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Community
College Advising
Community
College Advising
Margaret
C. "Peggy" King
Schenectady County Community College
How
does advising differ at a community college from that at a four-year
institution?
In
terms of organizational models and delivery systems for advising,
there are probably few differences. Any of the 7 organizational
models of advising identified by Wes Habley and researched by ACT,
as well as the 5 delivery systems, can be found at both two and
four-year institutions. The one model that is more unique to community
colleges is the Self-contained model, because that model grew out
of the guidance office concept common in public schools at the time
many community colleges were being created. That model is where
all advising takes place in a centralized unit, typically an advising
or counseling center, and advising often reports through the Dean
or Vice President of Student Affairs. Johnson County Community College
in Kansas is a good example of that model. Based on results of the
ACT Fifth National Survey on Academic Advising, this is the second
most popular model at community colleges, so while reporting lines
for advising at four-year campuses generally go through Academic
Affairs, it is not uncommon for advising in community colleges to
report through Student Affairs. The Split Model was most popular
(in this model the initial advising of students is split, with an
advising office handling specific groups of students e.g. exploratory
and faculty handling the others) and the Faculty Only model (where
all advising is done by faculty) ranked third.
Probably
the key difference in advising at community colleges is the nature
of our student population - predominantly first generation, commuter,
underprepared and diverse in all ways including age, ethnicity,
ability, socioeconomic background. This means that advisors often
need to focus on the basics - what is a credit, what does it mean
to be matriculated, how do you create a class schedule, how should
I manage my time, etc. When dealing with the underprepared student,
a significant amount of time must be spent explaining the need for
developmental course work – courses the student must take
in addition to the degree requirements – and convincing the
student that those courses are necessary. Because most of our students
are working and/or have families, their time on campus is limited
and their time for meeting with an advisor is limited as well. Consequently,
the time spent with an advisee typically focuses on the practical
rather than the philosophical. In addition, for the same reasons,
the advisor needs to be aware of the other things going on in the
student’s life because they may have a big impact on the student’s
success in college. This also ties in with the need for the advisor
to be knowledgeable about referral resources both on and off campus.
Certain
issues related to transfer are also unique to community colleges.
For example, in addition to focusing on program requirements at
the community college, attention needs to be paid to requirements
at the four-year institution so that the maximum amount of credits
can be transferred. Related to that is the need to help students
identify transfer institutions as quickly as possible so that their
program can be designed to take advantage of existing articulation
agreements. For many community college students, the possibility
of transfer to a four year college may never have been considered;
consequently, academic advisors also have a responsibility to identify,
early in the process, those qualified students who have yet to view
transfer as an option, and to provide them with the support, encouragement
and skills needed to explore such opportunities successfully. Because
many of these students may not be enrolled in the traditional transfer
programs, this is not always an easy process.
Advising
vs. Counseling?
The
issue of advising vs. counseling is often a community college issue.
As mentioned above, the Self-contained Model of advising often uses
professional counselors to do all academic advising as well as counseling.
On campuses with a faculty based advising system there are often
counselors to provide the career, transfer and personal counseling
that goes beyond the traditional advising responsibilities. On other
campuses, there will often be professional academic advisors as
well as counselors, with a similar break down of responsibilities.
Recently there have been numerous tales of institutions eliminating
their counselors and hiring more advisors. This may be a cost cutting
measure as counselors often have masters degrees as well as advanced
professional certification in their field. The issue is one of definition
of responsibilities - what is the role of the advisor and what is
the role of the counselor. If counselors are eliminated, who will
pick up on their responsibilities, particularly in the area of personal
counseling. Students are coming to community colleges with more
and more personal issues - substance abuse, prior incarceration,
abusive relationships to name a few - these get in the way of their
ability to be successful in college. While referral to outside agencies
should always be considered, a student in crisis needs assistance
immediately. There need to be counselors with the appropriate training
to work with them. Advisors typically don't have the background
to be able to provide that assistance.
Professional advisors vs. faculty advisors.
With
increasingly tight budgets, many institutions that have traditionally
used professional advisors are moving toward faculty-based advising
delivery systems, because they are less expensive. I have always
advocated for advising models that use a combination of delivery
systems because each brings different strengths. Professional advisors
have student development backgrounds, advising is their priority,
they are typically housed in a central location with easy accessibility,
they are trained to advise across all program areas, and they are
trained to work with students who are exploratory or developmental.
Faculty bring the valuable expertise related to program and courses,
and if they teach in a career oriented program they may also bring
expertise related to the job market. Consequently, advising models
that view advising as a shared responsibility and that use a combination
of delivery systems, build on the strengths of each. Given the complexity
of our programs and the increasing diversity of our students, it
is unrealistic to expect one group to be able to do it all. Also,
it is critical that institutions moving to a greater use of faculty
advisors have faculty buy-in. If they do not, students will not
be well served.
SUGGESTED
READING:
Frost,
S. H. (1991) Academic Advising for Student Success: A System
of Shared Responsibility. ASHE;ERIC Higher Education Report
#3. Washington, DC: The George Washington University.
Gordon,
V.N. & Habley, W.R. (2000) Academic Advising: A Comprehensive
Handbook. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Hankin,
J.N. (1996) The Community College: Opportunity and Access for
America's First Year Students. University of South Carolina:
The National Resource Center for the First Year Experience and Students
In Transition.
King,
M.C. (1993) Academic Advising: Organizing and Delivering Services
for Student Success. New Directions for Community Colleges
#82. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Upcraft,
M.L. & Kramer, G.L. (1995) First Year Academic Advising:
Patterns in the Present, Pathways to the Future. University
of South Carolina: The National Resource Center for the First Year
Experience and Students In Transition.
UCLA
Community College Studies Resources
Short-term
Enrollment in Post-Secondary Education, a National Center for
Education Statistics report of Community College Attrition.
Margaret C. "Peggy" King
Associate Dean Student Development
Schenectady County Community College
kingmc@gw.sunysccc.edu
Resource links:
Cite
this resource using APA style as:
King,
M.C. (2002). Community college advising.
Retrieved -insert today's date- from NACADA Clearinghouse of
Academic Advising Resources Web site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/comcollege.htm
Listed
resources are member suggested; as such, listings are not
comprehensive in nature. Members are encouraged to suggest
resources they find helpful to their advising practice. Listing
of commercial sites does not imply NACADA endorsement.
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