Student tutor writing consultation service as a credible alternative to teacher advising

With the role of the university constantly changing to meet the ever-growing demand for higher education, educational needs at the tertiary level have become increasingly diversified, spurring the impetus for innovative pedagogies, among which peer learning has been increasingly employed as a learning strategy to address some learning needs. Much research suggests substantial benefits to both faculty and students in a learning community. This chapter reports on a cross-sectional peer writing consultation programme in a university in Hong Kong. The tutors were openly recruited through a rigorous screening process before they received training in various areas and skills that were deemed necessary for successful tutoring, while the tutees participated voluntarily. Quantitative analysis of tutee questionnaire data and the assessment results of the Control and Experimental groups revealed a high level of tutee satisfaction with the service and statistically significant improvement in academic performance. The findings have implications for peer tutoring in tertiary education.