|
|
Hi all,
I'd love your input on how (or if) your institutions view peer mentorship as experiential learning. At IU Bloomington, we have a number of campus programs submitting applications for our Co-Curricular (not for credit) Experiential Learning Designation that fall into the realm of Peer Mentorship. The committee is debating whether to classify these as student employment, student leadership, or internships.
There is a range in duties. For example, in many cases, the peer mentors assist or generate programming and offer some direct student support (e.g. in career services offices). In others, peer mentors support students in undergraduate research programs or first year seminar courses.
I think we're leaning toward student employment, but this creates a challenge for those experiences that require mentors to enroll in credit (or that are unpaid, which we would discourage, and are for credit only).
Some also have misgivings that these experiences may not offer the same degree of networking or work integrated practices as an internship. All our EL activities must be mentored with structured reflection to receive the designation. We also classify activities by intensity, so any thoughts you have on distinguishing low-higher impact/intensity peer mentorship for the peer mentor would be welcome, too!
Thanks in advance for your insights,
Paige Andersson (IUB) |
