Interlocking Oppression and Implicit Bias: Academic Advising with Gender and Sexual Minority Students

Cassidy Wilson (She/Her)
B.A. Psych, M.Ed. Counselling Psychology Candidate
LGBTQIA2S+ Wellness Coordinator
University of New Brunswick
St. Thomas University
New Brunswick Community College

Nathan Thompson (He/Him)
B.Sc., B. Ed., M.Ed. (Equity Studies), M.Ed. (Counselling Psychology)
University Instructor
University of New Brunswick

Writer’s Note: It is important to note that both authors, while members of a sexual minority group, are white, cisgender people who were raised in the colonial system. Although we have committed to the process of decolonization, it is important to acknowledge that the process of decolonization is an arduous road; we have and are bound to make mistakes. This blog post is being written with the intention to promote continued learning, and self-exploration within the field of academic advising.

Interlocking Oppression

When we were approached to write a blog pertaining to gender and sexual minority (GSM) university students’ experiences within an academic advising context, we realized it was an important opportunity to utilize this platform, and our privilege (in not only the aforementioned ways above, but in that we were afforded the opportunity to pursue post-secondary, and post-graduate education) in such a way to promote thoughtful conversation and reflection. The civil unrest we have been witness to in the US after the brutal and public death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 has brought more attention to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and systemic racism within our colonial institutions. We are being asked by Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) to enact real lasting systemic change and we felt this may be a good opportunity to challenge both ourselves and others about what this may mean in an academic advising setting.

Multiple forms of systemic oppression work together and help secure each other in ways that then impact the lived day-to-day experience of marginalized populations. Sherene Razack (1998) refers to this as “interlocking systems of oppression” and our GSM students are located within these interlocking systems. For instance, all our GSM students are also racialized students, whether they be Black, White, or Brown. To negate their racial identities and how they interlock with their sexual and gender identities means we may not be fully understanding their academic needs and their experiences on university and college campuses.

Research shows us time and time again that GSM populations experience higher rates of mental health issues, increased risk of poverty, a greater lack of familial support, and an increased risk of violence (Hatchel, Espelage & Huang, 2018; Simpson, 2018; Taylor & Peter, 2011). The fact GSM struggle and face more challenges than their heterosexual and cisgender peers is because they live in a society in which heterosexual and cisgender people are the desired norm or “default.” All other “non-normative” sexualities and genders face the possibility of discrimination, hatred, and/or violence due to homophobia and transphobia. GSM populations who are also BIPOC may experience these things to an even greater degree as they are oppressed by the interlocking nature of both a heteronormative and a racist society (Fattoracci, Revels-Macalinao & Huynh, 2020; Sutter & Perrin, 2016).

Knowing about the interlocking systems of oppression means that we will have hard conversations with our supervisors and other trusted advisors. It will mean that we as educators, therapists, and advisors must be committed to pursuing professional development informed by, and lead by, BIPOC or GSM folks. We will show up in solidarity at community events and use our positions of privilege within the post-secondary community to work with student led GSM groups. When we meet with students, we will work to acknowledge these interlocking identities, and inquire into our students’ lived experience. This means never assuming that just because a student presents as a certain way, that their lived experiences will be the same as another student from similar backgrounds. It also will require us to risk being uncomfortable in confronting our biases. It will mean doing the work.

Implicit Bias

When working with and advising GSM students, it is important to recognize our own positioning within the interlocking systems (our racial, sexual, and gendered identities) and how this may shape our interactions with them, in particular, those who are BIPOC. So how do we do this? What does it mean to recognize our privilege and the interlocking nature of systems of oppression? How does this impact student advising? How does what we do make any sort of impact on larger systemic issues?

Every year I (Nathan) teach a new group of students who are very adamant that they are supportive of movements like Black Lives Matter and that they attend their local Pride festival every summer in support of their GSM friends and family. They are motivated, caring, and genuinely want to make this world we live in a better place. However, they also resist the notion that they could be racist, homophobic, or transphobic in any way. In order to address this, I will often get them to complete the Harvard Implicit Association Tests (Project Implicit, 2011). The tests help measure hidden biases, and these include racial bias, heterosexual bias, and cisgender bias. Every year the students are shocked to see that they do, in fact, privilege people who are light skinned, heterosexual, and cisgender. What they find even more shocking is that their professor (myself), who is openly queer and is teaching them about oppression, also continues to have implicit bias toward light skinned, heterosexual, and cisgender people.

