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SUPPORTING ADAPTIVE GROWTH

Learner Experience Advocacy Program

Currently Accepting Applications!.

In the Learner Experience Advocacy Program, undergraduate students learn about course feedback strategies and partner with participating instructors to observe and share feedback on course design and delivery. The goals of the program are to meaningfully improve the learner experience at UAF, build community among instructor and student leaders, and provide professional development to students and instructors alike.

In this semester-long program, students are trained in course design and feedback strategies, then partnered with participating instructors to observe and share feedback on their online courses. 

Student Advocates are embedded (not enrolled) in the courses they review and they focus their feedback on established course design areas. The program facilitates regular meetings between student advocates and instructors. 

View a sample LEAP semester schedule.

 

Student Advocates

Student Advocates can expect to spend 3-4 hours per week on the program after an intensive week of training. Advocates receive a $1500 scholarship upon completion of the program. Returning students receive a $2000 scholarship.

  • Students observe and provide feedback to two online courses. 
  • All participating courses are based online; students are not expected to attend synchronous class sessions.
  • Students complete feedback packets before each conference to guide observations and discussion.
  • Students and faculty meet every other week in 30-minute conferences via Zoom
  • Most courses have two Student Advocates; both students, a program facilitator, and instructor will attend conferences.

Instructor Partners

Participating instructors get targeted, high-quality feedback on their course design and teaching, while building community with colleagues and students alike. The time commitment is about 10 hours of meetings spread out over the course of the semester. Faculty receive a $1000 stipend for completing a revision sprint based on feedback at the end of the semester.

  • Most courses have two Student Advocates to observe the course and provide feedback.
  • Faculty will receive a feedback packet from their Student Advocates before each meeting, which guides student observations for the week and is a jumping-off point for discussion.
  • Students and faculty meet every other week in 30-minute conferences via Zoom.
  • Most courses have two Student Advocates; both students, a program facilitator, and instructor will attend conferences.
  • Faculty receive a Final Feedback Packet from their student partners, which faculty  may elect to add to their tenure and promotion file. Alternatively, faculty may request certificates and/or letters of support from program facilitators. Course feedback is a private conversation between instructors, their student advocates, and program facilitators who review student work and attend biweekly conferences. No course feedback will be shared outside these relationships unless it is shared by the faculty member themselves.
    infographic describing the LEAP program in 10 steps