph).”

For more information on the expectations of academic integrity shared by all members of UT’s academic community, see the Hilltopics student handbook(hilltopics.utk.edu)

University Civility Statement:

Civility is genuine respect and regard for others: politeness, consideration, tact, good manners, graciousness, cordiality, affability, amiability and courteousness. Civility enhances academic freedom and integrity, and is a prerequisite to the free exchange of ideas and knowledge in the learning community. Our community consists of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and campus visitors. Community members affect each other’s wellbeing and have a shared interest in creating and sustaining an environment where all community members and their points of view are valued and respected. Affirming the value of each member of the university community, the campus asks that all its members adhere to the principles of civility and community adopted by the campus: