March 23, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The transition from high school senior to college freshman just got easier at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). From the day they attend fall term orientation through the end of their first semester, freshman entering UAB in fall 2009 will have a personal mentor to provide resources and support to help them make connections and develop relationships with other students, faculty and staff.

At orientation, students will be placed in mentor groups of about 25 students and assigned a trained, upperclassman as their mentor, said Andrea Miller Pound, director of new student orientation. They also will receive a UAB e-mail account and access to UAB's secure, online learning environment, which will now include a component for peer mentoring activities. Mentors will contact each of their peer group members via e-mail throughout the summer, engage them in online chats and connect them with any campus resources they need.

"Through the Peer Mentoring Program, we want first-year students to immediately connect with campus and have someone they can contact with questions regarding anything, from academic expectations and advising to campus events and activities," Pound said. "And because the peer groups are selected at random, when students arrive for freshman move-in day, they will already have a circle of friends from across campus."

When fall semester starts, peer mentors will host occasional meetings and activities to provide ongoing support and guidance through the end of their first semester.

"UAB is a student-centered university, and we want to do everything we can to enable students to achieve their fullest potential in and out of the classroom," said Philip Way, associate provost for undergraduate programs.

The Peer Mentoring Program is the latest addition to several freshman activities that include:

• Freshman Year Experience Program - Freshman Year Experience classes, Freshman Learning Communities, University 101 Critical Thinking courses -- each freshman is required to take one of the above
• Welcome Week - A week of activities sponsored by Student Life and other offices to welcome all students to campus-both new and returning
• FOCUS (Freshman Opportunities in Citizenship, Understanding and Scholastics) -- A freshman-year program for students living in the residence halls
• Numerous academic- and honor-based mentoring programs such as the Blazer Male Excellence program for young men and the Multicultural Scholars Program and
• Academy Mentoring Program -- Each academic advisor has a syllabus for students that details assignments and academic activities for their freshmen year for their first year.