I have learned to work with a population who will one day live on the outside. Without education, many will find their way back to prison. With education, many more will lead productive lives and contribute to society, rather than take from it. If you have the opportunity to work with incarcerated students, reserve judgment for later. View your opportunity as an investment in the betterment of society. Most likely it will be an investment that returns more than any Wall Street bull market.

[Read the rest of this article...]

build relationships, academic support, underprepared students, nontraditional students, Don Sebera

As advisors and students meet this fall, advisors may notice an increase in the number of students who have received learning disability services in high school. Ironically, these same students may not have the documentation necessary to receive accommodation at the college level. This is the result of the 2004 revisions to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These revisions will also impact student accommodations for such professional tests as the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST), required for admission to some teacher education programs.

[Read the rest of this article...]

academic support, at-risk students, preparedness, learning disabilities, referrals, underprepared students, Les Hemphill

The program, Career Coach, comprises a series of personal and career developmental workshops supported by a powerful, interactive e-profile tool. Each class, in year one, attends a weekly hour workshop with a counselor to address one of the Career Coach themes. The workshops revolve around three main themes: Self Exploration, Life Skills, and the Job Search Process. In their first semester, students participate in a series of workshops to explore their personal styles, values, characteristics, and learning styles. Students are introduced to college life, academic expectations, rules and regulations in an attempt to support them as they settle in their new environment. In the second semester, workshops are aimed at supporting students personal and academic development with sessions that revolve around building self esteem, setting goals, time management, communication skills and style, team work, assessment management and presentation skills. 

[Read the rest of this article...]

career advising, first year students, academic support, Global Community, technology, underprepared students, Nawal Majeed, Rafeef Dahir, International students

First generation students often require more attention than other students. Academic advisors can help ensure the success of these students when they are prepared. Advisors who apply the six practical suggestions listed in this article can guide first generation students through their toughest and most rewarding years and in turn help them graduate.

[Read the rest of this article...]

proactive advising, communication, build relationships, at-risk students, student motivation, advising strategy, advising approaches, persistence, underprepared students, first generation students, Lorneth Peters, technology

As we continue to study First Generation College Students, we become increasingly aware of several subgroups within this special population of students. We can identify adult students with family and job responsibilities, those who are among the first in their families to be born in this country, and foster care alumni who are aging out of the foster care system as three subgroups advisors can assist. Each of these groups faces particular issues as they seek a college education. A closer look at these students reveals special needs that academic advisors must take into account if they are to provide these students with the care they require to succeed.

[Read the rest of this article...]

proactive advising, build relationships, academic support, at-risk students, cultural differences, preparedness, underprepared students, adult learners, first generation students, Joseph Murray, Ila Schauer, Chris Bennette Klefeker

When instructors and students contact academic advisors about a learning progress concern, advisors might be faced with the difficult task of helping students suspected of having a learning disability. The problem of identifying a disability becomes more complex if students speak English as their second language (ESL).

[Read the rest of this article...]

academic support, cultural differences, learning disabilities, underprepared students, Aura Rios Erickson

Native Americans have attended college in the United States since colonial times. Unfortunately, the experience of most Native students at predominantly White institutions has not been entirely positive...Two major barriers still remain for Native Americans: the struggle to get into college and, if admitted, the struggle to successfully complete a degree. The desire to remove these barriers was behind the start of the Tribal College movement.

[Read the rest of this article...]

at-risk students, cultural differences, underprepared students, Les Ridingin, Robert Longwell-Grice, Adrienne Thunder

Many experts see a nationwide decline in math-preparedness. The NACADA Two-Year College Commission suggests that advisors discuss a series of questions in regard to working with students underprepared in mathematics.

[Read the rest of this article...]

at-risk students, underprepared students, Deborah Herzog

If the cure for apathy has anything to do with its antonym, then the best way we can overcome this epidemic is to increase our activism, vigor, and purpose. It is a daunting task, but as professional and faculty advisors, we can reverse the effects of apathy in order to strengthen our institutions and promote student retention and success.

[Read the rest of this article...]

collaboration, at-risk students, advising strategy, common reading, underprepared students, Nikol Luther

Successful college matriculation demands not only the rhetorical commitment to higher education but to a life structured to an acceptance that graduation from college is possible...The role of the advisor is to assist the student in making reasoned choices, acquiring needed skills, and serving as the “reality check” that will make college possible.

[Read the rest of this article...]

role of advisor, at-risk students, community relationships, underprepared students, first generation students, Thomas Johnson