Conceptual and Relational Issues in Academic Advising Compass Project Learning Community Meeting Tom...

Conceptual and Relational Issues in Academic Advising

Compass ProjectLearning Community Meeting

Tom BrownApril 23, 2010

www.tbrownassociates.com tom@tbrownassociates.com

The context for this session:

A continued focus on student learning, engagement and success.

Shift in emphasis….

1970s and 80s Access1980s and 90s Retention1990s forward Success

Alfredo de los SantosArizona State University

A continuing shift….

TeachingLearning

Student Success

Vincent Tinto, Syracuse University, 2007

We recognize that student success is more than just graduation; it is the demonstration of achievement and the sense of accomplishment that gives students options beyond graduation.

BSC Project Compass Proposal

Student SuccessAcademic achievementEngagement in educationally purposeful activitiesSatisfactionAcquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competenciesPersistenceAttainment of educational objectivesPost-college performance.

George Kuh & Associates, 2007

Faculty members, whose first priority is excellence in teaching, are committed to working closely with students as instructors, academic advisers, and mentors….

ECSU Fulfilling The Mission

Academic Advisors:

Lights in the Labyrinth

Academic advising is the only structured activity on campus in which all students have the opportunity for on-going one-to-one interaction with a concerned representative of the institution.

Wes Habley, ACT

TRIAD FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

High Quality Teaching

Comprehensive Support Programs

DevelopmentalAcademic Advising

A key question:

Does academic advising matter to student success?

No student service is mentioned in retention research more often as a means of promoting student persistence than academic advising.

The Strategic Management of College EnrollmentsHossler and Bean, 1990

Quality interaction with faculty seems to be more important that any other single college factor in determining minority student persistence.

Levin and Levin1991

Making the Most of College

Good advising may be the single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience.

Richard Light, 2001

Research has shown that advising improves student retention rates through the establishment of relationships with faculty or staff members who help students to clarify their academic and career goals.

Noel Levitz 2006

Next to the quality of instruction, academic advising is consistently the next most important area of the college experience to students.

Five Year Trend Study- National Student Satisfaction ReportNoel Levitz 2006

If faculty and staff were knowledgeable about retention strategies and the needs of FFMI students, they would work to meet those needs.

LSC Project Compass Proposal

Three interventions with greatest impact on student retention in 4-year public colleges

1. Academic advising—integrating advising into first year programs, advising specific populations.

2. First-year programs—first year seminars, learning communities, etc.

3. Learning support—required developmental coursework, tutoring, comprehensive learning assistance.

The more interaction students have with faculty and staff, the more likely they are to learn effectively and persist toward achievement of their educational goals.

Academic advisors can mediate the gap between student experiences and

their expectations.

The Status of Academic Advising

Sixth National Survey 2004

2122 Institutions Responding

ACT National Academic Advising Association

(NACADA)

Faculty continue to be the primary deliverers of academic advising. 6th National Survey on Academic Advising, 2004

Too often faculty members are left to sink or swim when it comes to effective student advising—they are blamed for something they lack the professional training to do.

Dr. Yolanda MosesPresident, AAHEFaculty Advising Examined, 2003

Most faculty report having had little or no training or other preparation prior to being assigned advisees on their campuses

Brown Survey of Faculty, 2001-2009

When I first began to advise, I had adequate preparation and training. (n=1570)

Strongly agree/agree 30%

Disagree/strongly disagree 53%

Brown Survey of Faculty, 2001-2009

Adequate preparation and training?

I began getting advising folders in the campus mail even before I was actually an advisor. No one told me why I was getting them or what to do with them….

Brown Survey of Faculty, 2001-2009

Adequate preparation and training?

I had no advising preparation at all. I learned by trial and error….

Brown Survey of Faculty, 2001-2009

Lowest Ratings for Advising Program Effectiveness

Sixth National Survey on Academic Advising (2004)

1997 2004

8. Implementing training program for advisors 2.7 3.05

9. Evaluating effectiveness of advising program 2.63 2.77

10. Evaluating effectiveness of advisors 2.68 2.76

11. Rewarding good advisor performance 2.16 2.42

5-Very effective 4-Effective 3-Neutral2-Ineffective 1-Very Ineffective

TRIAD FOR ADVISING EXCELLENCE

AssessmentAnd Evaluation

Recognition & Reward

Advisor Development

Many key competencies are developed

after educators arrive on campus.

Therefore, colleges must assume the

responsibility for teaching and

developing their own educators to

enhance student learning inside and

outside the classroom by providing

professional development programs.