Similarly, I (Cassidy) found my own personal experience of d-colonization, and confronting my own implicit biases a humbling, and eye-opening experience. When I first encountered Project Implicit (2011), I was convinced I was immune to the heteronormative and racist undertones that many western societies are built on. Looking back, this arrogance and ignorance was fueled by youthful naivety and my idealistic nature, which is exactly the mindset that maintains these attitudes. After taking a few of the implicit bias tests, I was surprised. These tests shine light into the shadows of ourselves, the parts we don’t want to admit, or acknowledge. It’s the ugliness outside (in society), reflected on the inside. Since encountering Project Implicit (2011), I have taken an active role in un-learning, acknowledging, and addressing these not-so-subtle messages and biases I have learned as a result of being raised in western culture. Currently, in my role as LGBTQIA2S+ Wellness Coordinator, I am working on having Project Implicit (2011) incorporated into orientation week activities for first year students in order to normalize the experience of exploring, and de-constructing these harmful ideologies.

Doing the Work: Academic Advising with BIPOC and GSM Student’s

What implicit bias highlights is that all of us, no matter how anti-racist or anti-homophobic or anti-transphobic we may be (or think we may be), continue to support these systems of privilege without always knowing we are doing so. We believe that one way to counter this is to be more mindful of when our biases are being enacted and then ensuring we do not allow them as easily to impact the way we interact with our students. For instance, if you are advising a student who is transgender and also BIPOC, and you are a cisgender heterosexual person, it is important to acknowledge your stance/orientation in society prior to attempting to advise this student. If the student presents as exhausted and withdrawn, remember it may be because they have heard racial and transphobic slurs throughout the day, been misgendered in each class they’ve attended, feel unsafe even around campus security, and had to run all the way back home to use their washrooms at home because they don’t feel safe doing so on campus. These are all examples of the ways in which interlocking oppression affects the daily lived experiences of BIPOC and GSM students.

As cisgender, white, well-educated, well-fed, middle-classed academics, we work to maintain this awareness. In action, this looks like validating a student’s experience, and really working to make them feel seen, valued, and important. This means introducing ourselves with our pronouns, and then inquiring to see what the student is comfortable with. Next, we ask what a student knows about the process they’re inquiring about (whether that be via academic advising or in a classroom environment). We approach teaching and advising from a place of co-facilitated learning, and we try to promote their autonomy, resiliency, and voice by allowing student’s a place where they can use it. As educators and advisors, we work to keep our resources up to date, pursue relevant professional development, and help by using our own power to advocate for funding, protective policies, and connect GSM and BIPOC students with supports on our own volition.

Conclusion

Real systemic change happens when we recognize that we are, in fact, the system. We are the academic institution, and by paying more attention to our implicit biases and the interlocking nature of oppression, we can make better decisions that help support BIPOC and GSM students in real tangible ways. We can talk to administrators, the heads of academic departments, and to advocate for new policies. We can take our BIPOC GSM students seriously and hear them when the tell us they are experiencing racism, homophobia, or transphobia (or some combination of all three). We can find ways to use our privilege, and make the institution work for BIPOC and GSM students. Real systemic change happens when those of us who make up the system change it; but we must start with ourselves. Real systemic change happens when we do the work.

References

Fattoracci, E. S. M., Revels-Macalinao, M., & Huynh, Q. L. (2020). Greater than the sum of racism and heterosexism: Intersectional microaggressions toward racial/ethnic and sexual minority group members. American Psychological Association.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000329

Hatchel, T., Espelage, D. L., Huang, Y. (2018). Sexual harassment victimization, school belonging, and depressive symptoms among LGBTQ adolescents: Temporal insights. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(4), 422-420. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000279

Project Implicit. (2011). About Us. Retrieved on June 24, 2020 from: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/aboutus.html

Razack, S. (1998). Looking white people in the eye: Gender, race, and culture in courtrooms and classrooms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Simpson, L. (2018, May 31). Violent victimization of lesbian, gays, and bisexuals in Canada, 2014. Statistics Canada. https://www150statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2018001/article/54923-eng.htm

Sutter, M., & Perrin, P. B. (2016). Discrimination, mental health, and suicidal ideation among people of color.  Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(1), 98-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000126

Taylor, C. & Peter, T. (2011). Every class in every school: Final report on the first national climate survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Canadian schools. Final report. Toronto, ON: Egale Canada Human Rights Trust.

