What is Peer Support Network?
The purpose of Peer Support Network is
To allow the student to better utilize the services that are
received from Access Services. To promote solidarity among the people who utilize Access
Services and form an inclusive community within Access Services.
Mission Statement
Peer Support Network is an organization that promotes and encourages diversity, spreads open-mindedness and caters to students of all abilities. Our services are provided to help every student be successful inside and outside the classroom. We want students to feel welcome in our collegiate community and to have a rewarding experience at Eastern Michigan University. We have a desire for positive connections to be made and resources to be used in a comfortable, secure setting. Our goal is for every student’s needs to be met on and off campus.
What does Peer Support Network offer?
With these goals in mind, several services under this program are offered to Access Services clients as well as to the general EMU student population, including:
Access Services Ambassadors - Ambassadors give students “resource tours” of campus, which are specifically designed to show students offices and centers that offer important academic or disability assistance. Students may also request stops on the tour, such as their classrooms or professor’s office. An appointment is necessary for the tour.
Friendship Program - This program matches clients with peers with the hope that a friendship will be established. Access Services arranges outings for buddies to attend. Outings and other information on this program will be announced on Access Services’ web caucus.
Peer Support Group - This student organization is an informal gathering that will meet in King Hall’s Multicultural Lounge. Its purpose is to bring students together in a supportive environment so that topics that are important to students can be openly discussed.
More information regarding the group, including meeting dates and times, will be announced on Access Services’ web caucus.
Communications - Access Services has developed a web caucus for client use. It is accessible through the Access Services website or through www.caucus.emich.edu. Instructions on web caucus use are included. A new Access Services newsletter, the Alliance, will also be posted on the web caucus.
To learn more about the services or to schedule appointments, please call Access Services at 734.487.2470 and ask for Sharon Krick or Karen Stanley. You may also email your questions or comments to Sharon (skrick@emich.edu) or Karen (kstanley2@emich.edu).
Instructions for Web Caucus Use
- Click on the caucus link (www.caucus.emich.edu) to get to the
caucus log in page - Enter in your my.emich name (you do not need to include
@emich.edu), your my.emich password, and click “log in”
- You will be taken to Caucus Central. Click on the link
called “a list of all conferences” in #3 and allow time for the list to load
- The list of conferences is in alphabetical order. Find the
link called “Access Services” and click on it.
- You will be taken to a page that asks if you would like to join
the conference and gives you three options. Click on the first option to the far left, which says that you would like to be a member of the conference and you would like to add it to your personal conference list.
- You are now a member of the Access Services conference and the
homepage should be on your computer screen. You are free to participate by clicking on the links and adding your messages. If you need help learning how to use the caucus, click on help button at the top right of your screen. The caucus help box will pop up and you may select the third option, the caucus tutorial, to guide you through the basics of caucus use.
- From now on, you can access the Access Services caucus easily
through the link on the Access Services web page or www.caucus.emich.edu. You simply log in to the caucus system and click on the Access Services link under your personal conference list.