1. Peers Espousing Amiability, Cooperation, and Education (PEACE) Prerak Juthani December 2015

2. Current Issue  UC Berkeley: #1 Public University*  16% acceptance rate.  Prestige makes it more daunting to be a student.  “Imposter Syndrome.”  Some misbeliefs perpetuating.  Only a finite number of As.  Students sabotage one another for better grades.  Almost no where to get help.  End result: A self-perpetuating competitive atmosphere that contributes to student stress and blur the true notion of learning. *US News

3. Current Issue Diagram Misconceptions about UC Berkeley. “Imposter Syndrome” Inability and afraid to ask for help. Lack of academic and social success. More studying, less socializing. Bad college experience.

4. Proposed Change Misconceptions about UC Berkeley. “Imposter Syndrome” Inability and afraid to ask for help. Lack of academic and social success. More studying, less socializing, little support. Bad college experience. PEACE Able to get help and support. Better acclimation to Cal. More refined learning experience. Better experience and rectified misconceptions.

5. The Mechanism  Free one-on-one tutoring and advising for all students.  Started Summer 2013  Tutoring offered in 65+ UC Berkeley courses.  Online Interface to allow for more “Open Access” (peacetutoring.com)  Started Fall 2015 (project relevant to this class)  Resources added (thus far):  Hundreds of blogs that answer common UC Berkeley relevant questions.  Practice Questions for various lower division courses.  Sample Schedules from current students for various majors.  Sample Syllabi that provide a deeper insight into multiple courses.  Youtube channel addressing challenging questions.  Insight into various UC Berkeley on-campus organizations  Photo Gallery showcasing PEACE’s growth.  Sample Questions

6. Why Online Blogs?  Allows for open access.  Not temporally limited.  Not spatially limited.  Ready for anyone at anytime anywhere.  Many incoming students have similar questions, and hearing that other students have gone through the same experience can be reassuring.  Can readily be shared among students.  For people writing the blogs:  Low time commitment  Flexibility over what to write about.

7. The Mechanism: Blogs Created an application for advisors. Recruited 5-7 individuals. Write 2 blogs weekly on ANYTHING. Posted blogs onto website. Advertised online/facebook groups Incorporated feedback

8. Analysis: Blogs  130 blogs spanning 68 categories.  Example Categories:  Berkeley Food  Dealing With Stress  Finding Your Niche at Cal  Scholarship Insights  Time Management  Networking  Maintaining Good Mental Health

9. Analysis: Blogs

10. Overall Evaluation Page Views v. TimeUnique Viewers v. Time