Building the #Braintrust: A comprehensive look at creating a peer

adviser program

Julie Larsen University of Washington

NACADA Region 8 Conference

Today’s Agenda

• Review a lot of information – structure, hiring, and training

• Address your questions• Get some time to dialogue• A little bit of hands on• And have you leave with more questions than

answers

The Place We Call Home

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Undergraduate Academic Affairs

• Advising, First Year Programs, Robinson Center, Academic Support Programs, Experiential Learning and Diversity, Office of Educational Assessment, Honors Program, Student Athlete Academic Services, Dream Project, Center for Teaching and Learning, Classroom Support Services

• A Focus on “Liberal Learning”• Adviser Education for Campus• Lead Contact with Community Colleges

What We Do

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How Did I Get Here?

History of the Program

• Started in 2009– Responding to new residence life spaces for

teaching, advising, and tutoring– First year two peers who saw 250 students• Expanded to UAA Office during second year

– 9/09 to 7/10 saw 2023 students– 7/11 – 7/12 saw 5340 students• 2043 Freshmen, 1027 Sophomores, 1482 Juniors, 473

Seniors• 3,866 pre majors, 180 extended pre-majors

What the Peers Do

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What the Peers Do

• Staff Quick Questions drop in advising – Mon-Thurs 9 – 6 pm, Fri 9 – 5 pm– Residence Halls, Libraries, Commuter Commons

• Answer Advice@uw email• Workshops on course selection and choosing a

major• Approve Pre-Health Reflections• Summer Orientation Support• Other duties as assigned

Current Numbers

• Fall 2012 – Winter 2013: 3436 students– Total approx 4,400

• Fall 2013: 1838• Winter 2014: 1446

• Why the decrease in numbers?

What Students Say

• What about this advising session was most helpful?

• What about this advising session was least helpful?

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Interaction with the Office• Co-location• Professional Staff – good, bad, better• Workshops and office support

#preprofessionalskilldevelopmentor

Hiring and Training the Peer Staff

What I Look for in a Staff

Peer Mentor• Regularly scheduled

meetings• Focused on relationship

building• Sets goals and benchmarks• Integrated part of students’

development

Peer Adviser• May be a one time meeting• Focus on knowledge sharing

and navigating campus structures/resources

• Encourages self-efficacy and agency

• Part of a students’ academic learning team on campus

What I Look for in a Staff

• Strategic, Developer, Empathy, Positivity, Woo

• How can we reach the most students?

• What are their reasons for being there?

• Doesn’t need to be a path to advising• Strive to hire folks who are better at your job

than you are

The Hiring Process

• Cover letter and resume– Reviewed by our UAA and OMAD partners– Ranked for first round cut

• Group process– Consensus building, team work, presentation

• Individual Interviews– Pro-staff in office plus current peers

Who would you hire?

Meet the Peers

AlexDivya

DominicFrancis

Hope

Meet the Peers

Tanner

Marie MalikaJuliana

Max

Working with Julie

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Working with Julie

• #preprofessionalskilldevelopment• We’ll talk it out, you work it out – the team is first• Transparency is key• Synthesis of their own college experience• Take initiative, and use the tools in your tool box

– let me know when you need a different wrench• The Jesuit Influence

Training Goals

• Relay the information to effectively advise– Majors, minors, and degree requirements

– Campus policies and procedures

• Ethics, FERPA, Working with Diverse Populations

• Get the staff to a place where they feel comfortable advising, including difficult conversations

• Give them an accurate representation of my supervisory style

Training Outline

How You Know it Works

• Questioning policies• Needing to debrief student situations• Presenting at the campus Leadership

Conference• Positive Feedback from the Office

Working with Campus Partners

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LOL HFS

So What Does Work?

Identifying campus partners that have relatable learning outcomes

What I’ve Learned

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What I’ve Learned

• It takes a year…so ask questions• My bias is always there…and it’s not a bad

thing• Quarters are not your friend• Just because they are students doesn’t mean

they can’t help• Re-evaluate boundaries• Trust the Process and take the leap

What Comes Next

• Additional hours with the libraries• Expansion to Greek Life?• Training as a Spring Quarter Course• Better define and establish peer role in pre-

professional advising• Workshops and programmatic offerings