Advancing Academic Advising: A Collaborative Approach to Transform Advising & the Student Experience

Echo Pittman, PhD, is the Associate Director (Academic Advising & Outreach) in the Office of the Registrar at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Sarah Arnott, MMSC, PMP is the Manager, Strategic, Planning & Liaison in the Office of the Chief Information Officer at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Introduction

Concerns about the student educational experience, student progress, and degree completion often motivate post-secondary institutions to actively seek innovative ways to enhance engagement and improve student success. It is known that student success is affected by a wide range of factors. However, quality academic advising plays a positive role in enhancing students’ sense of belonging and persistence (Drake, 2011; Kuhn, 2006) as Drake (2011) describes the power of advising by stating, “it is the very human art of building relationships with students and helping them connect their personal strengths and interests with their academic and life goals” (p. 8).

Recognizing academic advising plays a key role in student engagement and success, Memorial University has undergone a series of student success initiatives to further enhance the student educational experience since 2017. Sarah and I are part of the leadership team for our advising enhancement initiative to help build a coordinated student support network. In this article, we provide a quick overview of our newly implemented student success management system, describe our first-year implementation process, and share some initial changes and preliminary results. The information shared here was also presented at the NACADA Annual Conference 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Student Success Management System

Studies have shown the effective use of technology in academic advising improves the overall student experience and academic success as well as supports increased retention (Pasquini, 2011). As we seek to modernize our advising practices with technology, we focus on alleviating the challenges our advising professionals and students are facing. We want to simplify, expedite, and increase access to information for both advisors and students – information not only about the students but also about the excellent support services that exist at our university. We want to enhance relationships amongst students and advising professionals using innovative communication tools. We want to provide proactive outreach to students so our advising can be more deliberate and motivating. Finally, we want to improve the student experience and access to support services.

With a collaborative mindset and a mutual understanding of our goals, we and many stakeholders from across the university tackled the implementation of EAB Navigate – a platform for student success management. Key features of the system that were part of our initial rollout included a smart student profile with predictive risk indicators, appointments scheduling and communications tools, advanced search and the ability to target student populations with action-oriented tasks, and the ability to build a network of supports around each student.

First-Year Implementation

Implementing new initiatives or introducing new pieces of technology requires a certain level of change management. People generally feel unease toward changes because of the nature of unknowns and uncertainty. Since we began the project, we have communicated consistently with our stakeholders about why the initiative was necessary and how it would benefit students and the entire university community. We have also addressed any concerns or questions as soon as they arise. We followed four steps during the implementation process.

• Begin with one user group only: It takes the entire campus to support students. However, it would make the project unmanageable if we had started with all types of advisors due to their unique and diverse needs for the proposed system. We started with our academic advisors and career advisors as they are often our front-line advisors to build connections with and support students. This approach enabled the implementation team to focus on understanding the unique needs of this group and making any necessary technology-related configurations. It also provided an opportunity for the team to identify and remove any unforeseen implementation barriers before onboarding the next user groups.
• Host consultation sessions: People want to be informed about what is going on and want to be part of the change initiative, especially when any proposed changes would impact them directly. These meetings provided a great avenue for us to learn about some systemic advising challenges academic and career advisors experienced in their daily work. In these meetings, we also discussed collaboratively how we could work together to eliminate some of the barriers, and demonstrated how the proposed student success management system could help streamline their advising preparation and enrich their advising interacts with students.
• Provide multiple training sessions with lab times: People will utilize technology if they have sufficient knowledge and the required competencies. We are mindful that people learn at a different pace. While some may be quick at adapting to a new piece of technology, others may need a little bit more handholding and support to get comfortable with it. Thus, multiple training sessions were offered. Free drop-in lab times were also organized for the first user group to practice using the new technological tool, become comfortable with it, and ask any follow-up questions.
• Take action: Ever since we started, we have made feasible changes whenever possible. We have also actioned on seven out of eleven recommendations made in the Academic Advising Review report. We have taken an action-oriented approach because we want to make incremental advising changes and improvements to keep the change momentum going.

Changes We Made

• Redefined the meaning of academic advising, consolidated websites, and promoted academic advising: From the consultation sessions, we noticed that the definition of academic advising in our University Calendar was too narrow and did not match the scope of services and support academic advisors provide to our students. This discrepancy may have resulted in some inaccurate understandings of academic advising at the institution. To ensure that students and the university community develop a clear understanding of academic advising, the Academic Advising Review Committee redefined academic advising that goes beyond course registration and selection and better aligns with the common concept of academic advising defined by the Council Advancement of Standards in the Higher Education (CAS) and the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).

We also completed some website enhancement. We, for example, consolidated several websites of the Office of the Register with imbedded self-advising tools to provide a seamless, easy to navigate website experience for students and to proactively promote the value of academic advising. Prospective students and first-year students are able to obtain all the essential information, ranging from admissions to academic information and support at this website (www.mun.ca/undergrad).

