Notes

What are the most common fears of first-year students at AUB?

�        I will not be able to get into the course(s) I want.

�        I will not have enough money to do all the things I want to do.

�        I will not be able to manage my time.

�        I will become depressed.

What are the purposes of advising � from the perspective of the advisor?

�        Assisting students in selecting and scheduling courses.

�        Informing students of rules and regulations.

�        Demonstrating a caring attitude.

�        Counseling students through a crisis�particularly an academic crisis.

What are the purposes of advising � from the perspective of the student?

�        Assisting students in selecting and scheduling courses.

�        Informing students of rules and regulations.

�        Counseling students through a crisis.

�        Helping students make decisions about their careers.

�        Mediating between the student and other faculty members.

�        Telling the student which general education courses to take.

�        Demonstrating a caring attitude.

�        Helping students determine which particular area of skill they need to develop.

What are some of the ways in which advisors send signals that they don�t care?

�        Body language is important.

�        Being unavailable to meet with students.  This does not mean faculty should be available at all times.  It is reasonable to expect advisees to come during office hours or to schedule an appointment.

Increasingly, the process of selecting courses is being automated.  Is there still a role for the advisor in such a system?  If so, what is it?

�        A machine cannot interact with the student; cannot provide feedback; cannot ask the right questions at the right time.

What should advisors not do:

�        If the university has a counseling office, the advisor should not counsel a student through a crisis�unless it is an academic crisis.  The advisor does, however, need to have sufficient training to recognize a crisis and it may not always be possible or appropriate to refer the student to someone else.  Even if you do refer the student to someone else, stay in touch with the student.

�        Suggest clubs, events, activities, and organizations with which students might become involved.  (Participants disagreed on this point.)

�        Encourage students to major in the curriculum you represent.  (Participants disagreed on this point.  Many felt that if faculty are motivated by what is in the best interest of the student, then it is fine to recommend that the student major in the curriculum he/she represents.)

�        Mediating between the student and other faculty members.  (Participants disagreed on this point.  �Mediation� does not mean interference.  It may be important to work with the student and encourage him/her to deal directly with the faculty member.)

Many participants felt that the advising system at AUB used to be better.  Why?

�        There were fewer students.  It was less impersonal.

What other changes have there been at AUB in recent years?

�        Students have less respect for faculty.

�        There are more extracurricular activities.

�        More students are working and going to school; more students need financial aid.

�        Students receive less guidance from home.

�        Students increasingly rely on other students to select courses. 

�        More students are going to university these days.

�        More students come to AUB from French-speaking schools.  These schools are often more rigid and offer students less choices, so these students often have more trouble adjusting to the choices and decisions they have to make at AUB.

�        Students increasingly communicate via email.

�        Many students don�t consult with their advisors unless there is a crisis.

�        Students are more assertive and vocal; they are more self-confident.

�        Students are less responsible in some ways.

�        More students are coming from single-parent homes: fathers are often working in a different country.

�        Recent changes in the registration system allow students to register off-site and without consulting with an advisor.

What do advisors do at AUB now?

�        Assist students with course registration.

�        Provide basic information about courses and curricula requirements.

What changes would make it possible for advisors to do a better job at AUB?

�        Advisors need more information � and more timely information:

�          Make all syllabuses publicly available � in the library or on the web.

�          Make all professors� resumes available � in the library or on the web.

�          Make all student evaluations available � in the library or on the web.

�          Make the catalogue and advising guide available sooner.

�          Provide advisors with a list of resources available at the University that includes email addresses and phone numbers for the individual or office that a student could be referred to if he/she is, for example, depressed or pregnant or if there is an issue of sexual harassment, etc.

�          All faculties should provide advisors from other faculties with a list of courses that are open and appropriate to students from other faculties.

�          All departments should create a �course sequencing� chart that clearly spells out which courses need to be taken in which order and which courses are required in order to be able to take other courses.

�        New faculty should not be asked to advise.

�        Department chairs should take the lead in advising.

�        Administer the English placement test sooner so that the results are available sooner.

�        There should be a placement/career service office at AUB.

