University College Program Leader (Student)

American University•Washington, DC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The University College (UC) Program Leader (PL) is an undergraduate part-time student staff member of University College. The UC PL fulfills a vital role, mentoring new AU students by helping them to integrate learning experiences gained from both inside and outside of the Complex Problems (CP) seminar. The UC PL reports jointly to their UC Senior Program Leader (SPL) and UC Program Staff. The UC PL builds community within the CP seminar and larger UC Community, by providing academic and social guidance, and serving as a liaison between faculty and students. UC is comprised of 7 cohorts, a smaller UC family, that has 3 -5 Complex Problems seminars that share a similar theme. Each cohort has around 57 - 95 students. PLs work collaboratively with their UC SPL within their cohort to address student needs and provide co-curricular opportunities. UC PLs support the students in their seminar and larger UC cohort. This work will be accomplished through weekly UC PL meetings that the UC SPL will facilitate and monthly cohort meetings that UC staff will facilitate. Emphasis is placed on the UC PL as a responsible leader and colleague, representing University College as part of the whole campus community. The Living-Learning Community (LLC) Best Practices Model, an empirically based model for modern LLC programs, guides much of the work that is accomplished in the UC program. UC PLs are expected to adhere to the following core elements of the model to build and sustain the UC program: Infrastructure, Academic Environment, Co-Curricular Environment, and Assessment.

Requirements

Must be an enrolled American University student.
Must be in full-time status (minimum: 12 credits, maximum: 17.5 credits).
Must have achieved 30 credits at AU (and be in sophomore class standing).
Must have successfully completed CORE 105, CORE 106, or CORE 107.
Must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75.
Must maintain good judicial standing with AU.
Must attend and fully participate in required staff training prior to the beginning of the Fall semester.
Must attend other trainings and developmental activities as scheduled throughout the semester.
Must participate in spring orientation before summer break.
Must meet with or communicate with their CP seminar’s faculty member prior to the end of the Spring 26 Semester.
Must write a welcome email to students enrolled in their CP seminar prior to the first week of classes and send to [email protected] by June 1st.
Must participate in UC PL training (August 19 - 21, 2025).
Must participate in the UC Kickoff Experience in the week of August 23 - 25, 2026.
Must attend and be on time for all Complex Problems seminar meetings; prepare for seminar appropriately.
Must participate in on-going training throughout the fall semester (in-services).
Must attend weekly team meetings with Senior UC PL.
Must attend planning/one-on-one meetings with assigned faculty member.
Must utilize AU email account and check email/Slack daily for correspondence regarding PL role.
Must communicate regularly, maintaining positive relationships with faculty, Senior UC PLs, and UC Staff.
Must be available to their students and inform students on when they are available for meetings at the beginning of each semester.
Must provide information in a timely manner for the UC newsletter.
Must support and develop positive relationships with faculty/staff through on-going communication.
Must support and develop positive relationships with Housing & Residence Life staff members.
Must participate in the planning and execution of student recruitment events, and other necessary orientation and recruitment events throughout the academic year.
Must serve as a liaison between students, faculty, and UC staff.
Must create an academically supportive climate for students by encouraging study groups and creating space for class questions, concerns, etc.
Must respect any policies and procedures outlined by the faculty member for the CP seminar and assist with facilitating class discussion when applicable.
Must create opportunities for students to think critically about the concepts and themes learned in their CP seminar, helping students process classroom materials as needed.
Must advise and/or refer students concerning academic matters, applying knowledge of university resources when appropriate.
Must promote acceptance and consideration in the attitudes and behaviors of students in the class.
Must facilitate the development of a positive community for their cohort based on the mission/vision statements and learning outcomes, while also helping to integrate the cohort with the larger community in the residence hall.
Must assist faculty with opportunities to interact casually with students through office hours, co-curriculars, etc.
Must adhere to UC co-curricular expectations and requirements (four co-curriculars).
Must participate in the planning and execution of UC-Wide events.
Must attend the Kickoff event in August and the End of Semester event in December.
Must engage each of their seminar students in a 1:1 discussion the first 6 weeks of the semester, noting any of their goals, apprehensions, questions, etc.
Must advise and/or refer students concerning personal and/or social matters, applying knowledge of university resources when appropriate.
Must engage in the development of the UC assessment plan which includes but is not limited to surveys and focus groups.
Must encourage student participation in UC’s assessment plan.
Must assist the UC staff in reviewing information gathered from surveys and focus groups, providing recommendations for improvement to the UC program.
Must hold themselves accountable to university policies, regulations, and procedures.
Must be mindful of appropriate boundaries of the UC PL-student relationship.
Must report concerns and violations of published University policies, regulations, and procedures in an accurate and timely manner to UC Staff.
Must abide by FERPA and American University professional and ethical standards of conduct, maintain confidentiality, and not release private information regarding staff and/ or students.
Must prioritize their own academic work and progress.
Must notify their supervisor of any changes to their student status that occur throughout the semester.
Must be mindful of time management related to outside commitments.
Must inform the UC staff of other positions held on campus.
Must record and submit hours worked on their timesheet during each pay period before the assigned deadline.
Must understand their own financial aid package, and the impact of the UC PL position upon that package.
Must be prepared to arrange their schedule to prioritize the UC PL role, maintaining job performance as well as their own academic progress.

