This policy defines how the Academic Enhancement Program (AEP) selects, trains, supervises and supports peer tutors, and how students access tutoring.
1. Policy Statement and Purpose
AEP is a free, student-led peer tutoring service run under the Office of Student Affairs. It helps Xavier University School of Medicine (XUSOM) students understand course material by pairing them with senior peers who have mastered it.
The purpose of AEP is to:
- Improve students' understanding of course content before gaps become failures
- Give tutors a structured teaching and leadership experience
- Keep tutoring consistent, confidential and separate from academic evaluation
- Make the program documented and measurable for accreditation purposes
2. Scope and Definitions
This policy applies to all XUSOM students enrolled on the Aruba campus, to all AEP tutors, and to faculty and staff who coordinate or supervise the program.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AEP | Academic Enhancement Program, the peer tutoring service of the Office of Student Affairs |
| Tutor | A student who has been selected, trained and appointed to tutor a course |
| Tutee | A student receiving AEP tutoring |
| AEP Coordinator | The faculty member or staff member designated by the Dean of Student Affairs to run AEP day to day |
| Honors | Final course grade of 90% or above, as defined in the Examination Grading Policy |
| Near Honors | Final course grade of 80% to 89%. |
| ASP | Academic Support Program, a separate faculty-led program |
3. Tutor Eligibility and Selection
A student may serve as a tutor for a course only if they meet every criterion below.
- Completed the course at XUSOM and earned Honors or Near Honors in it.
- Is in good academic and financial standing, with no active academic probation, suspension, or pending professionalism or academic-integrity case
- Is registered and attending in the current semester [or is on an approved Preparatory Leave on campus]
- Has maintained at least 90% attendance in the most recent semester
Application. Prospective tutors submit the AEP application form through the President of AEP to the Office of Student Affairs, naming the course or courses they wish to tutor.
Selection. The AEP Coordinator reviews applications against the criteria above and ranks eligible applicants by course grade. Positions are awarded to the most competent applicants. The Dean of Student Affairs approves the final list.
Appointment term. Appointments last one semester and may be renewed on satisfactory performance.
4. Tutor Responsibilities and Conduct
Tutors act as role models under the Student Honor Code and the Professional Attributes of a XUSOM Medical Student. They must:
- Help tutees through mentoring, conceptual teaching, time management, study monitoring and group discussion
- Prepare for sessions and keep to the scheduled time
- Record every session in the AEP log within 48 hours
- Respect tutees as individuals and avoid derogatory, belittling or discriminatory language
- Refer tutees to the Office of Student Affairs, a faculty mentor, or the counselling service when concerns go beyond tutoring (for example distress, health or wellbeing concerns, or conduct issues)
- Declare any conflict of interest, such as tutoring a close relative, roommate or someone they are in a dispute with, and ask to be reassigned
Tutors must not:
- Evaluate, grade or report on a tutee's academic standing to any committee
- Accept payment, gifts or favours from tutees
- Share quizzes, exam questions or answers, or content from the student portal outside the university
- Give personal advice on medical conditions or medication
A breach may lead to removal from AEP and referral under the Academic Integrity Policy or the Student Professional Conduct process.
5. Tutee Eligibility and Access
AEP is free and open to every enrolled XUSOM student on campus. Students reach tutoring in three ways:
- Self-referral. The student requests a tutor for a course through the Office of Student Affairs.
- Mentor referral. A faculty mentor recommends tutoring after a quiz or mentor meeting.
- Early-alert referral. The system chair or Office of Student Affairs refers a student who fails an integrated quiz or comprehensive quiz, or whose attendance is slipping.
Students on academic probation are expected to use AEP as part of their remediation plan, but attending AEP does not replace the probation requirements (mentor meetings, written remediation plan, weekly professor meetings).
Tutees are expected to attend on time, prepare questions in advance, cancel at least [12] hours ahead, and give feedback on their tutor. Repeated no-shows ([3] in a semester) may pause the tutee's access for the rest of that semester, with the Office of Student Affairs reviewing each case.
Students may request additional tutoring beyond the standard allocation of [2] hours per week per course, subject to tutor availability.
