2013-2014 Peer Advisor Internship Program

PEER ADVISOR INTERNSHIP POSITION

Fall 2013-Spring 2014

Position Description:

Harpur peer advisors assist the professional advising and secretarial staff in serving the students, faculty, and staff of Harpur College. Peer advisors are responsible for significant aspects of office front desk operation and outreach. Peers answer student questions by phone and in person on a walk-in basis. They provide students with basic procedural information, explain degree requirements, assist students with scheduling and registration questions, and other specialized tasks. Most importantly, the peer advisors triage student needs, referring more specialized questions to the secretarial staff and the most involved and pressing student situations to the professional advisors. On occasion, peer advisors assist with orientation and engage in outreach events. This internship is for credit only (4 credits for Fall 2013 and 4 credits for Spring 2014).

Required Qualifications:

Applicants for the Harpur Academic Advising internship program should have an interest in working with a diverse student population and assisting others. Of utmost importance is the candidate's ability to maintain confidentiality. Patience and strong organizational skills are also important attributes. The intern should also possess effective communication skills. Because the office can be very busy at certain times during the semester, applicants should be comfortable working under pressure. A sense of humor will also prove helpful. The intern should feel comfortable working both independently and as part of a team as necessary. He or she should feel comfortable asking the staff questions. Familiarity with student services available on campus will benefit the applicant, although the peer training program will expose the student to this information in detail. Peers are often called on to explain the operation of the BU Brain, Blackboard, and DARS to other students. As such, a basic user understanding of these programs is helpful and basic technical skills are necessary.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

□ Enrolled as a matriculated Harpur student and have completed 24 credits at Binghamton University (by the start of fall 2013).

□ Strong academic record (minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA)

□ Commitment to two semesters, Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 (no exceptions)

□ Strong written and oral communication skills

□ Skilled in using BU Brain, able to read a DARS and utilize other software

□ Available for training the week prior to the start of the Fall 2013 semester (Monday, August 19th through Friday, August 23rd).

Skills Acquired:

The peer advisor in this position will interact with professional academic advisors, as well as with other university staff and offices on a daily basis. In this way, a Harpur Academic Advising internship will expose the intern to many facets of the advising profession, most notably the nature of professionalism, FERPA, student development, the challenging nature of effective advising, and the range of advising approaches and techniques academic advisors employ. The peer advisor will be exposed to the multitude of issues and problems that students bring to the advising office. Working in this capacity will also aid the student in developing his or her own advising style. The position will also give students the opportunity to develop their interpersonal and small group communication skills and public speaking skills. The intern will gain an understanding of the structure of the university, how different offices interact – most notably the relationship between student affairs and academic affairs – and the challenges and advantages inherent in working within any large-scale organization. The peer advisor will also become familiar with academic policies and procedures and gain experience using DARS and the BU Brain.

Time Commitment:

Eight hours weekly including a one hour mandatory class meeting. In addition to the weekly commitment, peer advisors participate in various outreach events throughout the semester.

Internship Credit/ Weekly Class Meeting:

Peer advisors earn four internship credit hours in the fall and four internship credit hours in the spring. These credit hours count towards the eight total credits of internship allowable in Harpur College, and therefore will fulfill this limit. As part of the internship experience, peer advisors are required to attend a one-hour weekly class meeting. The class meeting gives our peer advisors the opportunity to present on and write about topics and issues important to the field of academic advising in higher education, reflect on their experience and how it relates to their career goals, and explore the relationship between theoretical and applied learning. The Peer Advisor Internship Program satisfies the oral communication general education requirement (O) in the fall semester and a Harpur writing requirement (W) in the spring semester.

Application Process:

Start Date:

Peer Advisors must return to campus Monday, August 27th, 2012 for training, to assist with fall orientation activities and prepare for semester start-up.

APPLICATION

Application Deadline: Wednesday, February 27th by 5:00 pm

Submit to: Academic Building B room G 18