Integrating peer mentoring into the freshman curriculum

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help with this transition. One major component to help the freshman make this major transition is a series of mentoring courses that the entering student can select for the first semester. The student must also enroll in a freshman problem solving course that details the use of various computer tools. This paper discusses how these courses are integrated and describe the interaction of counseling with the first semester engineering problem solving course. The paper also discusses the mentor selection process, the mentor-training program, and the topics covered in the mentoring sessions.