The Student Assistantship Program (StAP) provides hands-on experiences in a professional setting for Ohio Wesleyan University students who desire to complement their liberal arts education with practical experiences. The StAP program enables students to translate what they have learned in the classroom into practical solutions in a real-world work environment here on campus. It is the intention of the StAP program to place students in positions that assist them with:
- Career preparation- gaining marketable professional skills
- Preparation for careers or graduate/professional school after graduation
- Communication skills – Working with faculty/staff in a paraprofessional role
- Translating academic concepts into practical solutions
- Providing service to the university
- Earning a meaningful letter of recommendation
All Student Assistantship positions and employers are on-campus and enrolled students are compensated through monthly student-payroll disbursements. Student Assistantship positions do not overlap, duplicate, or replace work-study jobs or academic internships; instead, they supplement these existing opportunities. The goal of the program is to create new employment opportunities on campus for students wishing to gain hands-on experience in areas of potential future professional employment.
PLEASE NOTE
- StAP positions are highly competitive and funding is limited. Each year we receive more worthy applications than can be funded.
- There are no guarantees whatsoever that positions previously funded will continue to be funded in the future.
- Finally, the StAP board reserves the right to decrease any proposal's funded hours from six to three based upon funding limitations.
STUDENT ASSISTANTSHIP POSITIONS CAN
- Create new on-campus employment opportunities for students.
- Enable offices, programs, and departments without funding for work-study positions to employ student workers for special assignments and projects.
- Enable students without work-study awards or need-based financial aid to work on campus in a specialized capacity for one or two semesters.
- Enable students to work with faculty on special projects for which academic internships are not available or appropriate.
- Offer students responsibility for completing special projects or assignments.
- Offer students opportunities to explore areas of possible employment interest.
- Prepare students for future employment by providing relevant work experience on campus before graduation.
STUDENT ASSISTANTSHIP POSITIONS CANNOT
- Overlap or replace existing work-study jobs in offices, programs, or departments.
- Replace academic internship opportunities in offices, programs, or departments.
- Be "custom-designed" for a particular student.
- Replace positions previously funded in other capacities.
- Employ a student as a "teaching assistant," or low-level personal research assistant.
- Employ a student in the same position more than once.
- Employ a student with freshman status (students with junior or senior rank are given preference).
CREATING A STAP POSITION
When designing your proposal, please keep in mind the spirit of the program. Ideal positions should provide major responsibilities, develop workplace skills, and be centered on a major project. Positions should require a greater level of responsibility and commitment than is typically required in work-study positions, and should not be ones in which the student is simply a general-purpose assistant. Please follow the format shown in this example.
In drafting your position description, please pay particular attention to the following items:
- Department: Name of hiring department, office, or program.
- Position: Specific title of the job.
- Supervisor: Name and email of person who will contract responsibilities and deadlines with student.
- Term for Employment: All positions this year will be 6 hours/week for Fall and/or Spring semesters. One semester proposals are more likely to be approved.
- Examples of Assignments/Duties: A list of the range of possible assignments, special projects, you might give in that position; the individual qualifications of the student finally appointed to a position will determine which of those possible assignments the student will be responsible for completing.
- Skills Required: A list of the specific qualifications, special skills, previous coursework, and/or experiences you seek in candidates.
- Applications: A list of the career fields and/or graduate programs related to the position.
- Prior Funding: Has this position been previously funded through StAP or another campus employment program (i.e. Legacy Intern, Work-Study, Departmental Internship, etc.)
- Unique Responsibilities: Please explain how this position will differ from other student positions offered through the university or in your department, office, or program.
Position descriptions will be made available on the website for interested students shortly after their approval. Although the availability of the position descriptions will be announced, the supervisor frequently knows the qualified students for a given position. Please advertise your position directly to qualified students and encourage them to apply. Because of the very strict timeline, proposals absolutely cannot be accepted after the deadline.
