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Partner Educational Effectiveness ResourcesThe PEER program allocates funding for the integration of undergraduate peer mentors (UPMs) and undergraduate learning assistants (ULAs) into larger courses at UCSB. The Office of Teaching and Learning provides financial and pedagogical support to instructors and their departments for the enhancement of these courses and department-specific initiatives. Winter 2026 Funding Applications due Monday, October 27 by 5pm PT |
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Roles
Undergraduate Peer Mentors
Undergraduate Peer Mentors (UPMs) provide general guidance to students about how to navigate courses or majors. For example, UPMs can work with students to develop study skills in the major or consider how skills and strategies in the course will contribute to other courses in the major, hone students’ abilities to interact with instructors (i.e., visiting office hours or communicating via email) or locate other helpful resources on campus such as the ONDAS or Transfer Student Center, campus identity centers, or CLAS. UPMs may not offer tutoring, provide specific advice about student work, or offer course-specific guidance of any type.
UPMs support groups of 4-6 students (1:4-6 ratio).
UPMs should be hired as Student Assistants (job code 4922).
Undergraduate Learning Assistants
Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs) facilitate active learning in courses. Their activities can include talking with students about questions that arise during problem-solving activities, facilitating discussions about course content, engaging with students in small groups on particularly challenging elements of a course, and providing guiding advice. ULAs may contribute to formative, ungraded feedback for undergraduates using criteria developed by faculty or graduate student employees. ULAs may not lead discussion sections or grade other students’ work.
ULAs may work with groups of up to 10 students.
ULAs are hired as Remedial Tutors (job codes 2280 or 2290). Per the terms of Article 11 “Fee Remissions”, Section A of the UAW (BX) Contract, as undergraduate students, ULAs do not receive fee remission.
Peer Funding Eligibility
ULAs or UPMs may be used only to support courses that show evidence of rethinking pedagogy in an environment where few/no TAs are available. The application must provide a detailed explanation of how the implementation of UPMs and/or ULAs contributes to pedagogical innovation and addresses departmental needs connected to supporting students in courses with large enrollments. Only courses with enrollments of 120 or above will be eligible to apply for ULA funding.
Each application is to be submitted on behalf of the department. As such, the application must include a clear description of why ULA support is needed in proposed courses with enrollments of 120 students or above and how ULA support will provide students with a greater chance of successfully completing their intended academic plans.
To be eligible for funding, department applications must meet the the following conditions:
- ULA programs must align with one of the following models or provide support to a large number of students through a combination of two of the models.
- Model 1. ULAs and/or UPMs are incorporated into discussion sections in large courses that have developed new pedagogical models to teach based on reallocations of teaching/staffing resources.
- Model 2. ULAs and/or UPMs are part of a centralized group that provides support for several required courses in the pre-major series or GE courses.
- Model 3. ULAs provide support outside of class.
- Departments that received PEER funding during the 2024-2025 academic year must provide evidence of effective assessment of the ULA/UPM program, with emphasis on the program’s impact on student learning outcomes.
- The application materials must clearly state how the ULAs or UPMs contribute to student learning within the department. Please note that applications that do not prioritize student learning outcome gains will not qualify for funding.
- Department applications must provide proof of projected enrollment, number of sections, number of TAs, and the size of sections, if applicable, for all supported courses.
NOTE: Applications that do not clearly meet each of the four requirements listed above will not be eligible for funding review.
Departments seeking funding for Winter 2026 are encouraged to submit an application by the deadline: October 27, 2025. Funding is limited.
Applications will be reviewed to determine eligibility for funding prior to being advanced for funding consideration. Applicants will be notified of their eligibility status by November 4, 2025. Please note: being deemed eligible for funding does not guarantee that funding will be awarded.
*Note that applications must be endorsed by the department chair. Funding requests will be reviewed by the Office of Teaching and Learning.
Please direct questions to Maggie Safronova, Associate Director, Center for Innovative Teaching, Research, and Learning (m_safronova@ucsb.edu)
Guidelines for Faculty and Departments
Faculty who receive UPM or ULA funding must:
- Attend the PEER Faculty Seminar (2 hours, synchronous over Zoom)
- Recruit, select, and supervise UPMs and/or ULAs
- Provide discipline-specific training for UPMs and/or ULAs
- Regularly communicate and meet with UPMs and/or ULAs
- Collaborate with OTL and provide feedback on the experience of using UPMs or ULAs
- Submit an assessment report at the end of the quarter
Departments must:
- Hire all undergraduate peer mentors and peer learning assistants
- Handle all processing of timecards
OTL Support
Funding
OTL provides approved funding to departments for employing UPMs or ULAs (see funding table below).
PEER Faculty Seminar Resources
PEER Department Funding Calculator- use this tool to estimate the costs of your ULA and/or UPM program if you are applying on behalf of your department
End of the Quarter Assessment Report- if funded, participants of PEER are required to submit end of the quarter assessment.
INT 125: Studying and Supporting University Learning
UPMs and ULAs are strongly encouraged to enroll in INT 125. The goal of the course is to provide students to develop a set of skills that will help them be effective UPMs and/or ULAs.
This is a 2-credit course. UPM/ULAs can contact Dr. Margarita Safronova (m_safronova@ucsb.edu) for more information.
Consultations with Office of Teaching and Learning
Maggie Safronova
Associate Director
Office of Teaching and Learning
m_safronova@ucsb.edu
See Maggie's profile