Student Outreach Services’ Peer Mentor Program certified by CRLA

Student Outreach Services (SOS) recently announced that its Peer Mentor Program is now an internationally recognized and certified peer-to-peer support program through the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) as of June 1, 2020, and is now certified as having completed the International Peer Educator Training Program Certification (IPTPC) program.

CRLA is a higher education-focused, multi-institution, international professional organization that focuses on developing higher academic standards through the development of peer-to-peer support programs.  During the 2019-2020 academic year, the SOS Peer Mentor Program completed the CRLA IPTPC training curriculum to certify its Peer Mentors at both Levels 1 (Regular Certification) and 2 (Advanced Certification), which requires a total of 25 hours of training, as well as a minimum of 75 hours of Peer Educator experience.

SOS and the Peer Mentor Program join the Tutoring Center as the second and newest program/service at Western to be certified by CRLA.  For more information about CRLA and their Peer Educator and Peer Tutoring programs,
please visit their program website at https://www.crla.net/index.php.

The SOS Peer Mentor Program serves first-year students by fostering excellence through social and academic integration. The Peer Mentor Program is made up of juniors and seniors who assist, advise, and provide resources for incoming first-year and transfer students. As active student leaders, Peer Mentors share personal experiences to assist and help ease the transition from high school and other colleges to Western’s campus. SOS welcomes 50 new first-year and transfer student mentees to its Peer Mentor Program in 2020.

For more information about the Peer Mentor Program, please visit the program website at:  https://wp.wwu.edu/sos/peermentor/