Spring 2010 Peer Counseling

Canada College has made serious budget cuts and consequently let a most all of our counselors go. (we only have three left) If we do not step up and help, our fellow students will be at an unnecessary disadvantage as they struggle through an unfamiliar registration system and plan for their future..

Foreseeing this problem, Isaiah Roggow (co-president) and Paul Roscelli (head advisor) spoke with the VP of Student Services, Peter Barbatis, early in the fall semester and again in the last week school. Peter is doing some very creative things to help new students get into the classes that they need with the least hassle as possible!

That's where Phi Theta Kappa comes in. We are helping by attending scheduled New Student Counseling & Registration Sessions. We guide new students in navigating our web-based registration program, Websmart, for the first time. There are usually 15-20 students per session and the peer counselors float around assisting as needed. There is one facilitator of the session, a counselor, that would be in charge.

The tasks include but not be limited to-helping with username/password issues, searching for classes, and registering for them. The greatest issue will be escalated demand and reduced supply of available and open classes. Most if not all classes in the convenient times are already full so much that students can't even waitlist for it. That translates to students being frustrated with having no options, having to take classes at CSM, or taking a class at an inconvenient time. Part of peer counselor’s job is to soothe people’s frustrations with so little available options.

We will have three peer counselors per session. The benefits for are many: helping your fellow future classmates, being a face for PTK and serve as its representative, and the privilege to say on university and scholarship applications that you participated in this event. The efforts put forth by our peer counselors may be the difference between someone getting a class or giving up on college.