Rebecca Barrow, Davidson College

Angie Dewberry, Davidson College

“Student success is everyone’s responsibility” (Faucett et al., 2023).

There are many similarities between AACRAO’s (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers) and NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising’s (NACADA) goals and the daily job duties of advisors and registrar staff (advising students, interpreting policies, checking degree audits, training advisors, running reports, etc.). It is surprising, therefore, that there is not more professional literature and practical work in regard to intentionally making concrete partnerships between advising and registrar staff, especially in the critical areas of reporting, training, and communication.            

Historically, there has been some acknowledgement of these connections; however, this has been less direct in the literature. Few articles clearly state that registrar staff are advisors and advisors are critical to registrar functions, like registration and graduation. A 1992 NACADA article urges advisors to “Inform yourself of campus resources thoroughly, paying particular attention to the names of contact people and the chain of command in various offices. (Ultimately you will develop an invaluable sense of which people in each area are most helpful and responsive.)” (Roundy, 1992, para. 2). A 2009 NACADA article encourages readers to “discuss issues of mutual concern and to explore areas for collaborative action” (Reynolds, 2009, para. 12). In 2012, another NACADA article encouraged advisors to “Identify the roles of offices, such as the Registrar’s Office” (McCleaf, 2012, para. 11). Relatively little detail is provided on what such a collaboration would look like.

Currently distributed literature from professional organizations shows common goals and overlap between the two areas. NACADA outlines in the pocket guide Foundations of Academic Advising that advising is “vital to student learning and student growth” (Beres et al., 2013, p. 19). NACADA’s core competencies state that advisors must master knowledge of “Campus and community resources that support student success” (NACADA, 2017, para. 7). NACADA’s book titled Comprehensive Advisor Training and Development talks directly about reaching out to a registrar’s office for student data (Givans Voller et al., 2010). AACRAO includes advising as a core competency for those working with international students (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, n.d.). Finally, 79% of respondents in a 2022 study of registrars said, “registrars should be actively involved in student engagement across the student life cycle” (Kilgore, 2022, p. 8).

More recently, colleagues in the field with experience in both areas or who work in offices that house both advising and registrar are drawing more attention to the concrete connections. Katie Brown, in discussing her combined academic advising and registrar’s office writes “Advisors have been able to provide amazing feedback about how our end-users, the students, see processes and interpret information. This has already led to changes around how the registrar’s office and advisors are communicating with students and with each other. . .. We hope to make strategic improvements to our new student orientation process, progression checkpoint data tracking, and student communications” (Brown, 2023, paras. 3–4). Rebecca Barrow and Angie Dewberry, also housed in a combined registrar and advising office, presented at the NACADA Region 3 conference on “The Registrar’s Office: Building Your Support System” (Barrow & Dewberry, 2023). At the 2023 AACRAO Annual Meeting, Kelly Campbell, registrar and former director of operations in advising, presented on “Forging the Necessary Connection Between the Registrar and Academic Advising to Advance Success at Your Institution” (Campbell, 2023). Both of these presentations included information on relationship building, communication, data driven decisions, collaborative decision-making, and records and services.

Perhaps recent interest in connecting advising with other campus partners exists because advising is more recognized now as a critical aspect of higher education (Thach, 2022). Advising offices and centers are visible and central to campus work. Or perhaps, with the great resignation and staffing shortages that are not likely to reduce over the next few years (Kim, 2023), staff are looking for ways to create efficiencies, even if two departments have different reporting lines or are in different physical locations on campus.

It is vital that advisors and registrar staff work together to increase transparency, grow efficiency, and verify everyone is conveying the same information across campus. The following sections outline specific ways one can reach out and connect with the registrar’s office to improve processes and student services in the areas of reporting, training, and communication.

Reporting

Advising and registrar’s offices are both sources of and consumers of data and utilize reports to perform their job duties and to make improvements. Both offices can begin with a self-assessment to determine what reports they regularly use and identify information gaps. For example, an advisor roster report can be updated to include pictures of students. A student hold report can be edited to include more details about the hold and who specifically students should contact. Do all areas on campus have access to a report that shows how many students tried to get into a course but couldn’t? Are the advising and registrar’s offices on the same page about what courses and how many sections of courses are needed for students to graduate and who is communicating this to faculty department chairs?

Even if institutional research or technology teams create reports at your institution, the registrar’s office typically serves as the student data steward and can assist with making sure the right data is being captured to meet the request. For example, how does your institution calculate class year for students on the bubble between classes? An informal meeting between technical staff members in both the advising and registrar’s offices (or institutional research and technology) could open up the door to a greater understanding of office needs and collaboration.

