Senior Preceptor Duties

Job Description: PLUS Senior Preceptor at the Sanger Learning Center

What is a Senior Preceptor?

A senior preceptor functions as the leader of a group of preceptors (currently-enrolled students who facilitate study groups for a particular course). The senior preceptor serves as a coach and mentor to his or her preceptors, helping them build their skills as group facilitators. The senior preceptor also serves as the primary liaison between the preceptors, the professor, and PLUS staff.

Why would I want to be a Senior Preceptor?

$572-700 stipend for the semester. This represents an average of 4-4.5 hours per week at $11/hour, but the exact amount depends on the size of your preceptor cohort.
You will experience personal and/or professional growth that will be guided in part by goals that you and your cohort set. Leta and the PLUS staff provide resources and opportunities; you provide the attitude.

You will function as a crucial community-builder and leader, and have an opportunity to form relationships among students and faculty within the PLUS network.

Am I eligible to be a Senior Preceptor?

Undergraduate student taking courses at UT in current semester.
Have taken the course for which you are a senior preceptor (in most cases).
Available for pre-semester training, approximately 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (this date changes by semester)
Available for preceptor selection during evening hours approximately 4 to 9 p.m. (this date changes by semester)
Have access to original documents that establish your eligibility to work (see list on page 5 http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf).

What exactly would I do as a Senior Preceptor?

Serve as a leader by facilitating the weekly planning meeting with preceptors and faculty member (time to be determined by you and professor, based on schedules).

Serve as a liaison and administrator, including advertising study groups and maintaining PLUS social media presence as assigned.

Promote quality study groups by creating agendas (including activities), with assistance from the faculty member and input from the preceptors. This may vary depending on the course.

Develop leadership in others by:
- Co-facilitating the first study groups with your preceptors to the best you are able given time constraints.
- Coaching preceptors to take over agenda-making role as semester progresses (if applicable).
- Observing study groups for your own and other courses during two time periods of the semester, and providing preceptors with coaching and feedback.
- Assisting in training of new preceptors.
- Scheduling additional training for preceptors, led by self or program staff depending on training topic.

Contribute to future program quality by updating wiki or submitting copies of agendas and by brainstorming creative solutions and improvements.

Improve own skills by participating in bi-weekly meetings (with PLUS staff and other senior preceptors), meeting with your SP buddy at least twice during the semester, and being open to change. The skills you must have, and will develop further, are organization, diplomacy, professionalism, promptness, responsibility and creativity.

Maintain excellent and timely communication within PLUS by asking questions, responding to emails, and updating collaborative scheduling documents.

Should one of your preceptors decide to leave the PLUS program, please let Leta and the attendance guru (Allison Cahanin) know; we will update files and restrict attendance access appropriately. If you need another preceptor to support the study groups, consult the original application list (if early in the semester) or attendance sheet for regular attendees to make a selection. Please let Leta know who you would like to make an offer to and she will send an invitation. Training for latecomers will be primarily left to the SP to coordinate and consist of study group practice, but should include familiarity with the PLUS wiki (for resources on how to start a study session, what to do when locked out of a room), attendance, and if possible, training videos identifying windows of opportunity to do something different to maintain the integrity of the study group.