�        The current registration system does not allow students to see what courses they need to take in order to graduate.  This must be fixed.  Someone needs to make sure that the new on-line system is working properly.

�        Need to identify who (what office or which individual) is responsible for advising at AUB.  Who is monitoring and evaluating the system?  There needs to be a mechanism in place to evaluate advising.  (Dr. Strommer suggested that after a student met with an advisor, he/she could be asked (1) why did you come and (2) did you get what you came for?)

�        There needs to be improved communication among faculties and departments.

�        If advisors are approving many exceptions to university policies, then perhaps the policy should be changed.  Should advisors be involved in the petitioning process?  A university-wide committee should address this issue.

�        Limit the number of advisees � to 20 or 25 max.

�        Give advisors more authority.

�        Give advisors access to students� records.

�        Increase the number of course choices and the capacity of courses that are in high demand.  Specifically, some nursing students are unable to find places in courses (SBHS 101, SBHS 201, SBHS 202, CHEM 208, CHEM 209, e.g.) in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences that they are required to take before they can take nursing courses.

What changes might make it possible for advisors to do a better job in general?

�        Establish advising centers.  Faculty who are advisors would come to the center to advise students.  This facilitates communication among advisors from different faculties.

�        Offer a first-year course on advising.

�        Increase the number of advisors:

�          Senior students could play a useful role in advising�especially in larger departments.

�          Allow lecturers and instructors to advise.

�        Advisors could schedule group meetings with advisees to address some issues that are repetitive and do not differ from student to student such as:

�          Explaining particular academic tracks.

�          Explaining what a liberal arts education is.

�          Explain the implications of certain career choices at the outset and address questions such as, for example, (1) what does it mean to be an engineer and (2) what kinds of jobs do engineers do?

�        Establish a �big brother/big sister� system.

�        Establish a system in which students have the same advisor throughout their time at university.  (There are pros and cons of doing this.  Currently both systems�either the student keeps the same advisor throughout his/her time at AUB or is assigned a new advisor each year�are used at AUB.  It was suggested that a study should be done to determine if one system is preferable.)

�        Allow students to choose their advisors.

�        Educate students about advising.

�        Introduce the student to the concept of advising sooner�perhaps introduce the concept of �advising� in the university�s acceptance letter.  Even if you can�t provide the name of the student�s advisor at this time, inform the student that he/she will be assigned an advisor and should meet with that advisor prior to registration.

�        Make advising mandatory�especially for the first two-three semesters. 

�        Reward advisors by providing course relief or including some form of assessment of advising in the promotion decisions.  Should advisors create �advising portfolios�?  (Some participants felt that advising was an integral part of teaching and should not be singled out for reward.  Others disagreed and did not feel that advising should be a faculty member�s responsibility.)  Good advising should be recognized.

�        Use secretaries more effectively.

�        Use technology (email and chat rooms e.g.) to stay in touch with advisees.

�        Give each advisee a background questionnaire in which you ask them about:

�          Goals

�          Concerns

�          Priorities

�          Strengths

�          Weaknesses

�        It may not be appropriate for every faculty member to advise.  If not, then how would advisors be selected? 

�        Advisors should be trained.

�        Advisors should seek opportunities to meet with advisees outside the classroom.

�        Include a statement on advising in the catalogue.

What are the students� responsibilities?

�        Meet with advisors during office hours or schedule an appointment.

�        Educate themselves about advising.

�        Consult with your advisor before there is a crisis.

Why are students unhappy with advising?

Students have expressed their unhappiness with advising.  Given that many students think of advising as being the process by which they select courses, they may in fact be expressing their unhappiness with the on-line registration system.  Many advisors hear complaints from their students about this.  We need to look at how students define advising in order to understand what exactly students are unhappy about.  Selecting courses at AUB is not a happy experience for anyone.

What should be done after these advising workshops are over?

�        Develop an email list of workshop participants and share these notes with all participants.

�        If materials are developed, share them with all participants.

�        Make recommendations to the administration that are shared with all participants.

�        Students should know that their feedback (that advising does not work) is the reason for these workshops.

�        Encourage senior administration to meet with all advisors to discuss and resolve the issues/problems that have been identified at AUB.