Best Practices in Advising

DEVELOPMENTAL ADVISEES:

• Students are assigned an adviser on admission.
• All new developmental students participate in New or Developmental Student Orientation sessions designed for their specific student population: traditional-aged students, adult learners, evening students, transfer students, and high school students.
• Create the expectation and resources for students to develop and implement career and educational plans (preferably FYE course). Provide self-assessments and information to guide students through life goals, career goals, educational plans, building a schedule, and academic success skills.
• Develop learning outcomes for developmental advising
• Stronger assessment of advising criteria for advisors (student work hours, children, etc.)
• Increased student/advisor contact during semester
• A referral system at Point of Assessment advising (first-contact) to refer students to appropriate academic support

• ADVISOR: Advisers help students through various developmental stages, share information about college events, refer them to campus services, assist with career decision-making, and help them with course selection. In addition to personal advising appointments with students, college advisers communicate with their advisees by email several times during the semester. These communiqués are focused around themes that occur with students at certain times during the semester: loneliness, academic support referrals, and registration. (Depending on the organization of advising, much of this can be done through 3 hour FYE courses, if FYE course instructors are the students’ advisor.) If college has the “best-practice” of learning communities for new students, then all entering students receive individual appointments at Orientation and a weekly meeting with the advisor through the first semester in the learning communities.

• Developmental advisor training
• Developmental advisor professional development
• Advisor appreciation activities
• Point of Assessment advising
• Advisor evaluation

ADVISING SUPPORT:

• Early Alert of At-Risk Students and Intensive Intervention
• Timely posting posttest assessments in Peoplesoft by assessment center
• Use electronic educational career portfolios (Pathfinder – available to colleges and can be easily part of FYE courses
• Registrar/staff - developmental advising training, and explicit procedures
• 12 month full-time tenure track developmental advising coordinator with a developmental advising budget for training, appreciation, printing training manuals, professional development. Developmental studies coordinator to manage connections between campuses, divisions, programs, academic support, advising, ABE, accountability, placement policy, proper placement, professional development, and funding.
• Cohort tracking of developmental students under Placement Policy (System and JCC IR coming up with a plan)
• Assessing proper placement in developmental courses and entry-level courses
• Better assessment of borderline developmental reading students (only need refresher)