Embracing the Role of Academic Advising in Supporting Student Success

1. Embracing the Role of Academic Advising in Supporting Student Success Dr. Jennifer Joslin Director, Office of Academic Advising University of Oregon

2. Retention by the Numbers Students who completed their degrees at the same institution within 5 years NCES 1995-96 Cohort NCES 2002 Cohort Berkner et. al., 2002

3. Retention by the Numbers 51% 52.3% Students who completed their degrees at the same institution within 5 years NCES 1995-96 Cohort NCES 2002 Cohort Berkner et. al., 2002

4. Topics 1. Political and Economic Pressure 2. Academic Advising and Retention 3. Engagement and the College Experience 4. Promising Philosophical Perspectives & Practices 5. Questions for Contemplation and Discussion

5. 1. Political and Economic Pressure

6. Today’s Headlines Student Retention and Persistence is a hot topic for Higher Education institutions because of: • Public Perception • Changing Workplace • Government Interests • Resource/Revenue Generation • Global Financial Crisis

7. Headlines May 30, 2008 Colleges Mine Data to Predict Dropouts By Catherine Rampell December 21, 2012 We need to produce learners, not just students By Robert Talbert October 12, 2012 College Persistence Linked to Rigorous Courses and Academic Advising By Caralee Adams January 3, 2013 College Education Is Expected to Remain a High Priority for States By Eric Kelderman October 14, 2012 Community Colleges for the Students They Actually Have By Josh Wyner November 29, 2012 Admissions Report Reflects a Decade of ‘Unparalleled Uncertainty’ By Eric Hoover

8. Textile Winding Setter 40% reduction in jobs between 2008-2018 Martha Cooper, photographer Library of Congress Carnevale, et. al., 2010

9. IT & health professionals, 2008-2018: Computer software engineers: 34% growth Home health aides: 50% growth Network analysts: 53% growth Carnevale, et. al., 2010 Nimataradji, photographer

10. 66% of jobs in the United States will require a postsecondary education & training by 2020 51% of all jobs in Arkansas will require a postsecondary education & training by 2020 Carnevale & Smith, 2012

11. Unemployment based on education, 2011 Bureau of Labor Statistics

12. What Does this Mean for Academic Advising and Advising Administrators? Not because I can email a Rihanna song from my phone. RT @ftrain @suzisteffen

13. 2. Academic Advising and Retention

14. Our Shared Goal: Student Success “Retention is a byproduct of a good educational experience.” Vincent Tinto Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition, 1993

15. Academic Advising is Essential “Effective retention programs have come to understand that academic advising is at the very core of successful institutional efforts to educate and retain students.” Vincent Tinto Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition, 1993

16. Key Institutional Conditions • High Expectations • Support • Academic Advising • Involvement • Student-Learning Focused Vincent Tinto, 2007 Taking Student Retention Seriously

17. Key Institutional Conditions Klepfer & Hull longitudinal study of over 9,000 high school sophomores through 2nd yr in college discovered 3 factors related to student success: • High-level Mathematics • AP/IB Courses • Academic Advising Center for Public Education at the National School Boards Association Kasey Klepfer & Jim Hull, 2012, as reported by Adams http://bit.ly/RxoqxX

18. Advising Serves as a Bridge “Personal tutoring [academic advising] can provide information about higher education processes, procedures and expectations….Personal tutoring can provide guidance and structure, especially in those early days.” Liz Thomas, Widening Participation and the Increased Need for Personal Tutoring, Personal Tutoring in Higher Education, 2006.

19. Advisors Aid Students in Understanding: • The amount of time needed to study vs. their expectations • What a particular program of study or course involves vs. their perception • The college culture vs. their high school experience Nancy King, Vice-President for Student Success, Kennesaw State University

20. Advisors Aid Students in Understanding: • The amount of time needed to study vs. their expectations • What a particular program of study or course involves vs. their perception • The college culture vs. their high school experience Nancy King, Vice-President for Student Success, Kennesaw State University

21. Evolution of Advising • Evolution of Advising • From Prescriptive to Developmental • Advising recognized as a teaching function • Problem: Perception of advising as service; perception of advising as a task, not a relationship • Tasks are delegated • Advising tasks are less important than other faculty responsibilities • Advising is unrewarded & lacks meaning

22. Topics Political and Economic Pressure Academic Advising and Retention 3. Engagement and the College Experience 4. Promising Philosophical Perspectives & Practices 5. Questions for Contemplation and Discussion

23. 3. Engagement and The College Experience

24. Engagement “The intersection of student behaviors and institutional conditions over which colleges and universities have at least marginal control.” Kuh, et al, 2007.

25. Institutional Conditions Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities, typically called “High Impact Practices”.

