Debra Y. Applegate and Gayle Hartleroad, Ball State University
Being an academic advisor is no small task; we inform students about opportunities to expand their knowledge and experiences, help them make life-changing decisions, and assist them to achieve their maximum potential. As budget restraints negatively affect academia, there is valid concern that institutions remain adequately staffed and sufficiently meet the needs of students in a timely manner -- two of the Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education requirements for academic advising programs (CAS, 2005). Many of today’s academic advisors are overwhelmed by the number of students in their advising loads and their responsibility to help these students develop academically and personally. What exactly defines a “large advising load?” How might an advisor effectively advise this number of students? What does it take for an advisor to manage this demand? Do advisors have accessible resources that are not being utilized efficiently?
Defining a “large” advising load
Although suggestions vary, Habley (2004) noted that a generally accepted recommendation for the number of students assigned to a full-time, professional academic advisor is approximately 300 (¶ 4). Habley noted that this recommendation should be qualified by the specific needs of the student population and the structure of the institution (¶ 5). Advisors assigned to work with undecided, disabled, transfer, adult, and international students, among other sub-populations, may require a smaller load to accommodate more extensive advising needs. Another factor which may determine an assigned advising load is the number of electives within a specific program. For instance, business and engineering are two programs with few electives so some administrators may not consider other student factors and think that advisors can handle larger advising loads. In these cases it may be helpful if advisors are assigned a select group of students within a specialty or in the same year.
Advising a large population of students (750 pre-business in our situation) has required us to think strategically in our efforts to handle the demands of a large number of students effectively without sacrificing student focus or our ability to assist students in utilizing campus resources to obtain the best possible college experience.
Defining student populations
When managing a large number of advisees, a critical component is advisor knowledge of the general and specific needs of each student population group. At Ball State University, we utilize a coding system for advisors. This has proven beneficial to categorize advisees using designated codes which indicate student progression through the required course sequence. For instance, pre-business students are coded “WW” when entering sophomore status, “XX” for students successfully continuing in the program after their first semester, “YY” if an international student, “ZZ” if an honors student. At a glance, Ball State pre-business advisors can see what type of student is being advised and know probable questions and concerns.
Defining effective formats for various student populations
Once student populations have been identified, a specific format is utilized to best meet the needs of advisees. Incoming or newly identified pre-business students (coded as “WW”) must attend a mandatory group orientation advising session in their first semester. Course sequencing, registration, GPA requirements, major choices, advising expectations, internships, and available resources are explained in this session. We encourage students to efficiently progress through pre-business toward admission into the college of business. Students who successfully advance to the next semester are coded as “XX” and will attend individual advising appointments until they are fully admitted into the college. This group often requires more specific advising to help them successfully progress to their declared majors. International students, also known as the “YY” population, meet with an advisor one-on-one in all cases since there are often additional requirements and specific needs to be addressed. For similar reasons, individual advising appointments are the favored format for the honors “ZZ” group.
Defining possible resources
The number and types of advising resources are diverse. A sampling of options include:
When addressing the challenges of managing today’s large advising loads, academic advisors can benefit tremendously from categorizing their advisees, identifying specific student needs within these categories, selecting appropriate advising formats, and utilizing available resources. It is critical we remember that even though we may be overloaded with work each student is an individual with individual needs. Students deserve the guidance needed to help them navigate the bureaucracy and challenges of college in order to be successful. NACADA is an incredible support organization to assist academic advisors in this professional endeavor.
Debra Y. Applegate Academic Advisor Miller College of Business Ball State University dapplegate@bsu.edu
Gayle Hartleroad Director of Student Services Miller College of Business Ball State University ghartler@bsu.edu
References
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). (2005). Academic advising programs: CAS standards and guidelines. Retrieved from www.cas.edu/getpdf.cfm?PDF=E864D2C4-D655-8F74-2E647CDECD29B7D0
Habley, W. R. (2004). Advisor load. Retrieved from the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources website: www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/advisorload.htm
National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). (2011a). Advising technology. Retrieved from www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Links/Technology.htm
National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). (2011b). Allied associations. Retrieved from www.nacada.ksu.edu/Membership/allied_members.htm
National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). (2011c). Clearinghouse topics index. Retrieved from www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/index.htm
Cite this article using APA style as: Applegate, D.Y. & Hartleroad, G. (2011, March). Effective ways to deal with large advising loads. Academic Advising Today, 34(1). Retrieved from [insert url here]