• Implemented advisor assignment loads: To help students navigate the university easier, we have initiated campus-wide advisor assignment since September 2018. This allows advisors to develop a deeper connection with their assigned students and to better monitor student progress and reach out to students who may need support.
• Established coordinated professional development and training for advisors: Many of our first user group voiced a strong need for professional development (PD) support at the institution. On-going PD support is an often-cited area for institutions to invest in and make improvements. McClellan (2007) states, “perhaps the most important need in academic advising today is effective training,” and  “…while exemplary practices exist for the development of advisors at many institutions, much remains to be accomplished in order to lift the level of advising effectiveness” (para 1).

In November 2018, a PD working group, led by the Academic Advising Centre, was formed organically among volunteer advisors to establish a community of practice in advising. Since then, the team has coordinated a learning series of advising sessions aiming to address each of the five key advising competencies based on Habely’s and McClellan’s recommended training frameworks. These competencies are:

• Conceptual: information/knowledge that advisors should know in order to guide their practices.
• Informational: information/knowledge an advisor needs to know in order to perform their work.
• Relational: skills advisors need to know and possess in order to effectively interact with students.
• Technological: tools that assist advisors in providing advising support and guidance.
• Personal: self-reflection of one’s practice, belief, and needs for personal growth.

We find that such an approach to organize PD events is quite sustainable as it requires minimal financial investment and people involved are highly motivated in making a difference and supporting each other.

Table 1 Organized Professional Development Topics             

Early Results

Since the full launch of the advising platform in September 2018, along with the changes we made, we have seen some initial positive results. The connections between the Academic Advising Centre and students have notably increased: a 25 percent increase in in-person advising sessions and close to a 40 percent increase in email advising (see Table 3). Our institution wide first-year student experience survey conducted in March, 2019 also showed a positive result that a majority of the students surveyed knew who their academic advisors were and where to look for academic advice and support.

Table 2 # of AAC in-person advising sessions and # of AAC advising emails

Fall & Winter semesters 2017 vs. 2018

In the academic year 2018-2019, our advisors conducted more than 100 proactive and targeted advising campaigns via the platform to engage with and provide timely advising to different groups of our student population, many yielding positive results. For example, students who responded to the campaign invites and connected with the advisors showed the tendency to have a higher registration rate for the subsequent semester. Students on probation who responded to the campaigns showed the tendency to be retained at a higher rate and to complete a higher number of credits.

Positive feedback was gathered from our first user group about the advising platform. Some advisors noted that the integration of the Outlook calendar with the platform greatly helped simplify and streamline the appointment booking process. Other advisors indicated that messages/campaigns really helped facilitate direct contact with students who might not have otherwise reached out as one advisor stated, “After sending a message, I receive a flurry of replies with direct questions, and also a number of appointments are made.” Advisors also commented that no-show and appointment cancellation rates seemed to be reduced; the automatic appointment reminders sent by the platform 2 hours prior may have contributed to this. As a manager at the AAC, I have found that the system allows me to easily obtain various advising reports and campaign results. This has made planning our student outreach more efficient and has also enabled me to make evidence-based advising decisions.

Advisors really appreciated the opportunity to network with one another as they felt much more connected. They embraced the community of practice in advising because they could exchange best practices and learn strategies that would enable them to effectively support student success. Some indicated that these PD sessions also validated what they did at the institution and made them feel good about the work they did. Sample feedback statements are shown in Table 4.

Table 3 Sample feedback statements toward PD sessions

Conclusion

We are into the fourth year of this advising enhancement initiative and working collaboratively and diligently to onboard more users to provide the highest level of support to students along their academic journey. Since the start of the initiative, the enthusiasm and the commitment to student success among the advisors at the institution have been phenomenal. We think this is one of the key ingredients that has kept the project moving toward the right direction. For institutions who plan to modernize their advising practices with technology, we share the following three tips: a close collaboration with your IT unit is crucial, appreciate the work that your stakeholders do to support students and really listen to their needs, and celebrate the success with them along the way.

References

Drake, J. K. (2011). The role of academic advising in student retention and persistence. About Campus, 16(3), 8-12. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.20062.

Habley, W. R. (1987). Academic Advising Conference: Outline and Notes. The ACT National Center for the Advancement of Educational Practices. (pp. 33-34). Iowa City, IA: ACT. Retrieved from https://nacada.ksu.edu/Portals/0/Clearinghouse/advisingissues/documents/AcademicAdvisingConferenceOutlineandNotes.pdf.

