Principles of an STA+ Program

STA+ programs are different at each college or university where they have been established. However, the core principles on which the STA+ program developed by the TLT Group include

• Student assistants are empowered to support their own technology needs, those of their peers, and their college or university.

• Student assistants exercise responsibility commensurate with their demonstrated expertise.

• Student assistants are paid commensurate with their performance.

• STA+ programs build a suite of work opportunities (a structured sequence of roles) featuring progressively more responsibility and skills for students on their way toward completing their academic degrees.

• STA+ programs are student-centered and student run, with guidance from a college or university staff professional, faculty member, or administrative coordinator. The intention is to give students a structured experience providing technology support, consulting, and teaching under the direction of professional staff.

• Student assistants relate to faculty as colleagues working together on instructional development and technology support. Students ordinarily have too few opportunities to experience the role of “teacher” with their peers, and fewer with their professors. The STA+ experience is often profoundly motivating and valuable to students who can try new roles. Students need guidance and support as they learn how to express and convey their growing knowledge of technology to others, and as they gain self-confidence.

• Faculty-student projects are structured around work with scholarly value, which should merit academic credit. The work that student assistants do for faculty members is justified in part by the faculty member’s commitment to defining a project in return for faculty teaching the student the reason why this work is meaningful or important to the discipline, course, or research.

• Student assistants are a part of a team. Even when STA+ programs evolve into highly structured task specific units, student assistants are fundamentally there to help students and faculty use technology more efficiently and effectively for teaching and learning.