Spotlight Feature 4/11/22: Advising Model & Approach

April 21, 2022

This model is being presented to the faculty assemblies and will continue to be updated as we finalize our design. For additional context, please see Student Experience Team Update (4/11/22) and Academic Operations Team Update (4/11/22).

Vision and Mission

An image with text. The title is Vision and below it is a list of the vision for advising 1 Student First 1a Equitable advising for all students: online, in-person, and hybrid 1b Unique pathway and pace for each student 2 Purpose First 2a Students identify, clarify, and attain educational and career goals 2b Students monitor progress, view options, and make informed decisions 3 Digital First 3a Streamlined and consistent with one digital front door for all students 3b Flexibility for students to choose when, where, and how 3c Personalized self-service and universal design
An image with two columns of text. The image is titled Mission. The first column is titled How is the new advising concept different than the current practice? Under the title are four items listed. 1 Shared advising model with both faculty and staff having formal advising responsibilities. 2 Relationship-based approach with a focus on intentional transformational interactions to help students meet goals, make informed decisions, and prepare for their futures. 3 Streamlined, accessible, digital first systems and information for transactional aspects of advising such as schedule changes, major changes, verifying progress toward degrees, other academic forms, etc. 4 Clear roles and expectations with robust professional development for faculty and staff advisors. end list Second column is titled Current practice at CU, NVU, and VTC. Under it is another list of four items in order to compare them to the items on the first list. 1 Faculty advisors are advisors of record with some professional staff serving as advising support or advising certain populations. 2 Advisors tend to equate advising with course registration and other transactional tasks; some advisors are also focused on transformational interactions and building relationships (inconsistent for students). 3 Mix of paper forms, electronic forms that work to varying degrees, and email options. Web sites sometimes conflict or are out of date or cannot be found. 4 Students tend to combine all support into one category including advising, student success, academic support, etc. There are no consistent expectations for students or staff regarding what advising is. end list

Advising Approach: Student Advising Hierarchy of Needs

The advising approach is developmental and holistic to accommodate all student needs. Each student will
have both a faculty advisor and a staff advisor for holistic support as they navigate their unique path to
success. The student-centered, relationship-based approach is designed to increase each student’s sense of
belonging, support each student’s overall wellbeing, and result in greater student success outcomes than
realized through current practices.

A pyramid broken into three sections to demonstrate the student hierarch of needs. Beside the triangle is a yellow circle with the text Students arrive with varying degrees of readiness and each student's pathway and pace are unique as a result. end text. Also outside the triangle are two small green rectangles. The one on the left has the text Student builds foundation, develops, and achieves goals. end text. second one on the right of the triangle reads Team provided holistic support based on student needs. The triangle in the middle is broken into three sections.

Advising Model

Students prefer fewer departmental silos, a single “front door” (whether remotely or in-person) where
common questions can be addressed, and the flexibility to choose when, where, and how they access advising.
The advising model provides a “one-stop” Student Success & Advising Center with expanded hours and digital
and physical “front door” access.

The investment in additional staff will reduce, and strive to eliminate, existing achievement gaps among
underserved student groups while increasing retention and graduation rates for all students and resulting in
increased VSU revenues. Staff additions are projected to result from a combination of reassignments and new
hires. Due to shared goals, integrated functions, and common professional development needs, the team
recommends including advising, career and experiential learning, academic support, and disability services
together organizationally.

The advising team envisions common web-based functionality and access for all services included on the
concept map.