Academic Advisor
University of Northern
Iowa,College of Education
Effectively
serving students within the constraints of limited personnel
and dwindling resources is an ongoing issue at many institutions.
Indeed, our experience at the University
of Northern
Iowa is no exception.
Due to a retirement and budget constraints, each advisor within
our center received a case load increase of approximately
50%. The current budget supports our advising center with
two advisors who serve approximately 1700 students majoring
in elementary, early childhood, and middle level education.
Jordan
(2000) succinctly described the challenge when she stated,
"Many institutions decrease budgets as they pressure directors
and supervisors to verify cost effectiveness of services provided.
Advisors can respond by reducing services to students or by
creating new venues and systems of delivering services more
efficiently" (p. 24-25).
Our
response to this increased load was to take the advice of
Banta, et al. (2002) to "become more efficient in using .
. . resources" (p. 8). Through the process of establishing
goals, planning, and restructuring our center, we devised
a cost-efficient, manageable delivery system that provides
targeted advising services to students during their first
year on campus. We call the procedures for implementation
of a systematic and effective approach to group advising the
'Sequential Advising Model'. This model provides early opportunities
for students to develop skills in program planning and management
thus freeing advisors to focus on the unique needs of individuals.
The
Sequential Advising Model is a group advising format adaptable
to any number of students and applicable to any major. The
Model is designed with two distinct phases. Phase I is for
large group meetings to disseminate information germane to
all majors in the department or college. For freshmen, Phase
I involves two large group meetings-New Major Orientation
and Pre-Registration-held during their first Fall semester.
For transfer students, Phase I involves one large group meeting-Transfer
Orientation-which occurs prior to the start of their first
semester. Phase II allows for small group meetings that target
clusters of students and provides more specific information
regarding the major. For both freshmen and transfer students,
the Phase II small group meetings occur later in the sequence.
It is important to note that students may schedule individual
advisor meetings at anytime.
Group
Advising Procedures for Freshmen
Phase
I (Large Group)
Phase
I begins with our New Major Orientation meetings. The purpose
of these meetings is to present departmental and university
requirements pertinent to teacher education majors. These
are planned for the sixth week of the semester thus allowing
new students time to become acclimated to the university environment.
Students are informed of meeting dates via letter. Three meeting
times are scheduled to accommodate the number of students.
During
New Major Orientation meetings, students receive three management
tools that were developed by staff in our center: 1) student
timeline, 2) referral resource pamphlet, and 3) reminder postcard.
The
student timeline is a one-year calendar of selected dates.
This tool helps freshmen set goals and make preparations to
meet crucial deadlines that could significantly impact their
rate of progress through the program of study.
The
referral resource pamphlet is a three-page booklet with an
abbreviated list of frequently used campus resources. Although
the same information can be accessed from the university catalog
or web site, the pamphlet serves as a ready resource for addressing
many of the immediate needs of students.
The
reminder postcard is a 3x5 card pre-printed with notification
information regarding upcoming Pre-Registration meetings.
Its purpose is two-fold: 1) track attendance (attendance is
recorded in students' internal office files), and 2) remind
students of Pre-Registration meeting dates. At the conclusion
of each New Major Orientation, students are instructed to
self-address these postcards; we collect them as students
exit the meeting.
The
second large group meeting in Phase I is the Pre-Registration
meeting. Again, three sessions are needed to accommodate the
number of students. Students are notified of meeting dates
via mail using the reminder postcards described earlier. These
meetings are scheduled one week prior to the start of registration
for the Spring semester.
We
have three objectives for our Pre-Registration meetings. First,
we instruct students on how to read their degree audit, an
official document from the Registrar's office that delineates
the courses required to complete the student's degree program.
We require students to bring a copy of their audit, found
on the university web site, to the Pre-Registration meetings.
Second, we provide course suggestions for the Spring semester.
Third, we explain registration procedures for scheduling classes.
University
policy requires freshmen to meet with an advisor before they
access the on-line registration system. To ensure that this
obligation is met, freshmen have an electronic hold placed
on their registration that prevents them from scheduling courses.
Advisors remove these holds after students have attended a
Pre-Registration meeting. To validate their attendance, students
record their name and student identification number on an
index card at the conclusion of the meeting. The cards are
collected and used to record attendance in students' internal
office files and to remove registration holds. Students who
do not attend a Pre-Registration meeting must schedule an
individual meeting with an advisor.
Phase
II (Small Group)
Phase
II of the Sequential Advising Model involves Academic
Planning Meetings, small group sessions in which
advisors present information that pertains exclusively to
students' academic majors. Here freshmen are allowed to officially
declare their major and begin formulating a four-year plan.
Groups are limited to eight students so advisors can address
individual questions in greater detail and encourage group
discussion.
Academic
Planning meetings begin during the third week of the second
semester. Letters invite students to attend; students are
obliged to contact the Advising
Center
to reserve a seat. Students
are required to bring their degree audits to this session.
Each
Academic Planning session begins with students receiving a
prepared folder that contains a declaration of curriculum
form and other materials relative to their degree programs.
They are instructed to bring this folder to all future advising
appointments. The folders have proven to be a good organizational
tool for students; subsequently, they come to advising appointments
better prepared, making for a productive and meaningful appointment.
After
students declare their major, they are provided with a Sample
Semesters sheet, a front/back page developed by our staff
that illustrates a tentative four-year academic plan for a
specific major. Note: these sheets do not replace any official
university document, e.g., catalog information, therefore
the sheets carry a disclaimer statement.
