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Academic advisors at access institutions whose missions, in part, are to break the cycle of poverty, often encounter root causes of social problems in their student populations. One challenge that affects retention and graduation rates is unplanned pregnancy in college students. The key to breaking the cycle and providing better chances of positive outcomes is to design institution-appropriate interventions that effect change.
Why are some students and advisors energized by the challenges of the constantly changing world of higher education and life—swimmers—while others, when faced with similar situations, become frustrated and discouraged—sinkers?
Female undergraduate students outnumber their male counterparts, yet there is a great underrepresentation of women in majors considered to be traditionally male. This has led to a disproportionately small number of women in STEM areas of concentration: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These disparities persist despite women’s interest in STEM fields. It is crucial for colleges and universities to impact those statistics by counteracting the factors that enforce gender roles.
Students who wait until they are faced with an obstacle to generate alternative opportunities in career development can experience a shock that they are not prepared to deal with. Their initial plan is the only direction they have considered, and when the road blocks appear, students cannot see beyond them.
This article examines how connectivism is useful for academic advising as a theory that links previous information to current information, incorporates technology within the realm of knowing, and guides students to look beyond their own understanding to connect information.
Without the intervention of faculty mentors or academic advisors, undergraduate students often acquire unwise habits regarding course selection. Faced with the scary task of creating a course schedule, students who do not know where to start often turn to their friends and ask for recommended “easy courses.” While the magnetic draw of “easy courses” may persist, faculty mentors and advisors can help undergraduates develop a mindset to strategically select courses and plan for their academic futures.
Over the past 10 years at the University of Hawai‘i’s Mānoa Advising Center (MAC), a number of small but significant changes have been made in the way that mandatory advising is offered—namely in format and tone—that have had a big impact in helping advisors to more efficiently and proactively assist their students.
The author remembers that his advisor never gave up on him. Not only did that experience change his life, it also allowed him the opportunity to change the lives of others.