Brown & Ward, 2007

LSC will use Project Compass to design and implement professional development that provides faculty and staff with the resources they need to prepare every student for success…

LSC Project Compass Proposal

Engage Adjunct Faculty

Derek Bok stresses the importance of ensuring that adjunct faculty be properly trained in order for campuses to attain their educational goals…

Our Underachieving CollegesDerek Bok, 2006

The Center for Education Excellence will facilitate formation of a blended community of part-time and full-time faculty related to best practices for advising, tutoring, teaching and learning at Eastern…

ESCU Faculty/Staff working Group

Redefining academic advising:

From prescriptive to developmental.

From an event to a process.

1960s Definition

Academic Advising

“A task concentrated during registration and enrollment that consists mainly of aiding students in the selection of courses.”

Handbook of College AdministrationAsa Knowles1965

Academic Advising…

a systematic process based on a close advisor student relationship intended to aid students in achieving their personal, educational, and career goals….

focuses on helping students to acquire skills and attitudes that promote their intellectual and personal development.

assists students to make full use of campus and community resources in the process.

Developmental Academic AdvisingWinston, Miller, Ender, Grites & Associates. 1984

Faculty and staff who work as advisors assist students with advising or degree program questions, goal setting, course registration, referral to campus resources, and other services designed to contribute to their academic experience.

UMPI website

The Academic Advising Center coordinates the advisement services for the registration process of new and continuing students. The Advisement Center provides students with information and assistance regarding academic-related matters, handles students’ academic appeals for courses outside a student’s major program, and provides academic support services to freshmen, undeclared, and probationary students.

ECSU

Bridgewater State College has a commitment to provide academic advising for every matriculated undergraduate. This program provides each student a minimum of five advising contacts, starting with New Student Orientation, and extending through the first semester of enrollment.

Quality advising at Lyndon State is a collaborative relationship between a student and an academic advisor [and] empowers students to realize their maximum educational potential. Quality advising helps students clarify life and career goals and provides referrals to campus resources.

Advising is more meaningful when treated as a teaching process rather than a product.

Academic Advising for Student Success:

A System of Shared Responsibility Susan Frost. 1991

Teaching and advising need to be part of a seamless process, sharing the same intellectual sphere, informed by a relatively consistent educational philosophy.

Robert M. Berdahl, Historian and President University of California, Berkeley

“Teaching Through Academic Advising: A Faculty Perspective.”

Shared Goals of Teaching and Advising

• Increase knowledge

• Enhance critical thinking abilities

• Skills acquisition

• Increase problem solving abilities

• Broaden Perspectives

• Integration of learning: making connections

and finding meaning

Increase Knowledge

Purposes of college and learningAbout themselvesAbout the worlds in which they live and will live their lives

Advisors teach students to:

Value the learning process

Put the college experience into perspective

Core ValuesNational Academic Advising Assn

Enhance Critical Thinking

Advisors help students think through short-term decisions and long-range plans, which enables students to take charge of their lives.

Empowering Lifelong LearningArthur Chickering

Fall 1994 NACADA Journal

Advisors teach students to make decisions.

Core ValuesNational Academic Advising Assn

Skills Acquisition

As students frame questions about the future and seek information needed to formulate answers, they practice behaviors and develop skills they will use throughout their lives.

Academic Advising for Student SuccessSusan Frost, 1991

Problem Solving

The fundamental purpose of academic advising is to help students become effective agents for their own lifelong learning and development.

Chickering, 1994

A goal of education is helping students to think and solve the problems of life….

Broaden Perspectives

Learning vs. grades

Students are afraid: afraid of failing, of not understanding, of having their ignorance exposed or their prejudices challenged, of looking foolish in front of their peers….

Parker PalmerThe Courage to Teach, 1998

Role of failure

Those students who do well in my class aren’t afraid to fail. If they read a problem and don’t instantly know how to do it, they don’t quit or feel embarrassed. They understand that they’re not failing the course because of a failed experiment. Faculty Viewpoint Understanding University Success, 2003

Role of Criticism

Students need to be willing to receive a critique of their work without perceiving it as an attack on their integrity, intelligence or creativity.

Faculty Viewpoint Understanding University Success, 2003

Integration of Learning

Do Students recognize the value of general education requirements? (n=1555)

Strongly agree/agree 21%

Disagree/strongly disagree 52%

Brown Survey, 2001-2009

Do Students recognize the value of general education requirements?

Major, Major, Major!

Students, for the most part, have tunnel vision where their studies are concerned

Brown Survey of Faculty, 2001-2009

Making the Most of College

The most effective advisors ask questions or posed challenges that forced students to think about the relationships between their academic work to their personal lives.

Richard Light, 2001

Field of Study

vs.

Major/Program

Exercise:Constructing a field of study

The question students should seek to answer through advising...

NOT….

