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Fall Conference 2011

The group was asked to share practices they think worked in their areas and give their ideas on what could be done to improve “advising” on campus. Many of the items listed below came up in both sessions.

  • Faculty Advising Mentors:  Pair new faculty advisors with seasoned effective advisors in the department/program for first year, new faculty can learn from more seasoned faculty. New faculty would not have their own advisees for the first year.
  • Peer Mentoring:  Is being used in some programs (EOP, MEP) formally and Liberal Studies more informally.  Allow successful students to mentor at risk students.  Not academic advising by students but advising more on strategies for how to be successful.
  • Group Advising:  Is being used in some situations.  Students make connections with others around them, and those with special needs are asked to make appointments with staff advisors for intensive sessions. Relieves some of the tension associated with a student approaching a faculty member.
  • Advising Workshops:  Useful for faculty who have gone, but getting them to attend problematic----need incentives.
  • Use of electronic recording systems to track the students advising sessions (AdvisorTrac) has been successful in BUS and EOP.  Could we get faculty to use such a system?
  • Lack of enforcement for advice given.  For example, students counseled by faculty to change major or take some other corrective action, even fill out paperwork, students do not follow through and persist getting themselves in more academic peril.  How can we help students to follow through in their best interest? Could advisors place a special hold on such students that have been given certain advice?
  • Have honest discussion with departments on whether all faculty should be asked to serve as advisors? 
  • Pairing faculty with staff advisors.  Models exist in BUS and SCI for this (CLASS used to do this too).  Have faculty serve to handle the academic guidance in terms of helping students chart course selection in the major, research opportunities and career goals and allow staff advisors to handle basic advising and at-risk students.  Staff advisors have special training for this, many with advanced degrees.  May better be able to help students get necessary resources to address problems (tutoring, CAPS, Financial Aid, calculating GP balances etc) that faculty may not feel comfortable handling.  Frees up faculty for other work, especially for high student/faculty ratio programs.
  • Faculty have an obligation to “advise” students as part of the CBA.  Should we find a way to assess advising by faculty and incorporate it into their evaluations? May be very time consuming and difficult, but again advising has different definitions.
  • Specialized advising.  For students on DQ or at risk, should we have them see a special advisor to find out what’s going on with student, get them to appropriate resources, and advise them on their particular dilemma (academic policies, possible DQ how to get out of DQ etc).
  • Empowerment of students to get them to be able to ask the right questions of their faculty advisors.  Give them skills.
  • Teach students how to plan ahead, chart a course and revisit it to revise it.
  • Definition of advising???
  • Early warning system needed for students
  • Allowing students to meet learning outcomes in alternative modes:  GWT has a course that can substitute.  Can this be done in other situations?

Fall Conference 2011 Group Meetings

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