Nice To Haves

Most student positions at American University are eligible to use Federal Work Study (FWS) awards.
UC PLs are encouraged to show enthusiasm for learning and to take advantage of the opportunity to be part of a Complex Problems class.
UC PLs are encouraged to contact their financial aid counselor when considering the position.

Responsibilities

Mentoring new AU students by helping them to integrate learning experiences gained from both inside and outside of the Complex Problems (CP) seminar.
Building community within the CP seminar and larger UC Community, by providing academic and social guidance, and serving as a liaison between faculty and students.
Supporting students in their seminar and larger UC cohort.
Adhering to the core elements of the LLC Best Practices Model: Infrastructure, Academic Environment, Co-Curricular Environment, and Assessment.
Attending and participating in required staff training prior to the beginning of the Fall semester.
Attending other trainings and developmental activities as scheduled throughout the semester.
Participating in spring orientation before summer break.
Meeting with or communicating with their CP seminar’s faculty member prior to the end of the Spring 26 Semester.
Writing a welcome email to students enrolled in their CP seminar prior to the first week of classes.
Participating in summer cohort meetups and cohort meetings.
Participating in UC PL training.
Participating in the UC Kickoff Experience.
Attending and being on time for all Complex Problems seminar meetings; prepare for seminar appropriately.
Participating in on-going training throughout the fall semester (in-services).
Attending weekly team meetings with Senior UC PL.
Attending planning/one-on-one meetings with assigned faculty member.
Utilizing AU email account and checking email/Slack daily for correspondence regarding PL role.
Communicating regularly, maintaining positive relationships with faculty, Senior UC PLs, and UC Staff.
Being available to their students and informing students on when they are available for meetings at the beginning of each semester.
Providing information in a timely manner for the UC newsletter.
Supporting and developing positive relationships with faculty/staff through on-going communication.
Supporting and developing positive relationships with Housing & Residence Life staff members.
Participating in the planning and execution of student recruitment events, and other necessary orientation and recruitment events throughout the academic year.
Serving as a liaison between students, faculty, and UC staff.
Creating an academically supportive climate for students by encouraging study groups and creating space for class questions, concerns, etc.
Respecting any policies and procedures outlined by the faculty member for the CP seminar and assisting with facilitating class discussion when applicable.
Creating opportunities for students to think critically about the concepts and themes learned in their CP seminar, helping students process classroom materials as needed.
Advising and/or referring students concerning academic matters, applying knowledge of university resources when appropriate.
Promoting acceptance and consideration in the attitudes and behaviors of students in the class.
Facilitating the development of a positive community for their cohort based on the mission/vision statements and learning outcomes, while also helping to integrate the cohort with the larger community in the residence hall.
Assisting faculty with opportunities to interact casually with students through office hours, co-curriculars, etc.
Adhering to UC co-curricular expectations and requirements (four co-curriculars).
Participating in the planning and execution of UC-Wide events.
Attending the Kickoff event in August and the End of Semester event in December.
Engaging each of their seminar students in a 1:1 discussion the first 6 weeks of the semester, noting any of their goals, apprehensions, questions, etc.
Advising and/or referring students concerning personal and/or social matters, applying knowledge of university resources when appropriate.
Engaging in the development of the UC assessment plan which includes but is not limited to surveys and focus groups.
Encouraging student participation in UC’s assessment plan.
Assisting the UC staff in reviewing information gathered from surveys and focus groups, providing recommendations for improvement to the UC program.
Holding themselves accountable to university policies, regulations, and procedures.
Being mindful of appropriate boundaries of the UC PL-student relationship.
Reporting concerns and violations of published University policies, regulations, and procedures in an accurate and timely manner to UC Staff.
Abiding by FERPA and American University professional and ethical standards of conduct, maintaining confidentiality, and not releasing private information regarding staff and/ or students.
Performing other related duties as assigned.