Student advisers act as hosts
"I’ll just go out in the kitchen and stir in the gravy." A sentence like this doesn’t usually have much to do with starting at Aarhus University, but it does now. As part of an initiative across all four faculties, student advisers from ST have been to a Student Advisers Summit, at which they were helped to think and act as hosts.
175 student advisers from ST's ten student adviser associations gathered on May 15 in Aud E for the Student Advisers Summit. The invitation came from Vice-dean for Education Finn Borchsenius, Student Counselling and Study Information (VEST) from ST Studies Administration, and the consultancy firm Public Funk, who work with voluntary management and develop sustainable communities.
At the summit, ST’s student advisers were introduced to the 'Host Leadership’ theory, which is based on the idea that volunteers should think and act as hosts, for example of a large dinner party. More specifically, this means that, like a host, you regularly take on a number of different roles, depending on the activity, atmosphere and guests’ needs. Moreover, a host takes on different positions, depending on whether there is a need for overview, initiation, or something else.
During a long evening with noisy dinner guests, a host may well feel a need to "just go out in the kitchen and stir in the gravy," i.e. take a short time-out from everything, in the same way as a student adviser may need to take a break in the middle of a hectic intro-week.
The start is crucial
The background for the Student Advisers Summits at AU is that the start of studies is crucial for student well-being, motivation, and retention. This has been confirmed in several studies and reports, including a recent study from the Danish Evaluation Institute. Moreover, development work with student advisers and the start of studies is in line with ST's retention strategy.
In this article, Pro-rector Berit Eika explains that the start of studies has special focus at Aarhus University. "But it's not just a question of limiting drop-out rates. We also have a responsibility for the young people studying here. They should feel secure and included from the start, and forging good relationships is vital. Student advisers are responsible for this task, and the university must therefore make sure that they have a solid outset," says Berit Eika.
Because of this crucial role, the already committed and competent student advisers have to be fully prepared to welcome the new students and manage the challenges and problems that can, and will, arise.
Good evaluations
Taking outset in the theory of ‘Host Leadership’, the student advisers at the summit worked with a number of cases, including "A student contacts you to say she’s been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. How do you relate to her as a host?" and "A student behaves very violently verbally, and you’re insecure with this behaviour. You sense that several other new students take exception – what do you do as hosts?" The aim was to reflect on the different roles and positions student advisers can take when they are together with other student advisers, and when they are with new students.
The student advisers at the summit also debated the top-ten most important skills for student advisers, shared experiences from their own start of studies, and talked about why they volunteered to be a student adviser.
There are strong indications that ST's student advisers are positive about the summit. There is broad consensus in the evaluations that the debate on the student adviser role, the theory of 'Host Leadership', and the casework were relevant and useful. 71% of the ST student advisers would like to have a similar summit next year, and 83% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the outcome.