Bobby Hjortsberg, College of Arts and Sciences president and psychology pre-med sophomore, has created a program he said may help smooth the transition of new students. The Peer Mentor Program will provide assistance for freshmen and transfer students in areas from course selection to social life at Loyola. “As there is limited student body interaction outside of pan-Hellenic and athletic events, this should allow more diversity acceptance incorporated into campus happenings,” Hjortsberg said.The proposed program was presented to the 12 A&S representatives for critique and feedback. After several revisions the plan was completed on April 8. Thomas Smith, associate dean of A&S, approved the plan.This plan will be implemented across the entire college of A&S, now that Smith has approved it. He agrees with Hjortsberg that the idea “fits in well with the college goals,” which are set out by the faculty and dean, to have an “integrated freshman experience.” “The overall intent of the plan is the academic and social acclamation of students as they transition from high school, or another college, to Loyola University New Orleans,” Hjortsberg said.Frank Scully, dean of Arts and Sciences, has also expressed support for the plan as it moves ahead. According to Hjortsberg, the program will not be a mandatory requisite for A&S students. Freshmen will be presented with the idea at orientation, and sign-up sheets will be made available, giving these students preference on available positions.Because mentors would apply voluntarily, the students would record their majors to be paired with fellow majors. After much deliberation, the representatives said that this would be the best method.”Other techniques, such as having prospective peer mentors record their academic strengths, and then pairing them with new students with those areas as weaknesses, proved to be too complex,” Hjortsberg said. He said that to review and regulate the process, all twelve A&S representatives will be assigned a proportional group. For example, if 120 pairs enroll, each representative gets 10 sets. Each representative will serve as an executor of his respective group.All mentors will be reviewed twice per semester, at mid-term and at finals. “They will complete a log of time spent with their student and during each review period, the rep contacts the mentors and new students individually to corroborate any claims of progress to ensure productivity,” Hjortsberg said. Hjortsberg said minimum requirements will be that the mentors meet their students once at the drop / add period, and twice during the semester. Though actual academic credit will not be allocated yet, Hjortsberg expressed confidence that the proving of the program’s value and effectiveness is imminent. Producing evidence of this effectiveness is integral to exploring and determining possibilities for the program, he said. “It would seemingly be much like chorus and other one hour credit courses if deemed worthy of academic credits,” Hjortsberg said. “It is similar in nature to these already existing programs, in that these courses offer academic enrichment possibilities for personal growth and development.” The Jesuits pride their order on service, which is one of many ideals that could be exemplified by this program, besides educating the whole person, Hjortsberg said. “As the College Arts and Sciences president,” Hjortsberg said, “I would present the plan and sign-up sheets at orientation, because as the program’s developer, I would be most equipped to address any questions or concerns.”Students interested in peer mentoring can sign up online at www.loyno.edu/~rwhjorts/signup/. In addition, an SGA booth will be present from April 15 to April 26 so students can sign up. Application sheets are also available during normal business hours in the SGA office.