This position is available for Academic Year 2025-26.
Position Description:
The Academic Peer Advisors’ role is to work with the Office of Academic Advising and first-year faculty advisors to help integrate first-year students into the university academic and co-curricular community. This is accomplished through individualized advising appointments, assisting faculty advisors with course registration, supporting advisees with academic and non-academic concerns that are common during the first-year, and making referrals to additional campus services when needed.
Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities:
- Provide academic advising to first-year students throughout the academic year.
- Assist first-year faculty advisors as they guide incoming students toward academic success.
- Organize and present advising and registration workshops.
- Introduce first-year students to resources, such as the Center for Writing and Learning (CWL), Counseling, Health and Wellness Services (CHWS), and more.
- Maintain personal contact with advisees (at least once per month) and keep timely, accurate records of contact.
Time Commitment: Peer advisors work an average of 9 hours per week for the entire academic year and are each responsible for 35-40 first-year students. In a typical week, a peer advisor takes part in the following activities:
- Attends a one-hour mandatory staff meeting,
- Meets with first-year faculty advisors, if appropriate, to discuss student concerns, creating a plan for support, etc.,
- Holds at least one hour in office duty in Academic Advising, Howarth 114,
- Devotes hours as needed to advising, following up with advisees, recording any action related to any formal concerns, etc.
- Document monthly outreach to advisees, record any action and referrals made in relation to student support,
- Occasional duties include, assistance with planning and hosting pre-registration meetings, helping advisees register for classes, assisting our office during Academic Fair and possibly other special office events as requested.
Minimum Requirements (candidates must possess these requirements in order to be hired into this position):
Peer advisors are expected to be mature, organized, dependable, and responsible academic role models that can work well both independently and as a contributing member of the PA team. They need to be self-starters that show initiative in their work and are efficient communicators with strong interpersonal skills able to build and maintain working relationships with faculty advisor, advisees, and Academic Advising staff
Preference will be given to candidates who:
- Have junior or senior standing at the beginning of fall term (although strong first-year or rising sophomore candidates will be considered).
- Can show solid academic achievement: GPA of 3.0 or higher (or GPA on an upward trend).
- Have spent at least one year in full-time study at Puget Sound.
- Candidates must be able to explain and/or demonstrate that they possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to safely perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Peer advisors may not hold joint appointments in certain Student Development positions, including Passages Coordinator or Orientation Leader, RA, RCC, GHC, Campus Visit Program Coordinator, or Dining Conference Lead).
- Peer advisors may not accept employment or other obligations (such as ASUPS committees or course assistantships) without prior consultation with, and permission from, the First-Year Advising Program Coordinator.
- All students hired as peer advisors must participate in the mandatory training program held during the week of Mon. Aug. 18 – Fri. Aug. 22 and any academic related duties during Orientation (Sat. Aug. 23 – Fri. Aug. 29).
- Peer advisors must keep open a mutually agreed upon hour for weekly staff meetings during the academic year (decided during PA training week). Clubs and social activities must be a secondary priority to your attendance at the PA weekly meetings.
Hours per week: 9 hours, Average.
Recommendation from at least one faculty member is required as part of this application; share recommender link: https://forms.gle/mbttyR1LEUshMeXD6 with faculty member.
Interviews will take place directly with the hiring committee. Qualified candidates will be invited to sign up for an individual interview after the application deadline closes. For questions, you can reach out to the hiring manager for this position.
Department: Academic Advising
Contact Name: Jacqui Elliott
Email: jmelliott@pugetsound.edu
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