26. High-Impact Educational Practices—What Are They? • First-Year Seminars and Experiences • Common Intellectual Experiences • Learning Communities • Writing-Intensive Courses • Collaborative Assignments and Projects • Undergraduate Research • Diversity/Global Learning • Service Learning, Community-Based Learning • Internships • Capstone Courses and Projects Kuh, George D. 2008. High-Impact Educational Practices, AAC&U

27. Why They Matter(from Kuh, G.D., High Impact Educational Practices, 2008) • They demand that students devote considerable time and effort to purposeful tasks. • They put students in circumstances that demand they interact with faculty and peers about substantive matters. • They increase the likelihood that students will experience diversity through contact with people who are different from themselves.

28. Students typically get frequent feedback about their performance in every one of this activities. • They provide opportunities for students to see how what they are learning works in different settings, on and off campus. • Finally, it can be life changing to study abroad, participate in service learning, conduct research with a faculty member, or complete an internship.

29. Student Behaviors What matters most is what students do and the effort they expend, not who they are.

30. BUT… Who they are affects what students do and the effort they expend. Understanding this is important to designing academic advising programs.

31. NACADA Concept Statement on Academic Advising “Academic advising engages students beyond their own aspirations, while acknowledging their characteristics, values, and motivations as they enter, move through, and exit the institution.”

32. NACADA Concept Statement on Academic Advising “Academic advising is a multi-dimensional and intentional process, grounded in teaching and learning, with its own purpose, content, and specified outcomes.”

33. Multidimensional • Educational • Curricular • Career • Personal Intentional • Not serendipitous • Intentional in design and desired outcomes

34. Back to Student Behaviors… The Psychology of Leaving (or Staying): Intentions and Attitudes

35. The Psychology of Leaving (or Staying): Intentions and Attitudes The intention to leave (or stay) is the best predictor of actual student departure Intentions are the byproduct of the interaction of the student and the institution • Faculty • Other Students • Administrators and Staff Members Bean, 2005

36. **REDALERT**REDALERT**REDALERT** Attitudes affect Intentions

37. Institutional Fit & Commitment Attitudes about Being a Student • Satisfaction, Confidence, Competence • Perceived value of one’s education to career/job • Relationship between what one is studying to one’s future • Stress level associated with attending a given school Bean, 2005

38. Influencing Attitudes and Intentions Good advising should link a student’s academic capabilities with his or her choice of courses and major, access to learning resources, and a belief that the academic pathway a student is traveling will lead to employment after college. Advising should be done well so students recognize their abilities and make informed choices. Bean, 2005

39. Influencing Attitudes and Intentions Good advising contributes to academic and social integration. This results from positive experiences that increase: • satisfaction with being a student at a given institution • confidence in one’s ability • academic competence, and • one’s understanding his/her educational, career and life goals Bean, 2005

40. 4. Promising Philosophical Perspectives & Practices

41. Promising Philosophical Perspectives and Practices • Advising as Teaching and Learning • Collaborative Reflection and Decision-Making—aka Assessment • The Advising Syllabus • Student Self-Authorship • Advising to Optimize the Student Experience

42. Advising as Teaching & Learning Guides and Defines Our Roles as Educators and Facilitators of Learning • Learning is Individual and Developmental • Indicates a Knowledge Base that Extends Beyond Information toward Conceptual Understanding • Student Learning and Development • Career Development • Others

43. Collaborative Reflection and Decision-making for Improvement (Also Known as “Assessment”) What Do We Need to Know to Improve • Student Learning? • Advising Practice? How Can We Build a Collegial, Collaborative Approach to Reflection for Improvement?

44. The Advising Syllabus The Advising Syllabus Sets the Stage • Creates Conversation • Prompts Questions • Outlines the Relationship • States Outcomes • Defines Academic Advising

45. Among the Components • Mission • Definition/Philosophy • Contact Information • Outcomes • Rules, Rights, Responsibilities • Policies & Procedures • Resources

46. Promoting Student Self-Authorship Becoming self-authored requires transformational learning that helps students “learn to negotiate and act on [their] own purposes, values, feelings, and meanings rather than those [they] have uncritically assimilated from others”. Mezirow, 2000

47. Magolda on Self-Authorship “The shift to self-authorship occurs when students encounter challenges that bring their assumptions into question, have opportunities to reflect on their assumptions, and are supported in reframing their assumptions into more complex frames of reference. The role of the educator is to initiate conversation, listen, and help students learn from their experiences.” Magolda, 2007

48. Advising to Optimize the Student Experience • Adopt a “Talent Development” Approach to Advising Know your students, meet students where they are • Make Advising a Tag Team Activity Share responsibility, draw on many sources • Help Students Map Out a Path to Success Teach campus culture, emphasize initiative, point to programs that work

49. Advising to Optimize the Student Experience 4. Make Every Interaction Meaningful Connect early, imbed advising into FYP, offer peer-mentoring programs 5. Focus on Culture Sooner Than Later Emphasize culture & diversity in advisor hiring & programming, identify cultural barriers in advising, understand & promote cultural engagement for students

50. Topics Political and Economic Pressure Academic Advising and Retention Engagement and the College Experience Promising Philosophical Perspectives & Practices 5. Questions for Contemplation and Discussion