Pre-College Staff FAQ

Housed within Programs for Talented Youth (PTY), a unit within Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Pre-College hosts around 900 academically advanced middle and high school students through residential summer programs. Vanderbilt Pre-College students join us from around the world to immerse themselves in academically accelerated coursework and a full pre-college residential experience.

Vanderbilt Pre-College hires over 100 seasonal staff members to work in various capacities including both residential and non-residential positions. Vanderbilt Pre-College has many different teams that appeal to different interests, such as academic, operations, activities, and student support.

You do not need to be a Vanderbilt student to apply for Vanderbilt Pre-College positions.

Yes, you can bring a vehicle. Vanderbilt Pre-College purchases parking decals for summer staff. The decal can be used to park on Peabody Campus, which is close to the residential halls, while Vanderbilt Pre-College is in session.

Staff Training is paid and meals are provided during training sessions. The overall goal of staff training is that staff are able to build community and connection with each other while also learning essential information to successfully complete their role with confidence. Staff Training is generally about a week. The training sessions cover a variety of topics to ensure that staff feel prepared and understand their role.

The following list of topics provides a sample of some of the trainings:

Active Supervision

Philosophy and mission of Vanderbilt’s Programs for Talented Youth

Staff roles, expectations, and responsibilities

A typical day at Vanderbilt Pre-College

Health, safety security and confidentiality

Responding to emergencies; Emergency call process

Protection of Minors

Supplies and resources

Vanderbilt University policies and procedures

Working with academically advanced students

Role-specific training

Team Building

Diversity and Inclusion Training

Professionalism with staff, students and parents

The social-emotional needs of students

Student activities

Student supervision

Student expectations and discipline

Vanderbilt Pre-College staff can wear casual and comfortable clothes during both training and during the program. Staff should keep in mind that many roles include walking. Additionally, some staff, based on job responsibilities, many be involved in event set up and/or participation/supervision in recreational activities. We ask staff to refrain from wearing clothing with logos that are offensive or advertise adult beverages or illegal drugs as positions work with minors and parents of minors. On specific days, staff will be asked to wear Pre-College provided shirts.

Meals are provided during staff training and Vanderbilt Pre-College sessions. For residential staff, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided. For non-residential staff, one meal is typically provided per scheduled shift. A detailed meal schedule is provided to staff before the start of the summer.

Vanderbilt Pre-College works with Vanderbilt Dining to accommodate dietary restrictions for students and staff. Most meals during the summer are in The Commons Dining Hall.

Each afternoon, there is a required staff meeting divided into two parts. In the first section, the Pre-College Leadership Team share and then walk through a pdf document outlining important announcements and logistics for the evening ahead. This information often includes program reminders, student rosters, and schedule adjustments. Staff then meet in groups with their supervisors to contextualize the presented information for their teams.

Typical hours worked differ by position. If you are interested in learning more about typical hours for a certain position, please email vsa.pty@vanderbilt.edu.

Daily shifts are included in each role’s job description on the job description page.

Please note: Residential staff are required to stay on their residential hall from students’ lights out time until breakfast. During this time, residential staff are asked to answer their door in the rare event a Pre-College student has an emergency and needs them. Pre-College students are provided other information about reaching out to leadership in the event of an emergency to avoid residential staff on the hall being interrupted unless absolutely necessary. In the event a staff member is off the clock but is asked to support a student, the staff member will compensated for their additional time.

Staff who work are assigned a shift of over 6 hours receive a 30-minute, uninterrupted break.

Vanderbilt student workers are not able to have other hourly on-campus employment while working at Vanderbilt Pre-College. Vanderbilt student workers and VTS (non-Vanderbilt) employees can have outside of VU employment or take classes during the summer.

Yes. If you are interested in working at Vanderbilt Pre-College to fulfill an internship requirement, please inform Pre-College Leadership as soon as possible after you are hired.

Yes. We encourage all VU international students to contact Vanderbilt Student & Scholar Services (https://www.vanderbilt.edu/isss/) if they have questions about summer employment.

Staff will extensively interact with others who are on their teams during the summer. Due to the scope and 24-hour schedule of the program, staff may not meet or get to know all Pre-College staff members.

Visitors to residential staff members are not allowed in the residence hall or at any group social event unless approved in advance by the program director. All staff members must always honor the Protection of Minors policy. At no time should residential staff members host overnight visitors in their rooms, even when Pre-College students are not present.

Yes, staff will receive many of the same SWAG items students will receive.

Pre-College staff will submit their hours through UKG (Kronos). More information can be found at https://hr.vanderbilt.edu/compensation/payroll/timesheet-faqs.php.