All About PASS

G’day, my name’s Dean. I’m a 2nd year Business student at Gippsland majoring in both Accounting and Finance (I know it sounds impressive, and that’s because it is). As well as being an up-and-coming accountant, I’m also a PASS leader here at Gippsland. What’s PASS, you ask? Well hold your horses, mate. I’m about to tell you.

What is PASS?

The uni has gone to great expense over the last few years to provide these things for you called Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS for short). Basically, they’re 1-hour-long sessions that run parallel to your lectures and tutes (think of it as an extra class, but in a good way). Not every subject that you do at uni will have a PASS class attached to it, but a lot of the first year classes do — well, the typically harder ones anyway, hence why they are beneficial. They’re designed to help you tackle the workload so you can smash your exams and improve your marks! So if you have PASS attached to one of your classes, prick your ears up and pay attention, it’s there for a reason.

PASS has been designed by some pretty smart cookies on the other side of the world. It will help you get a handle on what you need to do as a Uni student, and especially, what you need to know to pass that class. But it’s not all about just passing, it’s about smashing it as well. It’s for everyone and anyone, from those that struggle to those like me: particularly handsome and brilliant.

What do we do in PASS?

Plenty. Most of the stuff that goes on in the PASS sessions is group-oriented (meaning that you work with the other students doing the same course) and it’s all done in a very informal environment. All the activities are based off stuff that you do in class, and there’s always plenty of incentives and giveaways at these sessions, so every kid gets a prize for trying. But don’t be a drongo and come along looking for answers. You have to work them out, and we’ll show you how.

Why should you come along?

There are plenty of reasons why people come along to PASS; here’s a few of the reasons that I’ve come across in my time as a PASS Leader:

  • “They really help me better understand what’s going on in the lectures”
  • “I really struggle with time management, and the PASS Leaders are really helpful, as they’ve been there and done that all before”
  • ‘I learn lots of life lessons. Dean is just so wise”
  • “My PASS leader is soooooooo hot”
  • “I had an absolute blinder the night before and I went to the lecture hung-over. By the time the PASS class started, I’d woken up a bit”

Editor’s note: these quotes may or may not be entirely truthful.

OK, I’m sold. How do I get involved with this?

Slow down, speed racer. If you want to know whether a particular class has PASS sessions attached to it or not, the best places to ask would be either your lecturer or mentor. You could also find out at the ASK desk (Located in the Library) or through the ‘ASK at Fed Uni’ Facebook page. There’s even a copy of the timetable on the FedUni PASS webpage. How’s that for helpful!

When I grow up, I want to be a PASS Leader…

There are plenty of students that aspire to be PASS Leaders, and there’s plenty of reasons for it. For one, you get paid very well for the work that you do, and you also get the satisfaction of helping students out (and when you see them do well, you feel proud and all that). Best of all, you get to work with the really cool team at Student Futures.

So this is the end of my little spiel about PASS. If you have any questions, or want to get involved in PASS, call into the Student Futures office or send them an email at studentfutures@federation.edu.au.

– Dean

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