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Become a PASS facilitator
Help facilitate Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) and gain unique experience in a professional and personal capacity.
- Overview and what's involved
- Eligibility and how to apply
- What happens next
- Facilitator profiles and awards
Overview and what's involved
PASS is a free, peer-facilitated learning program for students enrolled in most core units of study in the University of Sydney Business School.
Over one-hour weekly sessions, groups of 10 to 16 students work together to answer specially prepared activities and problem questions based around a unit of study they’re enrolled in.
PASS facilitators are students who have taken the subject before and are trained to foster student learning and active engagement with their course content.
What’s involved
As a PASS facilitator you’ll lead on average three to six of these PASS groups for at least a year. PASS sessions commence from Week 2 of each semester.
You’ll be supervised and supported by a PASS coordinator, who will also try to find the best fit between your own classes and those you facilitate.
During the PASS sessions, you will:
- follow the PASS peer learning model
- guide the group discussion and encourage successful problem solving, without providing answers
- model effective study skills in particular discipline areas
- facilitate a learner-centred, interactive, engaging and supportive learning environment
- upload material to the PASS Canvas page on a weekly basis to support students’ learning.
You are not responsible for re-teaching or spending time on any assessable material.
Responsibilities
Each week you’ll do approximately 3-10 hours of paid work. Your main responsibilities will be to facilitate study sessions (two to six sessions per week) and spend an hour preparing for your role each week.
In addition, you’ll need to:
- be available to facilitate sessions on at least three weekdays per week
- commit to attend regular weekly meetings with the whole PASS team for ongoing professional development and peer collaboration on materials for PASS. Facilitators are paid for these meetings and are expected to attend. Every effort is made to find a time that’s compatible with the team's individual schedules.
- re-attend some lectures in the unit(s) you’re facilitating
- keep records of attendance of your PASS group(s) and submit them each week to the PASS coordinator
- keep a learning journal as a formal record of what learning activities occurred during PASS and also as a record of your own learning
- complete the administration necessary for your role
- peer review others in your team and be peer reviewed in turn.
Benefits of being a facilitator
There’s a lot to be gained from becoming a PASS facilitator including personal satisfaction, improved organisation and time management, improved learning and the chance to be part of a supportive, enjoyable team environment. You’ll also be paid ongoing professional development in group leadership and communication skills as well as widen your networks on campus.
Most importantly, the role equips you with skills highly sought after by employers.
- Leadership: as a facilitator, you lead the discussion central to a student’s deeper understanding of course concepts. This requires you to balance and work with different personalities and abilities within your sessions and act as a mentor to younger students transitioning to university life.
- Teamwork: PASS emulates the professional environment through weekly team meetings that will help you become an effective team player. Meetings are essential to preparing sessions and discussing facilitation strategies unique to your discipline.
- Communication and interpersonal skills: strong development of oral presentation skills, building rapport with your students, and confidently and clearly articulating questions will be an integral part of your role.
- Problem solving: you’ll need to revise and master fundamental technical skills relevant to your discipline and solve facilitation issues that arise. This involves higher order thinking skills to be able to ‘read people’ and anticipate student responses.
- Accepting and applying feedback: one of the most desirable skills in a graduate is the ability to accept constructive criticism in a positive manner. PASS operates just like a professional environment with performance reviews twice a semester and co-ordinator feedback that you’ll be expected to implement to aid your development.
- Creative thinking: creating engaging and thought-provoking materials for students to use each week demands a lot of creativity. Often, you will need to break down a concept from different angles, using different hypothetical scenarios to do so.
See what our PASS facilitators think.
Rate of pay
The rate of payment is at HEO 4, Level 1 and is approximately $52.80 per hour. There will be incremental increases to this pay level throughout 2024.
Last updated: 13 September 2023