Training

Whether you are working with new students or new faculty, elements of training are all around us. As the gatekeepers to confidential student records and the liaison between faculty and student grades, there are both rules and software tools all parties need to know exist and how to use them to their fullest capabilities. Maximizing technology and consistent communication are reasons training is so important.

A registrar’s office upholds the Federal Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), protecting student’s academic records and rights, with the responsibility of training others to do the same. In addition to offering in-person training across campus, a reference guide provided by the registrar’s office can serve as a physical reminder of what rules to follow as it relates to this law. Certain aspects can vary by college, again emphasizing consistency with this resource.

Registrar’s offices also typically oversee degree audit tools where grades are collected, and progress is tracked for graduation. Joint training sessions will include time for new advisors to practice going over scenarios and case studies that align with situations and real experiences of students.  Proper training leads to consistent messaging, reduces issues related to graduation, and proactively works to meet students’ academic needs.

Communication

Both advisors and the registrar staff are responsible for monitoring student progress towards graduation, but that is not something that can be done in a silo. Operating with a robust referral system of various departments and offices supports students both in and out of the classroom. It’s critical that the registrar’s staff and advisors are in regular communication with campus partners that includes academic access and disability services, case management, health services, residence life, financial aid, tutoring, and athletic coaches.

What does the experience look like for a student on your campus when they are in some form of crisis? Does your college have a weekly meeting of campus partners? Are the advising and registrar’s offices involved? Having all of these parties at the table during these crucial conversations helps students make informed decisions with the full picture.

Formal communication from committees making decisions is critical to ensure campus partners are disseminating correct information to students. If advising or registrar staff on your campus are not members of faculty committees, for example, do you have a procedure in place to get that information in a timely manner? Your institution’s learning management system is also a good way to enroll staff or advisors into a course, where those individuals can share resources and make announcements. Also, advising and registrar websites and emails out to students throughout the year need to be accurate and in sync in terms of messaging to students.  

Keeping reporting, training, and communication in mind, let’s move beyond co-existence and work intentionally to partner between advising and registrar’s offices. Take a colleague out to lunch to discuss retention numbers. Organize a training session to review degree audit upgrades with campus partners. Schedule monthly meetings to review curricular updates. By working together, advising and registrar staff can save time, reduce redundancies, ensure consistent messaging, and serve students more effectively.

References

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. (n.d.). Advising. https://www.aacrao.org/resources/core-competencies/professional-proficiencies/international/advising

Barrow, R., & Dewberry, A. (2023, March 26). The registrar’s office: Building your support system [Conference session]. NACADA Region 3 Conference, Wilmington, NC.

Beres, K., Drake, J., Givans Voller, J., Jordan, P., King, N., Musser, T., Reynolds, M., Stockwell, K., & Yoder, F. (2013). Foundations of academic advising [NACADA Pocket Guide series #14]. NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.

Brown, K. (2023, March 20). Combining academic advising and the registrar’s office. Field Notes Connect Column. https://www.aacrao.org/resources/newsletters-blogs/aacrao-connect/article/combining-academic-advising-and-the-registrar-s-office

Cambell, K. (2023, March 29). Forging the necessary connection between the registrar and academic advising to advance student success at your institution [Breakout session]. AACRAO Annual Meeting, Aurora, CO, United States. https://aacrao.secure-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/98/details/23878

Thach, K. (2022, August 10). The Importance of Academic Advising in Higher Education. Homeroom: The Official Blog of the U.S. Department of Education. https://blog.ed.gov/2022/08/the-importance-of-academic-advising-in-higher-education/

Faucett, D., Price, V., & Kienle-Granzo, E. (Directors). (2023, May 24). Retention, Retention! How Registrars Support Student Retention [Webinar]. AACRO. https://www.aacrao.org/

Givans Voller, J., Miller, M., & Neste, S. (2010). Comprehensive advisor training and development practices that deliver (2nd ed., Vol. 21). NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.

Kilgore, W. (2022). The modern registrar reflections from the field [Whitepaper]. American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Modern Campus.

Kim, J. (2023, June 12). Future labor shortages and the university as a workplace. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/learning-innovation/2023/06/12/future-labor-shortages-and-university-workplace

McCleaf, K. J. (2012). Improving our advisees’ cultural capital. Academic Advising Today, 35(1). https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Improving-Our-Advisees-Cultural-Capital.aspx

NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. (2017). NACADA academic advising core competencies model. https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Pillars/CoreCompetencies.aspx  

Reynolds, M. M. (2009). Developing a working relationship with the Registrar’s Office. NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources. https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Developing-a-working-relationship-with-the-Registrars-Office.aspx

Roundy, J. (1992, April). Tips on making effective referrals. Academic Advising Today, 14(2). https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Tips-on-making-effective-referrals.aspx