Serving as a Peer Educator can be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable jobs on campus. Benefits of becoming a Peer Educator include:
- Receiving high quality professional development trainings
- Connecting with other students and making a difference in their academic lives
- Honing your knowledge of a subject
- Creating your own schedule
- Developing leadership skills and the ability to “think on your feet”
- Increasing your understanding of and value for working with diverse groups
- Deepening your self-awareness and communication skills
Peer educators are students who enjoy helping their peers. To serve as a Peer Educator for a course, a student must have previously taken the course or a follow up course. Often the best Peer Educators are students who did well in the class but may have struggled initially or showed growth and took advantage of support resources to be successful. Peer Tutors can be either undergraduate or graduate students, however SAGE Peer Facilitators must be undergraduate students.
Peer Educator Position Descriptions
SAGE Peer Facilitator
Peer Facilitators will lead learning communities of approximately 6 to 10 students in weekly sessions to review learning strategies and application of content from topics presented in lecture. They will use pedagogical techniques to guide the group learning experience and support the participants with structured learning exercises, study strategies and overall course support.
A Peer Facilitator will:
- Facilitate 2 learning communities each week, with each meeting lasting 1 to 1.25 hours.
- Spend approximately 30 minutes of planning time for each learning community assigned.
- Attend a mandatory weekly staff meeting.
- Complete and submit weekly feedback and attendance for each meeting.
- Communicate with ARC Peer Education staff about any student concerns, questions of boundaries, etc.
- Complete orientation and at least 3 professional development sessions throughout the semester. Peer facilitators will be paid for this time.
SAGE Lead Peer Facilitator
More experienced Peer Educators (those who have been a Peer Facilitator or Peer Tutor for at least one semester) may apply to be a SAGE Lead Peer Facilitator. In most cases, there is one Lead Peer Facilitator over all the courses within a department.
In addition to the Peer Facilitator responsibilities outlined above, a Lead Peer Facilitator will:
- Attend weekly Lead Peer Facilitator meetings with ARC Peer Education staff.
- Communicate with their assigned Peer Facilitators to determine session plans for each week.
- Serve as a point person for their Peer Facilitators to communicate any ideas, questions, or concerns with the ARC Peer Education staff.
- Observe 1 SAGE session per Peer Facilitator for their course and provide constructive feedback.
- Operate as main point of contact for Peer Facilitator concerns for their course, including:
- Clarification of course requirements,
- Questions pertaining to attendance and data management,
- Basic payroll questions, and
- Suggestions for best use of prep time.
Lead Peer Facilitators can be compensated up to 6 hours per week.
Peer Tutor
Peer Tutors will lead group tutorials of approximately 2 to 5 students in weekly sessions, providing content-specific support to the students in their group.
A Peer Tutor will:
- Lead 2 to 5 group tutorials each week, with each meeting lasting 1 hour.
- Spend approximately 30 minutes of planning time for each group assigned.
- Complete and submit weekly feedback and attendance for each meeting.
- Communicate with ARC Peer Education staff about any student concerns, questions of boundaries, etc.
- Complete orientation and at least 2 professional development sessions throughout the semester. Peer tutors will be paid for this time.
Lead Peer Tutor
More experienced Peer Educators (those who have been a Peer Facilitator or Peer Tutor for at least one semester) may apply to be a Lead Peer Tutor. The number of Lead Peer Tutors varies based on the distribution of other Peer Tutors and courses served.
In addition to the Peer Tutor responsibilities outlined above, a Lead Peer Tutor will:
- Attend a monthly Lead Peer Tutor meetings with ARC Peer Education staff.
- Communicate with their assigned Peer Tutors to answer questions or help with planning for tutorial sessions.
- Serve as a point person for their Peer Tutors to communicate any ideas, questions, or concerns with the ARC Peer Education staff.
- Assist with tutor appreciation events and initiatives.
- Complete 2 additional professional development sessions, for a total of 4, through the semester.
Peer Educator Application Process
1. Review the expectations and job responsibilities in the Peer Educator Position Descriptions above for the role you are interested in.
2. Review the list of courses for which we offer peer education services. Our recruitment needs fluctuate throughout the hiring stages so we may not be actively recruiting for all available courses.
3. Complete an ARC Application
In the ARC application, you will be able to indicate which peer education positions you would like to be considered for. You can select multiple positions.
The application will ask different questions depending on which position(s) you are applying for and whether you are returning or not.
- If you are selected as a finalist, you will receive an email from us with the link to select an interview time and to have someone submit a recommendation for you.
- If you are selected to serve as a peer educator, you will receive an offer letter through email and have additional forms to fill out.
The steps of the hiring process are different depending on whether you are a returning peer educator or new to the programs and depending on whether you have been offered work study.
Note: You must respond to all requests for information promptly to secure your employment.
You are welcome to email us (peertutoring@duke.edu or SAGELearning@duke.edu) to check on available courses and/or if you have questions about the application process.
