University 101 Peer Leader Position Description

University 101 Peer Leaders serve as role models and mentors to first-year students while helping to teach the University 101 course with a faculty or staff member. University 101 (UNIV 101): Student in the University is designed to help first-year South Carolina students adjust to the university, develop a better understanding of the learning process, and acquire essential academic success skills. The course provides a general orientation to the functions and resources of the university and also provides a support group for students transitioning to college by examining problems common to the first-year experience. Attaining an appropriate balance between personal freedom and social responsibility underlies all UNIV 101 activities.

A University 101 Peer Leader is:

• An active and involved member of the Carolina community
• Confident in their ability to lead others
• Dedicated to helping others succeed
• Appropriately assertive
• Able to think on their feet
• Able to speak in front of a classroom of peers
• Comfortable leading difficult conversations
• Prideful in the University of South Carolina
• A model of the Carolinian Creed

Mentor/ Role Model
Peer leaders model appropriate behavior both inside and outside the classroom and help new students' transition to the university. Peer leaders fulfill these roles by:

• Being approachable and available to students
• Upholding the tenets of the Carolinian Creed
• Modeling an appropriate balance between academics and involvement
• Helping students engage in healthy and responsible decision making
• Creating and maintaining an appropriate professional relationship with students
• Demonstrating empathy toward students' needs and problems
• Setting an example of what a successful student looks like (having a positive attitude, regularly attending class, actively participating in class activities and discussion)

Resource
Peer leaders serve as a resource to their instructor, students, and peers by:

• Connecting students to resources on campus
• Providing the peer perspective on what it means to be a Carolinian
• Promoting the relationship between students and instructor (provide feedback/input on assignments and lessons/ be the eyes and ears for the instructor on what's going on with your students)
• Supporting other peer leaders through their experience (sharing ideas, working through problems, actively participating in EDLP)

Facilitator for learning
Peer leaders supplement and enhance the instruction of the course by:

• Contributing to the design of the course syllabus by providing suggestions for topics, presentations, sequencing and course assignments
• Building community within the classroom
• Facilitating class discussions (topics: healthy decision making (alcohol & drugs), Carolina history and traditions)
• Encouraging reflection and growth (journals)
• Leading meaningful and engaging class activities (implementing active learning strategies, scheduling presentations/ guest speakers, planning out of class activities/ trips)

Requirements
All University 101 Peer Leaders must:

• Attend all University 101 classes
• Be open and accessible to regular meetings and communication with their co-instructor beginning the spring prior to service and extending throughout the semester of service
• Complete a one-day training workshop prior to service in the fall
• Attend one Syllabus Preparation & Team-Building Workshop with their co-instructor
• Attend the First-Year Reading Experience and co-facilitate an intellectual conversation highlighting the key themes of the required summer reading with their UNIV 101 class
• Enroll in a three-credit Educational Leadership and Policies course, EDLP 520: The Teacher as Manager, the fall during which they serve EDLP 520 is a unique class designed to provide a forum for the evaluation, reflection and processing of the University 101 Peer Leader experience. Discussion will revolve around such topics as teaching techniques, classroom management strategies, student development theories, lesson plan development, and other related issues. It might be useful to consider the approximately 40 contact hours in the University 101 class as a lab or practicum, with the meetings of EDLP 520 as a discussion/seminar class.