Want to Be an Academic Assistant at Alverno?
What is an Academic Assistant?
Academic Assistants are tutors, but “tutor” doesn’t fully describe their work. Academic Assistants here at Alverno are experienced students who share strategies and course content knowledge with other students.
Academic Assistants tutor, coach, and encourage other students as they work to succeed in their classes. Academic Assistants may help other students by
- Explaining tricky concepts or processes
- Providing help to practice or study class content
- Sharing (or helping to find and choose) quality resources
- Coaching how to approach faculty with questions or to interpret feedback as a student
Basically, Academic Assistants are not teachers. Instead, they are experienced students who know how to use resources and have the academic and problem-solving skills to deal with obstacles and succeed in course work.
What does being an Academic Assistant look like?
As an academic assistant, you have the opportunity to choose from three models of tutoring.
- Study Group Monitor
A Study Group Monitor works closely with a course instructor and reinforces the current curriculum in that particular class.
The Study Group Monitor and the course instructor determine how the class’s study group will operate that semester. A course study group may operate in one or more of these ways:
- Study Group takes place 1 hour before class, to review or practice something from the previous class
- Study Group takes place during class, with the Study Group Monitor and the course instructor both working with groups of students as they try to complete an activity
- Study Group takes place after the class, perhaps to complete an exercise or practice questions that the course instructor has provided
Course instructors and Academic Assistants work out whether study group sessions will meet face-to-face OR online at an agreed upon time, communicating regularly so the Study Group Monitor can ask questions and get guidance/materials.
2. Center Assistant (Drop-In Face-to-Face Tutoring)
Center Assistants have been successful in specific classes and general academic skills: they’re strong learners who are comfortable helping others “learn how to learn.” They work most closely with the team in Instructional Services, rather than with specific course faculty, because Center Assistants are ready to coach multiple courses and course assignments.
Center Assistants work in one or more of these Alverno Academic Centers to assist other students in their learning:
- The Daniel M. Soref Center (Soref Center) in FO 233 Students seeking to work in the Soref Center must have successfully completed the course they would like to assist. For more information on examples of courses the Soref Center supports, click here
- The Communications Resource Center in RC 109D Students seeking to work in the CRC must have completed at least CM205
- The Academic Nursing Resource Center (ANRC) in FO 415 Students seeking to work in the ANRC must be nominated by a Nursing faculty member. If you are currently a Nursing student, speak with your instructor about becoming an Academic Assistant.
- The Clinical Learning Center (CLC) in AX 108 is staffed by nominated students who have completed specific courses within the BA Nursing program or the DEMSN Program.
Center Assistants create a weekly schedule with the Academic Support Services Coordinator and staff their center during those hours, helping those who drop in or make appointments for help, either in person or online.
3. Peer Tutoring
Most Peer Tutors are nominated by faculty based on the student’s abilities in a specific class -- especially in classes where other students tend to struggle. For example, if you were very successful as a learner in your SC 119 class, your instructor might nominate you to assist other SC 199 students in future semesters.
Once you’re hired, you’ll be matched with one or more students who need your guidance to review, practice, or study for that class. Peer tutoring arrangements are made after a student requests assistance through the Peer Tutoring Request Form. Peer Tutoring arrangements can be made for any subject area, but also for Conversation Partnering (helping multilingual students get comfortable conversing in English) and Academic Management (learning to break assignments into pieces, to create a stay on a schedule, etc.).
For more information about potential roles as an Academic Assistant please click here.
Would you like more information or have a question? Click here for the Academic Assistant FAQ.
Interested? Please complete this form to let us know.
Academic Assistant Interest Form
Ready to apply?
The application to become an Academic Assistant is located on Handshake. Login to Handshake and search for “Alverno Academic Assistant.”
Do I have to order transcripts to apply through Handshake?
No, you don't have to order transcripts. To access your Unofficial Transcripts from Alverno follow these steps.
- Navigate to Self-Service.
- Under the Academics tab, click Transcripts.
This will give you access to your transcripts of courses that you have completed or transferred into Alverno.
