Becoming a student assistant
Access & Diversity hires student assistants throughout the year. As a student assistant, you will work directly with students with disabilities in a variety ways. Most jobs are on campus.
Wages and hours
Wages range from $9.00 to $19.00 per hour. Notetakers are paid on a term basis.
As a student assistant, you can only work the hours assigned to you by Access & Diversity. You may not work more than 10 hours per week.
Student assistant jobs are advertised on UBC CareersOnline or by directly emailing students registered in particular courses.
Job descriptions
Training for the following positions is provided upon hire. The positions that are available each academic year varies, but they may include the following:
Alternate format production assistant – level 1
At Crane Production, you will work a photocopier/scanner and an optical character recognition workstation. Your duties will include book preparation, scanning, file management, optical character recognition work, and envelope labelling.
Alternate format production assistant – level 2
You will pick up your work at Crane Production and it must be completed within seven days (including the return of print originals). Your duties will include e-text editing, sending completed files to clients, keeping track of your hours worked, and returning print originals to Crane Production.
Exam assistants
During the formal exam periods (December and April), you will deliver exam material to department offices across campus or between the Exam Centre and Access & Diversity.
Exam invigilators
You will invigilate exams for students with disabilities. Your duties will include:
- setting up and monitoring exams
- setting up adaptive and computer equipment
- conducting security checks
- keeping accurate records
Exam invigilator positions are only open to registered UBC graduate students who are not currently taking courses with exams.
Library access assistant 1
You will be matched with a student who has a disability. Your duties may include photocopying and retrieving books for students who cannot access library shelves, catalogues, periodical indices, or other research material. Work is performed at the UBC Libraries.
Library access assistant 2
You will be matched with a student who has a disability. Your duties may include assisting with literature searches and scribing library information for the students. Work is performed at the UBC Libraries.
Mobility assistant
You will be matched with a student who has a disability. Your duties will include meeting the student before or after their class and guiding them to other locations on campus. You may also assist the student at other times outside of class time to help them access the full post-secondary experience.
Notetaker
Notetakers are responsible for providing course notes to a student who has a disability. These will either be provided by emailing the notes taken on a laptop or by scanning and emailing handwritten notes within 48 hours.
Usually the notetaker is already enrolled in the class. Available jobs are usually advertised by emailing students in that particular class.
Scribe
You will assist students who have disabilities with their exams. Your duties will include writing or typing material that is being dictated by the student. Excellent typing skills (50 words per minute) and computer experience are required.
Peer tutor
You will be trained in the Strategic Content Learning tutoring model. Your duties will consist of tutoring individual students on a weekly basis.
Excellent study skills and knowledge in the subject area (i.e., you have taken the course and/or are majoring in the subject area) are required. Preference will be given to students in their third year or higher.
Contact us
If you have questions about your student assistant position, email access.assistants@ubc.ca.
