Peer Advising Network to go live

Vassar freshmen will soon have access to a student advisor in their area of interest as the Peer Advising Network now goes online. The Peer Advising Network will allow freshmen to choose a junior or senior majoring in a certain department and rely on that peer advisor as a supplement to their faculty pre-major advisor.

The process of building this network began in the fall of 2009, when then Vassar Student Association (VSA) Vice President for Academics Stephanie Damon-Moore '11 and 2009-2010 Strong House President Laura Riker '11, who has since succeeded Damon-Moore as Vice President for Academics, considered solutions for issues students had been having with the pre-major advising system. Under the current system, students are assigned a pre-major faculty advisor who may not share their academic interest, but feel, in such instances, that it is too difficult to change advisors and therefore do not receive the guidance the advising system is meant to provide. The idea for a student-based advising system was fleshed out in discussions with the Academics Committee, President of the College Catharine Bond Hill and some of the Deans, and coordination from Damon-Moore and Riker.

According to an e-mailed statement from Damon-Moore, "We expect that this program will supplement the existing advising system by allowing first year students to contact upperclassmen involved with the academic areas that they're interested in." The nature of this system will be more flexible for freshmen exploring different areas of study, advisees can switch advisors easily or reach out to multiple advisors majoring in different departments. Student advisors will also be able to give advisees advice from the perspective of a student who has gone through the same experience.

Damon-Moore wrote, "One thing that we hope this network will provide is an opportunity for juniors and seniors to get to know freshmen outside of the Vassar party scene." Members of the junior and senior classes will apply to be peer advisors online through the Peer Advising Network's website. Once approved, they will be searchable to anyone who has access to Ask Banner. Freshmen choosing an advisor can search the database by department and view profiles that will also include information on potential advisor's experience with studying abroad, correlate sequences and varsity athletics. In addition to providing support for freshmen as they explore their options for choosing majors, the Peer Advising Network aims to be a formalized system for academic dialogue outside of classrooms and faculty offices. "We hope to foster academic conversations among students at Vassar," wrote Damon-Moore.

The program's success this year will shape its future.

In a VSA Council Meeting on Sep. 12, Council discussed adding extracurricular interests as a searchable feature as one possible change for the future. Advisors and advisees will be surveyed at the close of the year as a way to evaluate the program and find avenues for improvement.

Computing and Information Services (CIS) has created an online database framework to host the Peer Advising Network. Though CIS continues to make adjustments to the system, www.vassar.edu/peeradvising is expected to open before October Break, at which time current freshmen, with help from their student fellows, will explore the database and choose a peer advisor.