Peer counseling is an effective way for financial aid offices to increase productivity and enhance the quality of their services. Students turn naturally to other, more experienced, students for advice, but unless their peers are properly trained, they can provide erroneous or biased information. Training for financial aid peer counselors should…

This manual was developed to facilitate the initial training of a group of pre-retirement peer counselors and to introduce them to the basics of helping for clients facing pre-retirement issues. An introduction explains the use of the manual and urges users to complete suggested exercises when reading the manual. The next section lists learning…

Three collaborative writing faculty projects which were designed and put into effect at Santa Clara University are peer advising, composition seminars, and inter-active observation. Peer advising matched faculty members who had previously taught in the writing program on campus with instructors new to the program to serve as professional resources…

This report discusses many issues with which those who are implementing peer counseling programs will have to contend. Although it is recommended that peer counseling program implementors be aware of and know how they will deal with each of the issues prior to program implementation, the issues are presented according to their identifiable time…

Presented are two documents focusing on a peer leadership training program which pairs better students and leaders with younger high-risk students. One document briefly describes the peer leadership training program as a program in which students traveled to an environmental education center for 3 days of competitive and challenging activities,…

A questionnaire was mailed to a 20 percent stratified random sample of four-year institutions of higher learning in the 48 contiguous states. Of the respondents, 76 reported using students as paraprofessionals. A majority were favorable to using student paraprofessionals in student personnel programs. (Author)

Attitudes toward advisers and first-year academic progress were assessed for 223 freshman students at Idaho State University. Students advised by students had more positive attitudes toward their advisers and lower drop rates than those advised by faculty. No difference was observed for achieved GPA. Bases for evaluation are discussed. (Author)

This two-part learning module was designed to assist student personnel administrators in developing and implementing a training program for student peer counselors. Introductory material presents a rationale for such training programs, examining the usefulness of peer counselors in meeting the informational needs of students at minimal cost and…

The major objective of this study was to determine the needs and problems experienced by re-entered college students (those 25 years and older). Although limited to one institution, the sample was substantial in size. A questionnaire survey, mailed to all 2,958 re-entered students, was designed to determine whether or not any patterns existed in…

The success of a student-to-student counseling Program which involves counseling of students by peers is attributed to greater acceptance of peer counselors by students because they 'speak the same language' and share the same problems. Counseling is conducted informally through telephone calls, in cafeterias and in classrooms. The student…

In 1972, the Student Counseling Center at Illinois State University initiated a paraprofessional program to assist students of the university in meeting their needs. This paper discusses the role, selection process, training, and supervision of the 72 undergraduate students currently employed in the program. The general role of these…

This document reviews an attempt to provide a career awareness and guidance program specifically for female high school students. Groundwork was laid for the utilization of student aids in the guidance program. "Project Women" established and carried out the following objectives: (1) the identification of the career interests of 10th and…

To explore the possibility of utilizing paraprofessionals in the Department of Counseling at Prince George's Community College, two surveys were conducted. For the first, a questionnaire was mailed to 36 schools nationwide which were believed to be using paraprofessionals in their Student personnel programs. The 22 schools responding (61%)…

The use of peer paraprofessionals in an academic advisement setting provides an attractive method of extending student services. Students selected to be advisors develop expertise in interpersonal communication skills and,through their increased understanding of college and their peers, are able to more fully experience their own educations.…

This is a step-by-step guide to reemphasizing the human touch through paraprofessionals in orientation/registration. The steps are funding a student team, selecting a student team, training a student team, productively utilizing a student team, and evaluation. (Author)