Toward Peer Leadership as a High-Impact Practice

Higher education professionals engage peer leaders in a variety of settings, from academic advising to residence life and from orientation to the senior year experience. Although the structure and administration of peer leader programs varies depending on the unique needs and features of a particular college or university, there is a commonality across peer leaders and their experiences. In short, peer leadership has a triple-impact in that it benefits student recipients, the institution, and the peer leaders themselves. Toward Peer Leadership as a High Impact Practice: Insights from the U.S. Data in the 2023 International Survey of Peer Leaders contributes to the academic scholarship on peer leadership through the recent collection of over 1,500 student responses on their experiences as peer leaders. This report looks at peer leadership as a high-impact practice, examines the equity and access to participation in peer leadership, and explores key questions for practitioners looking to implement, refine, or assess their peer leadership programs, as well as for researchers with an interest in drawing findings of this survey for their work.