Advising
First (http://www.fsu.edu/undergrad/AdvisingFirst)
Office of Undergraduate Studies, Florida
State University
Nominated
by: Karen L. Laughlin
Advising
First is a program within the Division of Undergraduate Studies
at Florida State University . The program places professional
academic advisors throughout the university's many academic units
as well as other off-site locations to assist undergraduate students
with a variety of academic and non-academic issues. Currently,
Advising First has over thirty-five professional advisors working
in numerous locations across campus. Advising First takes a proactive
approach to academic advising through direct student contact
and numerous outreach activities, including consistent e-mail
efforts, campus-wide events, class presentations, and a "floating" advisor
program. The Advising First program not only aids students in
their academic endeavors, but also aids advisors in their professional
development. Each advisor serves on an Advising First committee,
gives presentations on academic advising, and participates in
a peer mentoring group. The Advising First program has expanded
exponentially since its incarnation in 1998, and continues to
strive for consistent growth and the development of innovative
strategies to connect with every student on Florida State University
's campus.
The
Academic Review
Nominated
by: Michael J. Leonard
For
over twenty-five years, advisers in Penn State 's Division of
Undergraduate Studies (DUS) have systematically evaluated the
progress of each of their assigned advisees prior to the beginning
of each semester and have communicated individualized progress
reports to each advisee with recommendations for the upcoming
semester. Because most students enrolled in DUS are exploratory,
it is particularly important for them to receive this assessment
of their academic goals and their adviser's evaluation of their
progress towards reaching those goals. Although the process of
evaluating each advisee's records and sending progress reports
was initially a very time-intensive, primarily manual operation
involving the production and filing of paper transcripts, grade
reports, rosters, and evaluation forms, the process has now been
converted to a Web form that has streamlined the process considerably,
making it more student-specific and resulting in more timely academic
reviews.
Using
an interactive Web form that is linked to the University's student
records database, advisers system-wide can now evaluate the progress
of their advisees and send an individualized Academic Review progress
report e-mail to each of their advisees. The Web form displays
an individual advisee's curricular goals, most recent grade report,
and course schedule for the upcoming semester. The form also provides
pull-down lists and open-ended comment boxes for the adviser to
evaluate the student's goals, grades, and schedule and to make
recommendations for the upcoming semester. Advisers can preview
and edit the e-mail progress report before it is sent to the student.
Project
Success: An Alternative Method for Delivering Advising and
Study Skills
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Submitted by: Delores Scott
Project Success, a personalized, non-credit, goal-setting and
self assessment-seminar, was created in the spring of 1993.
The seminar was developed to address the needs of students who
had low Quality Credit Averages (QCAs) by the end of their third
and fourth years. Project Success focuses on goal-setting
and self-assessment through weekly discussions in groups of 8-12
students. The ultimate goal of Project Success is to empower
students to achieve academic success and graduate from college.
The Multi-Step Initial Advising Process
Through the Business Division at Clark College
Clark College
Nominated by: Peggy Moore
Between 300 and 600 students are new majors each quarter in over
33 vocational programs and in one transfer program in our Business
Division at Clark College. There is only one initial advisor-me.
In the past, my line for advising went down the hall, out the
front door, along the walkway, and around the building. It was
obvious-one person just couldn't effectively advise several hundred
students into multiple programs using an entirely individual approach.
The key questions: 1) What initial information was given to every
student? 2) Could this information be presented in a thorough-yet-brief
group format? 3) Could the diverse needs of the first-time students
as well as those of the returning students (with many credits)
and all in between be met in a group setting? 4) What information
or assistance must be given individually? 5) How could the advising
model be structured to still provide one-on-one, personal service?
6) How could one advisor meet the immediate advising and scheduling
needs of each orientation group of up to 25 diverse students in
so many different programs?
Several years and many revisions later, a multi-step initial
advising model was implemented to effectively answer the above
questions-all on a very limited budget. This advising model is
very effective, efficient, flexible, inexpensive, and adaptable.
It has been a successful model in the Business Division at Clark
College.
