What is PASS? 

Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) is a free, peer-facilitated program offering weekly 90-minute out-of-class study sessions to all undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in select courses within UNSW Business School.

Please see the course list below for the availability of courses.

PASS is friendly, informal and conducted in small groups, providing an opportunity to reinforce key concepts and content alongside your peers in the same course!

Please note that PASS is an additional resource and sessions do not replace regular lectures and tutorials.

How does PASS work?

Sessions are led by trained PASS Leaders – students who recently excelled in the course. Leaders facilitate group discussions and activities to deepen your understanding of course content.

PASS is catered towards your needs and Leaders will respond accordingly to group feedback on what is covered each week. Leaders are unable to directly answer assessment or tutorial questions, and such queries are better directed towards your tutor or Course Convenor. 

A PASS session may include:

  • Interactive activities 

  • Working through practice questions.

  • Study tips on how to prepare for upcoming assessments and exams.

Benefits of PASS

PASS is for all students who want to improve academic performance and feel more confident in their studies! Attending PASS regularly can help you:

  • Deepen your understanding of the course content.

  • Develop skills for independent study.

  • Improve your grades. 

  • Make connections and form friendships.

  • Feel more confident in your studies.

Hear from a Leader about the benefits of attending PASS!

Which courses offer PASS?

  •  
    • ACCT2511 Financial Accounting Fundamentals
    • ACCT2522 Management Accounting 1
    • ACCT2542 Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis
    • ACTL1101 Introduction to Actuarial Studies 
    • ACTL2111 Financial Mathematics for Actuaries
    • ACTL2131 Probability and Mathematical Statistics
    • ACTL2102 Foundations of Actuarial Models
    • COMM1100 Business Decision Making 
    • COMM1110 Evidence-Based Problem Solving
    • COMM1140 Financial Management
    • COMM1150 Global Business Environments (School of Management and Governance)
    • COMM1170 Organisational Resources (School of Management and Governance) 
    • COMM1180 Value Creation
    • COMM1190 Data, Insights and Decisions
    • COMM2822 Introduction to Databases for Business Analytics
    • ECON1101 Microeconomics 1
    • ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1 
    • ECON1202 Quantitative Analysis
    • ECON1203 Business and Economic Statistics
    • ECON2101 Microeconomics 2
    • ECON2206 Introductory Econometrics 
    • FINS2615 Intermediate Business Finance
    • FINS2624 Portfolio Management
    • FINS3616 International Business Finance
    • FINS3625 Applied Corporate Finance
    • FINS3641 Security Analysis and Valuation
    • INFS1602 Digital Transformations in Business
    • INFS1603 Introduction to Business Databases
    • INFS1701 Introduction to Networking and Security
    • INFS2602 Managing Information Systems
    • INFS2608 Database Management and Big Data Infrastructures
    • INFS2609 Programming for Business
    • MARK2012 Marketing Fundamentals
    • MARK2052 Marketing Research 
    • MARK3054 Marketing Analytics and Big Data
    • TABL2471 Business Entities
  •  
    • ACCT5930 Financial Accounting
    • ACCT5942 Corporate Accounting and Regulations
    • COMM5000 Data Literacy for Business
    • COMM5005 Quantitative Methods in Business
    • FINS5511 Corporate Finance 
    • FINS5512 Financial Markets and Institutions
    • FINS5513 Investments and Portfolio Selections
    • FINS5514 Capital Budgeting and Financial Decisions
    • FINS5535 Derivatives and Risk Management Techniques 
    • INFS5978 Accounting Information Systems
    • MARK5700 Elements of Marketing
    • MARK5826 Product Analytics
    • MARK5828 Advertising Analytics 
    • MFIN6201 Empirical Techniques and Applications in Finance
    • MFIN6214 Financial Theory and Policy

How to join PASS?

PASS begins in Week 2 and runs through to Week 10 (there are no sessions in Week 6). PASS is delivered by either interactive online sessions or face to face, on campus sessions. 

Timetables for PASS are available below, and on the course Moodle sites – there’s no need to register. We recommend that you attend the same session regularly but there’s no obligation. You can choose to attend some weeks but not others. 

If PASS is not offered in your course, you may want to seek assistance from Learning Consultations.

How can I get the most out of PASS?

  • Be interactive and contribute – this is the ideal way to learn!

  • Come along with questions you have, as the PASS Leader will ask what you want to focus on in the sessions.

  • Attend regularly.

  • Be prepared to discuss content by staying up to date with lecture materials, readings, and your notes.

Interested in becoming a PASS leader?

Being a PASS Leader is a fantastic opportunity to participate in paid work, fine-tune your leadership skills, and give back to the UNSW community by helping develop students’ understanding of course materials.

PASS leaders are mainly 2nd and 3rd year students who:

  1. Have good results (usually a distinction) in the relevant courses.

  2. Have excellent communication and people skills.

  3. Have an enthusiastic commitment to supporting students.

Leaders are trained and supervised by the Career Accelerator PASS Team and attend regular team meetings. Leaders are paid for participating in training, preparation time, facilitating sessions, and attending meetings.

How to Apply

Applications for 2024 are now closed.

Applications to become a PASS Leader commence in November every year. Further information will be available here at that time.

Contact Us

For more information contact:

 bus.pass@unsw.edu.au