THE NEWS IN BRIEF: CUE Discusses Peer Advising

Members of the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) considered ways to make peer advising more accessible and effective at their meeting yesterday.

The peer advising website currently lists 45 upperclass advisers representing 18 concentrations, but few of these undergraduates have been contacted by students seeking advice, said Student Affairs Committee Vice Chair Teddy E. Chestnut ’06.

“Juniors and seniors can really help freshmen navigate the system. We need to have a peer advising program that really reaches out to freshmen,” Chestnut said.

Because Harvard does not have undergraduate residential advisers, there is a gap in Harvard’s peer advising system, Chestnut continued.

CUE members agreed that Harvard’s program needs to be more selective when hiring advisers, with an application process coordinated by concentrations, the Freshman Dean’s Office or the Bureau of Study Council.

Non-undergraduate freshmen advisors currently receive a full day of training, and peer advisers would need to go through a similar process. Chesnut recommended Dartmouth’s program—where peer advisers meet in a large group and by departments to discuss advising methods—as a model.

To ensure that peer advisers stay in touch with their students, advisers could be paired with particular proctors or non-residential advisers.

Incentives such as paying students, creating a student board to oversee the program or requiring peer advisers to reapply every year could also encourage more students to act as peer advisers, CUE members said.

“It gets kids invested in the program, and it gets kids invested in finding other good kids to serve in the program,” Chestnut said, referring to the idea of a student board.

The SAC’s suggestions will be considered by another Faculty of Arts and Sciences committee on advising, which will provide recommendations about advising during the next semester.

The CUE also saw a demonstration of the features of the my.harvard website and reviewed the online CUE evaluation software, which will debut on Dec. 8.