Academic advisors face the challenge of reaching and retaining the undecided/exploratory student on each of our campuses.  As official guides of the educational journey, it is customary to encounter the student who begins college without a clear direction.  It is also common to work with an advisee who charts their course, but after facing roadblocks or detours, realizes that an alternative route is necessary.  According to several researchers (Cuseo, 2002, Frost, 1991, Titley & Titley, 1980), the number of students who experience academic indecision may be far greater than those formally identified by the institution as “undecided”, since many students in declared majors lack certainty with their chosen field of study.  It is estimated that in reality, 75% of all students entering college are actually undecided about their academic and career plans (Cuseo, 2005).  Without the right support system in place, major indecision can negatively impact enrollment behavior since research indicates that a student’s commitment to academic and career goals is one of the strongest factors associated with persistence to graduation (Wyckoff, 1999).

As academic advisors, we are positioned to empower each student at the onset of their educational journey.  To be most effective, advisors must implement specific methods adapted from the career development field to effectively guide the major selection process.  Critical navigation tools include assisting the student to identify their unique strengths, interests and values, and connecting these to viable academic options and promising careers.  By utilizing this developmental approach, advisors will have the greatest impact on student success, directly affecting satisfaction and retention.

Join Kathleen Shea Smith (2008-2010 Undecided/Exploratory Commission Chair) and David Spight (former Undecided/Exploratory Commission Chair) in this online broadcast as they:

• Present the relevant research and literature regarding undecided students and the major selection process
• Examine major changing behavior and discuss the pressures students face to decide early
• Review Virginia Gordon’s Exploration Process Model which includes Self-Knowledge, Educational Knowledge, Occupational Knowledge and Decision-Making Knowledge
• Offer practical, hands-on tools advisors can use to facilitate the Exploration Process Model framework and help each student declare their major with confidence!
• Highlight exemplary programs from institutions across the country that can be modified to meet the needs of students on your campus!

Presenters:

Kathleen Shea Smith, Assistant Director, Advising First Center for Exploratory Students, Florida State University
Chair, NACADA Undecided/Exploratory Students Commission
2008 Best of Region 4 Conference presentation winner - "Why am I here? Real Strategies for Helping Undecided Students"

Kathleen Shea Smith is entering her twentieth year in the field of academic advising!  She began her advising career at Temple University in 1989 before moving to Florida State University in 1992, where she served as the Health Professions Coordinator until 1997.  She embarked upon her own academic voyage for the next few years pursuing doctoral work in Higher Education Administration and completing a dissertation focusing on the link between academic advising and student retention.  She joined the Advising First team in 2000 and served as the Outreach Advisor in FSU’s Strozier Library.  Upon graduating in 2004, Kathleen was appointed to develop a new center for undecided students at the university.  Five years later, the Advising First Center for Exploratory students is a thriving program where students are encouraged to place purpose and passion at the center of their academic decision making. 

Kathleen has been an active member of NACADA for over a decade.  She has presented at regional and national conferences and recently received the Best of Region award for “Why am I Here? Real Strategies for Helping Undecided Students”, presented first in Mobile, Alabama and again at the NACADA annual conference in Chicago.  Kathleen served as Program Chair for the 2007 Region IV Conference and is looking forward to her role as the Pre-conference Chair for the 2010 annual conference in Orlando.  In addition to serving as Chair of the Commission for Undecided and Exploratory Students, Kathleen is a member of NACADA’s Research Committee and is currently the NACADA Liaison for the State of Florida.

David Spight, Assistant Dean, School of Undergraduate Studies, University of Texas-Austin
Past-Chair, NACADA Undecided/Exploratory Students Commission

David Spight serves as the Assistant Dean for Advising in the School of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Texas at Austin (UT).  David has spent the last decade in academic advising working with undecided/exploratory students at both UT and Colorado State University.  He is currently developing a new advising office, the Center for Strategic Advising, which will assist UT students with the process of major exploration.  David earned a Masters degree in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.  His research during graduate school focused on comparing undeclared and declared students with regards to persistence, college grade point averages, and frequency of major changes.