Becoming a PASS Leader | The University of Sunderland

Benefits of being a PASS Leader

Peer Assisted Study Sessions leaders are trained to help first-year students learn more effectively through planned activities and discussion. By becoming a Leader you will see many benefits through the skills you acquire, the connections you make and the person you become.


Skills and Experience		Who can be a leader?		What have previous leaders said?
From speaking to Leaders, below is a list of some of the benefits that they have got out of their role: • You’ll find it enjoyable and meet many other students with similar interests. This will help you form a community within your degree. • As a Leader you will have a chance to help develop your scheme alongside other students and staff. You will also play a vital part in relaying the first year experience back to the Staff members. This will be very rewarding and insightful. • You will gain a lot of soft skills which employers look for through planning, organising, time management and liaising with students and staff. You can also get involved in event management, and advertising and promoting your scheme if you are active. • The work you do can also be used as part of the SUPA award recognition.		We are looking to recruit students to become PASS leaders who have as many of the following qualities as possible: • Good communication and interpersonal skills. • Good organisational and planning skills. • A non-judgemental, enthusiastic, reliable and approachable manner. • Empathy with the first-year experience. • An interest in people and how they learn. • A role model (not perfect but survived first year!)		“During the last 18 months of working as a PASS leader, I can say that the training provided and the experience of delivering sessions has been irreplaceable both personally and professionally. I have recently applied to do a PGCE Geography with the University of Sunderland, and during the interview process we were required to take part in a group interview task that involved a discussion between the group. Due to my experience as a PASS leader I felt that I was very comfortable speaking first, providing my opinions with confidence, whilst also using effective questioning to bring others into the discussion and facilitate the requirements of the task to reach the desired result. It was great to see the training being applied to an area outside of PASS and I am sure that I will utilise the skills learned throughout the next steps of my education and career.” BA Education Studies - PASS Leader

Skills and Experience

Who can be a leader?

What have previous leaders said?

From speaking to Leaders, below is a list of some of the benefits that they have got out of their role:

• You’ll find it enjoyable and meet many other students with similar interests. This will help you form a community within your degree.

• As a Leader you will have a chance to help develop your scheme alongside other students and staff. You will also play a vital part in relaying the first year experience back to the Staff members. This will be very rewarding and insightful.

• You will gain a lot of soft skills which employers look for through planning, organising, time management and liaising with students and staff. You can also get involved in event management, and advertising and promoting your scheme if you are active.

• The work you do can also be used as part of the SUPA award recognition.

We are looking to recruit students to become PASS leaders who have as many of the following qualities as possible:

• Good communication and interpersonal skills.

• Good organisational and planning skills.

• A non-judgemental, enthusiastic, reliable and approachable manner.

• Empathy with the first-year experience.

• An interest in people and how they learn.

• A role model (not perfect but survived first year!)

“During the last 18 months of working as a PASS leader, I can say that the training provided and the experience of delivering sessions has been irreplaceable both personally and professionally.

I have recently applied to do a PGCE Geography with the University of Sunderland, and during the interview process we were required to take part in a group interview task that involved a discussion between the group. Due to my experience as a PASS leader I felt that I was very comfortable speaking first, providing my opinions with confidence, whilst also using effective questioning to bring others into the discussion and facilitate the requirements of the task to reach the desired result. It was great to see the training being applied to an area outside of PASS and I am sure that I will utilise the skills learned throughout the next steps of my education and career.”

BA Education Studies - PASS Leader

If you are interested in becoming a PASS Leader for the next academic year please fill out an expression of interest form through the link at the bottom of the page.

Note that all expressions of interest are kept on file for one academic year.