Next,
we teach students to align their Sample Semesters sheets with
their degree audits by crossing out completed course work
and figuring remaining hours. This process allows students
to visualize their progress within the program relative to
the number of courses and semesters remaining. This visualization
gives students a partial answer to the time-honored question
"how long will I be in school?" More importantly, degree audits,
coupled with the Sample Semesters sheets, provide students
with a methodology for designing academic plans in a manner
that reflects their goals.
Group
Advising Procedures for Transfer Students
Use
of the Sequential Advising Model for transfer students, drawn
from the program outlined for first year students, has eased
the transition experience for our transfer students.
Transfer
Student Phase I (Large Group)
Our
initial contact with transfer students is a one-hour, large
group Transfer Orientation organized in cooperation with the
university's central academic advising office. Before we advise
students, they are greeted by an orientation staff and provided
with an updated copy of their degree audit which delineates
all submitted transfer work. Next, students planning to declare
a major in elementary, early childhood, or middle level education
are assembled and sent, as a group, to meet with us.
In previous years, this meeting focused solely on the information
transfer students needed to schedule classes for their first
semester at our institution. Although scheduling is still
a priority, we now incorporate the program management techniques
into the orientation.
The
Transfer Orientation opens with each transfer student receiving
a folder of materials similar to those provided to freshmen
during Academic Planning meetings. Materials include: 1) registration
items, 2) forms for declaration of curriculum, 3) sample semester
sheets for majors in our department, 4) referral resource
pamphlet, 5) student timeline, and 6) invitation to attend
a Phase II small group meeting. Essentially, this orientation
program is a condensed version of the information and training
provided to freshmen during New Major Orientation and Pre-Registration
meetings. Additionally, transfer students are given explicit
instructions for locating and logging onto the university's
computer system as well as contact information for gaining
access to their university email accounts. As more communication
takes place electronically, students are encouraged to access
the university's information loop.
Phase
II (Small Groups)
Small
group meetings are 45-minute sessions devoted to providing
step-by-step instructions for deciphering the degree audit
so that it becomes a meaningful and useful planning tool.
Previously, during Transfer Orientation, students were dependent
on advisors to help them determine courses needed based on
their degree audit. The small group sessions are intended
to foster independence so that students can learn to manage
their own programs. Multiple sessions are offered
during the third, fourth, and fifth week of the new semester.
The invitation to small group meetings, which students receive
during Transfer Orientation, instructs them to contact our
center to reserve a time.
Students
are required to bring their degree audits to small group sessions.
Under our guidance, they highlight courses needed, calculate
total credits, figure remaining credits, and compute the number
of remaining semesters. Like the meetings with freshmen, students
are instructed to align a Sample Semesters sheet with the
degree audit in order to outline remaining semesters. As students
work through this process, the abstract nature of program
planning becomes more concrete.
Discussion
After
implementing the Sequential Advising Model in the fall of
2003, we observed that students who attended both Phase I
and Phase II meetings demonstrated a competence in understanding
the basics of program planning; thus, they could make adjustments
in their programs independently. This competence was evident
in the steady decline in the number of scheduled appointments
since that time. Currently, our records indicate a 34% decrease
in the number of individual appointments, with the majority
of the decrease occurring in basic information sessions. We
also noted a significant reduction in routine telephone and
email traffic. Equally as important, student evaluations of
Phase I and Phase II meetings were consistently positive.
Comments included: "the meetings really cleared up my confusions
about my program"; "the sample semesters sheet was very helpful";
and, "at first, I didn't understand my degree audit, but after
attending the meetings, I know what I have and what I need".
It
should be noted that attending both Phase I and Phase II meetings
did not result in totally independent students. There is always
a need for further guidance. While the numbers of students
who came to our office for assistance in basic program planning
issues decreased, the nature of the questions that students
brought to us illustrated a greater understanding of their
program requirements and if their plans needed to be modified.
Subsequent discussions during individual advising meetings
focused more on the impact modifications could make in the
short- and long-term. For example, more students questioned
the benefits and practicality of adding a second major. Similarly
students more often grappled with issues concerning marketability
versus personal interest when choosing a minor. Other discussions
involved incorporation of study abroad opportunities into
academic plans, or how to best prepare for graduate studies.
Conclusion
Gordon
(1998) stated, "As in our past, the future of academic advising
is inextricably intertwined with the fate of higher education.
Advising has been affected and influenced by many of the trends
and issues confronting higher education" (p. 7). Indeed, after
repeated budget shortfalls, our advising center has been challenged
to effectively serve its advisees with limited staff and diminishing
resources. We have responded to this challenge by developing
the Sequential Advising Model: a delivery system which provides
freshmen and new transfer students with the information and
materials needed to become informed managers of their academic
programs. As a result, advisors have had more time during
individual appointments to help students further develop their
academic programs and related personal and professional goals.
References
Banta,
T. W., Hansen, M. J., Black, K. E., & Jackson, J. E. (2002).
Assessing advising outcomes.
NACADA Journal , 22(1), pp. 5-14.
Gordon,
V. (1998). New horizons: Learning from the past and preparing
for the future. NACADA
Journal , 18(2), pp.
5-12.
Jordan,
P. (2000). Advising college students in the 21 st century
. NACADA Journal, 20(2),
pp. 21-30.
Resource
links for Group Advising
Cite
the above resource using APA style as:
Bentley-Gadow, J. E. & Silverson, K. (2005). The
sequential advising model for group advising: Modifying delivery
venues for freshmen and transfer students. Retrieved
-insert today's date- from the NACADA Clearinghouse of
Academic Advising Resources Web site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Group.htm