“What courses do I need to take?”

The questions students should seek to answer through advising...

“How do I want to live my life?”

“What can I do at this college to help me move toward this vision of my future?”

Big enough questions…

What is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?

The Summer DayMary Oliver, 1992

HIERARCHY OF ADVISING

Life goals, values, abilities, interests, limitations

Vocational/career goals

Academic program/Field of Study

Selection of courses

Scheduling classes

Terry O’Bannion, 1972, 1994

HIERARCHY OF ADVISING

Life goals, values, abilities, interests, limitations

Vocational/career goals

Academic program/Field of Study

Selection of courses

Scheduling classes

Terry O’Bannion, 1972, 1994

Academic advising is assisting students to share the responsibility for academic planning with faculty, with students finally being able to find their own answers and use their advisors as sounding boards.

Academic Advising for Student SuccessSusan Frost, 1991

Advisor Responsibilities

• Help students define and develop realistic goals

• Identify special needs

• Connect students to available resources

• Assist students to plan consistent with their goals, interests, aptitudes & limitations• Monitor progress toward goals

• Discuss linkage between academic preparation and careers

Advisee Responsibilities

• Gather relevant decision making information

• Clarify goals, interests, and values

• Become knowledgeable about programs, policies, requirements and procedures

• Accept responsibility for decisions

Student Responsibilities

Build rapport with his/her advisor. Determine his/her educational goals and make an educational plan that includes courses and out-of-class activities. Know curriculum requirements and track progress toward graduation. Follow college policies, procedures (such as add/drop), and deadlines

Student Responsibilities

Use advising sessions effectively by making appointments, arriving on time, bringing needed materials, askingspecific questions, and expecting advisors to work with them. Check campus e-mail at least twice per week and daily during the week registration opens.

Advisement is a two way street

Faculty suggested that students’ educations cannot be meaningful if they don’t take ownership of their educations…

ESCU Self Assessment Report

A Shared Responsibility: A Model

Changing Environment & Changing Students

1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year4th, 5th, 6th Year

Creamer, 2000

Need for Information

Need for ConsultationChanging Needs for Advising

Changing Environment & Changing Students

1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year4th, 5th, 6th Year

PRESCRIPTIVE DEVELOPMENTAL

Lynch, 1989; Brown& Rivas, 1994; Creamer, 2000

Need for Information

Need for ConsultationChanging Needs for Advising

Moving In Moving Through Moving On

Changing Contexts for Advising

Changing Environment & Changing Students

1st Year 2nd Year 4th, 5th, 6th year & beyond

PRESCRIPTIVE DEVELOPMENTAL

Lynch, 1989; Brown& Rivas, 1994; Creamer, 2000; Brown, 2006

Need for Information

Need for ConsultationChanging Needs for Advising

Moving In Moving Through Moving On I I/S I/S S/I S I = College/University faculty, advisors, etc. S = The student

Changing Contexts for Advising

Students need the support of advising programs and academic advisors as they make three critical transitions:

Moving into college

Moving through college

Moving on from college

Students need the support of advising programs and academic advisors as they make three critical transitions:

Moving into college

Moving through college

Moving on from college

Students who leave college often do so as the result of experiences during the first six weeks….

Astin, Crockett, Tinto

Students need additional academic advising and planning during their first year…

ESCU Strategy #3: Improving First-Year Advising of Project Compass most at-risk students

National Drop Out RatesFreshman to Sophomore Year

Mean %

Overall 34.3Four-year public MA 30Traditional (950-1070 SAT mean) 29.5Liberal (870-990 SAT mean) 35.9

National Drop Out RatesFreshman to Sophomore Year

Mean %

Overall 34.3Four-year public MA 30Traditional (950-1070 SAT mean) 29.5Liberal (870-990 SAT mean) 35.9BSC 26ECSU 26LSC 47UMPI 37

Helping students move into college is far and away the most important task for academic advisors.

Professor Arthur Chickering, 1994

New students make an effective transition to the university community by participating in a first year program. This program encourages academic excellence, creativity, student involvement and self-understanding and fosters a commitment to diversity and civility.

ECSU Fulfilling the Mission

Progress at BSC First-year students of color

Cohort year Persistence Rate Year 1-2

2004 65.2%2005 67.62006 71.02007 73.22008 80.2

Progress at BSC First-year students Low SES

Cohort year Persistence Rate Year 1-2

2004 74.8%2005 72.12006 71.02007 77.02008 80.8

What are some issues that advisors need to address with first-year students?

Students usually have a realistic understanding about the demands of academic work and what is required to be successful in their classes. (n = 1587)

Strongly agree/agree 13%

Disagree/strongly disagree 69%

Brown Survey of Faculty, 2001-2009

Do students understand what is required to be successful in

college?

