SOAR Peer Advisor

Cross-College Advising Service (CCAS) is:

CCAS is a university-wide academic advising service and is the assigned advising unit for undecided/exploring students who seek guidance about their major plan. The office serves primarily first-year and second-year students, along with exploring transfer students.

Students from any school/college or academic path will be considered. No preference will be given to students who have or currently advise with CCAS.

CCAS Peer Advisors:

Work collaboratively with CCAS professional advisors, as well as individually, to meet with incoming students about their academic options and to help them to select and enroll in courses. In addition, Peer Advisors provide valuable campus information and model successful student behavior. Peer Advisors gain skills in problem solving and communication, are committed to helping exploring students, and possess a willingness to learn. No prior experiences necessary; training on both academic content and advising skills will be provided.

Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice:

At CCAS, we respect, value, and celebrate the diversity of all UW-Madison students. We strive to make every student feel welcome, safe, and included. By committing ourselves to supporting and advocating for students of all identities, we hope to help foster a healthy campus environment where students can explore academic interests, make decisions about majors and careers, and reach their full potential.

We invite, welcome, and encourage applicants from across all genders, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, abilities, cities/states/countries of origin, and academic interests to apply.

Position duties:

• Collaborate with professional advisors to facilitate small group discussions
• Have 1:1 discussions with incoming students about their fall schedules in-person and virtually Use counseling techniques to guide conversations
• Share campus resources to facilitate student exploration of academic options on campus, such as Guide, FIGS, etc. Assist students in selecting fall courses
• Teach students how to use enrollment tools
• Think critically about how students’ intersectional social identities impact their experiences at UW-Madison Contribute to day-to-day logistics of SOAR
• Participate in initial and on-going training throughout the summer
• Bring energy, enthusiasm, and excitement consistently over the course of the summer
• Think critically about how students’ intersectional social identities impact their experiences at UW-Madison 
• Contribute to day-to-day logistics of SOAR (e.g. respond to student SOAR emails)
• Participate in initial training, ongoing skill development, and regular check-ins throughout SOAR 
• Bring energy, enthusiasm, and excitement consistently over the course of the summer 

Minimum qualifications:

• Current degree-seeking undergraduate students 
• At least one semester in progress at time of application 
• Continuing student status for the Fall 2023 semester 

Students eligible for hire will demonstrate an interest in developing:

• Commitment to creating an advising environment that supports underrepresented students
• Commitment to ongoing personal development around social identities and social justice 
• Strong interpersonal communication and listening skills 
• Leadership and facilitation in small groups 
• Management of multiple and competing priorities 
• Willingness to learn, ask questions, and seek information 
• Ability to self-reflect and grow from feedback