Abstract:

1.- Introduction
The European Higher Education Area (from now on EHEA) tries to get a transparent and uniform educational system whose main instrument, among others, is the updating of teaching methodologies. Together with the new teaching and learning methodologies, there is a new model for tutoring that is becoming one of the tenets of the educational model and competence acquisition. This is peer tutoring. This new device will be quite efficient for university teaching and academic monitoring of students.

The objective of this communication is to launch a teaching innovation project consisting of an experience of peer tutoring called Inter-Pares Program (from now on IPP). This program has been developed during academic years 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 in the degree of Administration and Business Management in the University of Jaén (Spain).

We are talking about an experience of peer tutoring carried out with the idea of facilitating students the necessary help to success in different subjects from this degree. This experience is about having as tutor students who have passed these subjects with good marks, taking into account two premises:
• Students learn better in an environment of equality, closeness and friendship.
• Tutoring students feel motivated when they find a direct usefulness of his learning, which is that of helping their colleagues and motivate them in their learning process.

In a word, this coordinated activity has as its main aim that of improving students’ performance, both in terms of the passes obtained and competences acquired.

2.- Methodology
The methodology carried out for the introduction of this program will be presented in this section: how does it work? Who are the participants in this program? Which are the roles of the participants in the program? Which are the means used for the spreading of the program?

3.- Results
The establishment of this program has been positive regarding the number of persons involved and the impact of the program in each of the participants.
In this sense, the results show that, in general terms, students have made a positive assessment of the IPP, obtaining 4,6 points out of 5. Furthermore, tutor students consider that their participation has made easier to tutored students the assimilation of the subject, evaluating this question with 4,01 points.

Likewise, once the results are analyzed in terms of academic performance, more than 64% of tutored students have passed the tutored subject, obtaining qualifications higher than the average of the subjects.

4.- Conclusions
With this program we get three objectives:
a) Those students with learning problems receive help that improves their performance.
b) The establishment of this program may well contribute to the training of tutoring students and the improving of social, relationship and guidance competences that are not included in the different subjects of this degree.
c) The tutoring job of the teacher is complemented.

References:
TASCÓN TRUJILLO, C. El profesorado Universitario en el EEES: reflexiones ante las nuevas competencias. I Congreso Internacional Virtual de Educación CIVE 2008. Illes Ballears (España). pp. 1-15.

Keywords:

Higher Education, Peer Tutoring.