Most of them don’t have a clue! They see college work as an extension of high school, and for most of them high school involved little effort.

Brown Advising Survey, 2001-2007

58% reported A/A- as their average high school grade.

93% earned a B average or higher.

65% expect to earn at least a B average in college.

2008 CIRP Survey Public Universities

Do students understand what is required to be “successful”?

How many hours did you study during a typical week in your last year of high school?

36% More than 10 hours 51% Five hours or less 44% Less than two hours a

week!!

CIRP Freshmen Survey Public Universities, 2008

Students have a realistic understanding of what is required to be successful.

My favorite comment from students:

“This is way not high school….”

Brown Advising Survey, 2001-2008

A major part of working with first year students is helping them understand that they’re not in high school anymore…

Sam Gorovitz, Professor of PhilosophyFormer Director, First-Year ProgramsSyracuse University

Most students are never taught how to study. We call it the “hidden curriculum.”

Marcy FallonUniversity of Maryland, 2002

Preparing for a “big test”

Say a prayer—that’s what I do.Eat lots of peanut butter or other “brain foods.”Listen to Enya the night before a test.

University of Utah Chronicle of Higher EducationDecember 6, 2002

I have to teach students how to study before I can get to course content…

Faculty Member Odessa Community College, 2005

Advisor Skills

• Listening--Comfortable with silence

• Open-ended questions

• Providing clarification and feedback

• Being positive

• Self-disclosing

• Offering options and alternatives

No one expects advisors to be counselors and tutors. Referrals are best if advisors initiate the connection or coach students about how to make the connection themselves.

LSC Self Assessment Report

Referral Skills

• Know how to refer and when

• Don’t refer too quickly

• Know referral resources

• Clarify reasons for referral

• Explain what referral resource will provide

• Refer to a specific person

• Assist in making the appointment

• Follow-up

AcademicAdvising

Orientation

SupportServices

Retention

FinancialAid

Assessment

LearningAssistance

Career/Life

Planning

InstructionalFaculty/Programs

Registration

Counseling

Servicesfor

SpecificGroups

Students referred to one service will use other services without referral….

ESCU Self Assessment Report

Intrusive Advising?

Intrusive Advising?

Active Outreach Advising

Intrusive advising has been shown to improve the effectiveness of advising, enhance student academic skills and increase retention.

Earl, 1987

Studies have shown that probationary students have higher GPAs when intrusive advising is used. Heisserer & Parette, 2002

There is compelling evidence regarding the importance students place on the value of intrusive advising relationships in the context of their ability to persist.

DeAnna Burt, 2009

Students who were happiest with their Portfolios of Excellence (POE) experience were those who had a peer mentor who reached out to them to take charge of the connection and where a professional or faculty mentor was easily available.

BSC POE Focus Group Report

Intrusive Advising

Intrusive advising does not mean “hand holding” or parenting. Rather, it does mean active concern and a willingness to assist students to explore programs and services to improve their skills and motivate them to persist toward their goals.

Intrusive AdvisingIntrusive advising means taking a personal interest in students and approaching them with an open caring attitude.

A personal relationship with a concerned member of the campus community can reduce the psychological distance that hinders academic integration.

Intrusive Advising Strategies

Assessment and placementMandated orientation programsRequired advising meetingsLearning communitiesFirst-year seminar coursesEarly alert systems

The university will employ intrusive first year advising…

ESCU Strategy #3: Improving First-Year Advising of Project Compass most at-risk students

Academic advising is the only structured activity on campus in which all students have the opportunity for on-going one-to-one interaction with a concerned representative of the institution.

Wes Habley, ACT

Comments?

Questions?

Challenges?

Successes?

Active Outreach Advising:People AND Programs

Required Advising Meetings

Structured content: What should be discussed and when?What would be discussed at a first advising meeting?At a meeting three weeks into the first term?At a meeting following midterms?Prior to registration for the following term?At the first meeting of the following term?

Early alert systems

Identify students who are having difficulty and also provide recommended sources of assistance.

These were originally sent to faculty through campus mail, but they are increasingly available in web-based formats.

Intrusive Advising Strategies

Midterm grades/progress reports Supplemental InstructionPeer Support/Study groupsClear statements of responsibilitiesAdvising “contracts”Mentor/Peer mentor programsOthers??

SUCCESS=

Commitment+

Determination+

HARD WORK

Jaime Escalante

SUCCESS=

Commitment+

Determination+

HARD WORKTime

The intrusive model is proactive and seeks to address problems as they emerge, rather than being reactive. Essentially, advisors reach out to help students instead of waiting for students to seek help.

University of Minnesota General College