Advising offices are in the midst of a transition. What will this mean for current and upcoming students? – The Cauldron
On a rapidly evolving campus, traditional training methodologies for academic advisors often fail to address the dynamic needs of today’s student population. With each new wave of students having their own set of changes, universities must work to keep up.
Cleveland State University wanted to adapt to student needs by finding a better way to train professional advisors to best serve students uniformly.
Director of First Year Advising (FYA) Midori Lebron and Assistant Dean for Student Services in the College of Arts and Sciences, Jessica Douglas Cunion confronted this project head-on in the spring of 2023. Their goal was to introduce a new training curriculum designed to bridge existing gaps and elevate skill development.
CSU’s Academic Advising office hired the Global Community for Academic Advising, also known as NACADA, a consulting organization committed to helping advisory excellence across campuses.
“We had consultants come in from NACADA, to basically do a review of our advising practices and figure out where there might be gaps in training needs, collaborations across campus, or anything else they could help provide us with support,” Lebron shared in an interview with The Cauldron. “There were many different focus areas that [NACADA] wanted us to pay attention to, but human resources and training was one of them.”
Beginning with an exploration of the previous training scenario and the identified deficiencies, NACADA and the new training curriculum committee painted a vivid picture of the need for a transformative approach. This new curriculum has a large part to play in the current advisor’s questions and opinions on what they believe students need more information on.
“We did a poll-survey with the entire advising community, asking ‘what kinds of topics do you want or need to know more about?’, and ‘[what] do you wish we had more information on?’ because students are asking questions about these types of things,” Cunion elaborated, “It included everything from really logistical problems all the way through to topics that we already are having this spring.”
The new curriculum was unveiled in fall 2023 via the Pilot Program with a comprehensive overview of its key features, clear objectives and a focus on student support. The program will affect all advisors, new and current, from college advisory offices to niche advisors in offices like TRIO or the athletic department.
Cleveland State University sought to adapt to student needs by finding a better way to train professional advisors to best serve students uniformly. Photo Credit: Cleveland State University
Current advisors are urged to attend informational presentations about departments at CSU that benefit the students. The first presentation on Feb. 8 was regarding CISP and CSU Global, to discuss what international students are facing in today’s environment.
“It included everything from the nitty gritty about how many online courses…an international student [can] take at a given time, all the way through really complex policies related to CPT and OPT, which is essentially working for international students,” said Cunion.
With this new curriculum, new advisors can have the same base knowledge as their peers regardless of where they’re located. This will provide a foundation for all advisors to serve as referral agents, all while enabling them to support students by having access to all information directly after being hired. This training curriculum will not replace face-to-face contact, rather, it will supplement the learning of brand-new advisors to provide a foundation.
Notably, this access to a pool of information is established immediately upon their recruitment during the onboarding process, thereby facilitating uniform support services across the advising community.
With this project being implemented during an active semester, though, it raises questions about how current students would be affected.
“I think [advising] will look the same, but there will be [fewer] information silos,” Lebron reassured. “I think it’s fair to say that our students won’t have to ‘advisor hop’ because they will know that they will get the same information from an advisor in FYA and an advisor in the College of Health.”
Lebron then shared her support towards advising as a community and as a profession:
“I think it’s important to understand the value that academic advisors bring to the big picture of CSU. I feel that academic advising should be valued at the University because we are what makes the student experience feel official.”
Academic advisors serve as mentors, helping students navigate the complexities of course selection, major exploration and career planning.
The new approach fosters a sense of direction and purpose, empowering students to make informed decisions about their education and future careers. With the implementation of the new curriculum, students can expect to feel more secure in what their advisor has to offer.
The program will not be officially implemented until before orientation season in summer 2024 to best accommodate the class of 2028.