6. Session Types, Scheduling and Record Keeping
Every tutoring session is booked through the Office of Student Affairs and logged. The handbook already requires the duration and type of mentoring to be recorded; this section extends that into a full log.
| Session type | Format | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | Tutor and one tutee | 30 to 60 minutes |
| Small group | Tutor and up to [5] tutees | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Pre-quiz review | Group session before an integrated or comprehensive quiz | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Study-skills session | Time management, question-bank use, study monitoring | 30 to 60 minutes |
Sessions take place on campus (library or designated rooms) or on a university-approved online platform. Tutoring must not take place in student housing bedrooms or private locations.
The AEP log for each session records:
- Date, start and end time, and course or topic
- Tutor name and tutee name(s)
- Session type and format
- Short summary of topics covered and follow-up actions
- Attendance, including cancellations and no-shows
Logs are held by the Office of Student Affairs, are visible only to the tutor, the tutee (their own entries), the AEP Coordinator and the Dean of Student Affairs, and are kept for [two] years.
7. Training, Supervision and Oversight
Governance. The Dean of Student Affairs is accountable for AEP and appoints the AEP Coordinator. Course chairs advise on content accuracy. AEP reports to the Deans and the Chief Academic Officer through the Office of Student Affairs.
Tutor training. Before their first session, every tutor completes a short orientation covering:
- Tutoring and active-learning methods, including how to avoid simply giving answers
- Boundaries, confidentiality and the Professional Attributes of a XUSOM Medical Student
- Academic integrity and the Policy on the Responsible Use of AI
- Recognizing a student in distress and referring to the Suicide Prevention Coordinator, faculty mentor or counselling service
- How to complete the AEP session log
Supervision. The AEP Coordinator reviews logs monthly, observes at least one session per tutor each semester, and meets tutors at the start, middle and end of the semester. Course chairs may be asked to confirm the accuracy of material a tutor is teaching.
Concerns. A tutee or tutor with a concern about AEP may contact the Dean of Student Affairs or the AEP Coordinator. Complaints about mistreatment follow the Positive Learning Environment Policy, and unresolved matters may go to the Grievances Committee.
8. Recognition and Compensation
A tutor is paid USD 10.00 per tutoring hour.
9. Academic Integrity, Confidentiality and Responsible Use of AI
Academic integrity. AEP supports learning, not assessment. Tutors and tutees must follow the Academic Integrity Policy. Tutors must not use or share quiz, comprehensive exam or NBME-CAS content, and must report any known or suspected misconduct as the policy requires.
Confidentiality. What a tutee shares in a session is confidential, except where there is a risk to safety, a suspected breach of academic integrity or professionalism, or where the law requires disclosure. Tutors explain this at the first session. Tutors do not keep or share notes about a tutee's grades or personal circumstances beyond the AEP log.
Responsible use of AI. Tutors may use AI to prepare explanations, practice questions and mnemonics as permitted by the Policy on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence, and must verify all AI-generated content for accuracy before using it. Tutors must not upload exam material, confidential institutional documents, or identifiable information about tutees to public AI systems.
A tutor who suspects that a tutee needs more than peer help refers them to their faculty mentor or the Office of Student Affairs. AEP tutors are not part of the Promotions and Progress Review Committee decision process, and AEP records are not used in academic progression decisions, consistent with the handbook's statement that the Office of Student Affairs plays no role in progression decisions.
11. Evaluation, Continuous Quality Improvement and Policy Review
AEP reports to the Dean of Student Affairs each semester, and the report feeds the Continuous Quality Improvement process of the CARQI Committee. It includes:
- Number of active tutors, courses covered, and tutees served
- Total tutoring hours by course and session type
- Tutee satisfaction and tutor feedback from short end-of-semester surveys
- Outcome indicators: pass rates and quiz scores of tutees compared with the course average, reported in aggregate only and never identifying individuals
- Unmet demand, such as courses without a tutor and tutee waiting times
The Curriculum Committee reviews the report and recommends changes. This policy is reviewed annually and approved by the Faculty Senate. Changes take effect when published in the Student Handbook.