Access academic support for many first-year courses through the Peer-Assisted Study Session Program offered by the Faculty of Forestry.
What is PASS?
Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) are free, drop-in, structured group study sessions designed to help students understand key concepts and practice the skills necessary for success in traditionally challenging courses. PASS sessions complement what you learn while attending lectures, but are not a replacement, and are a great way to meet other Forestry or Land and Food Systems students in your classes.
Our sessions are welcoming, supportive and engaging, and help students understand course concepts and develop study strategies for the specific subject matter. They are facilitated by upper-year Forestry and Land and Food Systems students who have been successful in the course in previous years.
In 2025-26, PASS Leaders will be offering small group sessions to support students taking:
Term 1: MATH 180, CHEM 121, BIOL 121
Term 2: APBI 200, BIOL 112, BIOL 121
Sessions are designed to help students:
- Gain a more in-depth understanding of the course content
- Meet students from their class in a small group setting
- Test their knowledge about their course prior to tests and exams
- Develop transferable study skills
Research has shown that the more PASS sessions students attend, the greater likelihood they are of improving their overall understanding of key concepts, which results in achieving higher grades. In 2019, data showed that students who attended over 4 Peer-Assisted Study Sessions in a term had (on average) a 6.8% higher grade than students who never attended a session. We hope that we see you at one or more of our sessions each week!
Who facilitates PASS sessions?
Sessions are run by senior undergraduate students in Forestry and Land and Food Systems who have been trained to incorporate a variety of different activities, games, practice questions, mock quizzes and techniques to help you progress each week throughout the semester. PASS sessions are not like lectures or tutorials; they are not structured as a passive review session or a FAQ.
2025-26 Term 1 (September-December) PASS Schedule
Midterm Prep Session Dates:
- MATH 180: October 1, October 7 and October 8
- BIOL 121: October 1, October 6
Sessions will not happen on days when the University is closed or during Reading Break. Any session cancellations will be posted in this space.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| BIOL 121 Time: 4:00-5:00pm Room: FSC 1220 Leader: Yolanda | CHEM 121 Time: 1:00 – 2:00 pm Room: FSC 1617 Leader: Robin | CHEM 121 Time: 2:00-3:00pm Room: FSC 1220 Leader: Robin | ||
| MATH 180 Time: 3:00-4:00pm Room: FSC 1617 Leader: Meredith | BIOL 121 Time: 3:00-4:00pm Room: FSC 1220 Leader: Yolanda | |||
| MATH 180 Time: 4:00 – 5:00 pm Room: FSC 1220 Leader: Meredith |
What students are saying about PASS:
“I really liked PASS, especially the one before midterms/final exams. My PASS Leader prepared practice questions that were very similar to the actual exam format.” – 2023-24 participant
“I just wanted to say that the PASS Leader was great! They always came prepared with activities that were super helpful, and helped me better understand the course material.” – 2022-23 participant
“SUPER helpful and would 100% recommend. [The PASS Leader] was amazing at leading sessions and made it so much fun to attend!” – 2021-22 participant
“[The PASS Leader] was really really helpful this term. She was super approachable and explained things in a very easy to understand way. Thank you!!” – 2021-22 participant
“Going over how to solve example problems and breaking them down during PASS sessions was the most helpful for me because we didn’t always go over specific things in lectures.” – 2020-21 participant
“I loved attending PASS sessions since they really helped me to find out which areas I needed to focus on while studying and helped to increase my overall knowledge of the course content.” – 2020-21 participant
Hoping to attend PASS but the times listed don’t work for you? Send us an email to let us know – we may be able to change session times if there is enough student interest!
Questions? Contact Ayra Faiz at ayra.faiz@ubc.ca.