Making the Transition:
Developing a Peer-Mentoring 
Program Targeting Transfer
Students
EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY, SHERROD LIBRARY
 
JONATHAN WILSON | WILSONJR3@ETSU.EDU
 
LYDIA GWYN |  GWYNLC@ETSU.EDU
Workshop for Instruction in Library Use 2019: Engaging Place and Practice
East Tennessee 
Biggest cities: 
Knoxville (~187,000)
Chattanooga (~179,000)
Johnson City (~66,000)
Mostly rural areas
Cherokee National Forest
encompasses 650,000
acres of forest land 
Map of Tennessee 1
2
3
Roan Mountain 4
East Tennessee State University
Located in Johnson City, TN, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains
14,500 undergraduate, graduate, & professional students
Offers 81 graduate degree programs
Popular majors: bluegrass, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, education, allied
health, criminal justice, and social work 5
Ariel view of ETSU campus
6
Most transfer students come
from regional community
colleges
Most East Tennessee
community colleges are
located in rural areas
Many first-generation college
students
TRANSFERS NUMBERS
BY
 T
H
E
Transfer by the Numbers 7
A Peer-Mentoring Approach to 
Research Help?
WHAT IS A LIBRARY AMBASSADOR?
Li.brar.y Am.bas.sa.dor: (noun)
an undergraduate student hired by the library who has received two semesters of 
information literacy and research skills instruction and spends their subsequent 
semesters deployed in academic buildings and computer labs across campus helping 
students with their research. 
Why a Peer-Learning Model?
Peer learning programs have proven successful in tutoring centers & elsewhere in the
university
 
People from similar social groups, not professionals, help each other to learn and in turn
help themselves
 
Trained undergraduates are ideal for delivering general reference and information literacy
instruction
 
Student engagement, library use, and library instruction all have positive impacts on
retention; peer learning addresses each of these areas
The advantages of peer learning also include
opportunities for empathy, bonding, and lowered
anxiety 8
Pilot Program Timeline
SPRING-SUMMER
2017
FALL 
2017
SPRING 
2018
FALL
2018
How many ambassadors?
What type of students? 
How much training?
Plan
Hire Ambassadors
Begin first semester of
information literacy
instruction
Last semester of information
literacy instruction
Ambassadors begin to
specialize in the databases of
their respective majors
Reach out to academic
departments for deployment
Reach out to satellite
campuses for deployment
Ambassadors deployed across
campus to help students with
research
Hire 25 new ambassadors for
main campus, hire
ambassadors at satellite
campuses & begin first
semester of information
literacy instruction
Hire & Train Train & Specialize Implement
Why Target Transfers?
Transferring from a small campus to a larger one
can be daunting; this program eases that transition
The library ambassadors are a close-knit
community of students with similar backgrounds 
Ambassadors engage with the campus in a way
that most students don't
WHAT ARE THEY LEARNING?
Develop research questions & identify 
keywords/search terms
 
Use OneSearch, databases, Google Scholar, and the 
Web to find quality sources of information
 
Evaluate sources of information
 
Differentiate between popular, scholarly, trade 
sources & primary, secondary, & tertiary sources
 
Specialize in the databases of their field
Partnerships
Adult Commuter Transfer Services (ACTS)
Scholarship Office
ETSU-Kingsport
Northeast State Community College
Our Vision
Continue to hire mostly transfer students
Collaborate with area community colleges to hire & train transfer
students before they come to ETSU 
Ambassadors stationed in most academic building, residence hall, and
computer lab
Ambassador programs at all satellite campuses
Target students on academic probation: hire them as ambassadors
References
"ETSU Facts & History," East Tennessee State University, accessed May 8, 2019m,
https://www.etsu.edu/fachistory/glance.php
"Tennessee Map." (2018). Google Earth, accessed May 13, 2019 
1
"QuickFacts." (2019). U.S. Census Bureau, accessed May 8, 2019 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/2
3
5
Warner, Carla, Mike Hoff, and Cody Giles. (2018). "Transfers by the Numbers," datasheet, East Tennessee
State University.
Tanner P. Clements, Ariel View of ETSU, 2018, East Tennessee State University, accessed May 8, 2019m,
https://www.etsu.edu/fachistory/glance.php
4
"Cherokee National Forest." (2019). United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, accessed
May 13, 2019 https://www.fs.usda.gov/cherokee/
7
Lydia C. Gwyn, Roan Mountain, 2017, iPhone Photos.
6
8
Bodemer, Brett B. (2014). :"They Can and They Should: Undergraduates Providing Peer Reference and
Instruction." College & Research Libraries, 75(2), 162-178, accessed May 13, 2019
https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/16356
QUESTIONS