Kuh, G.D. (2006, June). Thinking deeply about academic advising and student engagement. Academic Advising Today, 36(2). Retrieved from https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Thinking-DEEPly-about-Academic-Advising-and-Student-Engagement.aspx.

McClellan, J. (2007). Content Components for Advisor Training: Revisited. NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising  Resources Website  Retrieved  from https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Advisor-Training- Components.aspx.

Pasquini, L. (2011). Implications for use of technology in academic advising.  Retrieved from the NACADA Clearinghouse for Academic Advising Resource Web Site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Implications-for-use-of-technology-in-advising-2011-National-Survey.aspx.

Advising the Undecided: A Model for Engaging Students in the Major Exploration Process

Deirdre Mooney

Deirdre Mooney is an Academic Advisor, Exploratory Students at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta.

Advising undeclared or undecided students can be challenging. When we first started doing this work, we lamented on how non-linear and unstructured conversations about choosing a major can be. Not to mention students expect us to tell them which degree to choose – that’s fortune telling not advising!

The key goal of exploratory advising is to provide an explicit framework to help students move through exploring their options, decision-making, and educational planning. To facilitate this goal, we created the Major Exploration Process Model, the How to Choose a Major Workbook, and the How to Choose a Major Workshop to support students individually and through group advising. While the work focuses specifically on choosing a major, we stress that students can use the process and skills throughout their lives to make better informed decisions. 

The Model uses a semi-circle shape to highlight the iterative nature of the exploration process.

Framing the Process

Students who seek exploratory advising know that they need to make a decision, but often don’t know where to start. How do we help them take action? Largely, it depends on where they are in the process.

Truly undecided students will need to start with serious self-reflection about the things driving their decision. Others may have a good sense of who they are and what they want, but need help discovering the options available to them. Still others may have narrowed their options and need support evaluating them before making a choice. In all cases, we use the Major Exploration Process Model to situate students’ experience of exploration and lead the way forward. Individual advising appointments become coaching conversations full of open-ended powerful questions to get students thinking. Although these conversations are still not linear, the Model and Workbook give them a lot more structure!

Reflect and Connect

Choosing a major starts with self-reflection. The activities in this stage help students explore their motivators, personality traits, interests, and academics:

• Motivators – students consider and rank the things they deem important about their education and what they want to get out of their experience;
• Personality Traits – based on Holland Codes the traits provide students with a guidepost to better understand themselves and what they may be looking for in a degree;
• Interests – students categorize and prioritize interests to consider what they want to discover, learn, and develop through their education (hobbies vs academic pursuits);
• Academics – students reflect on academic strengths and challenges, how they learn, how subjects are taught, the approaches of fields of study, and available academic supports.

First students reflect on these components separately and then are encouraged to make connections between these pieces to prioritize the role each component plays in their decision-making.  

Some key questions to help students consider their motivators, personality traits, interests and academics.

Information and Options

This stage requires students to conduct their own research into the various degree options available to them. Students gather information on:

• Programs Offered – consider what is available and determine which programs are non-options to narrow choice from everything to potential or realistic possibilities;
• Academics – consider whether the types of learning required to study specific disciplines fit personality traits, academic strengths, and interests;
• Admission Requirements – review criteria to determine if possibilities are realistic and discover pathways for becoming admissible;
• Program Structure – find out how current courses fit within possible programs (or don’t fit) and what requirements are left to complete;
• Career Options – explore the careers that alumni with desired degrees are doing and consider the transferrable career skills gained from each program;
• Experiential Learning / Extra-curricular – explore opportunities for building an educational experience beyond academics.

The aim is for students to get more familiar with campus resources and opportunities, and to connect the information gathered about programs to the learning gleaned from the Reflect and Connect stage.

To facilitate this part of the conversation, we demonstrate how students can use a variety of key university online resources and chart their learning in the Workbook. Sometimes this initial review of resources within the appointment will help a student establish a few possible programs to further explore on their own. This is often paired with a lot of referrals to other campus offices.

Evaluate and Decide

Once a student has reflected on their motivators, personality traits, interests, and academics, and has gathered information about potential options, it’s time to evaluate!

We created a rank-order chart where students assign five points per category across the degree options they are weighing. The tallies should illuminate whether a program choice is realistic, and help a student determine a pathway based on what is most important to them. This stage is all about critical thinking and prioritizing, which advisors support best through strong coaching questions. 

Take Action

After deciding on a program of study, a student’s next step is to develop an action plan to make it happen! This may mean submitting an application to a realistic program of their choosing, or taking incremental steps like completing prerequisite courses or improving a GPA for admission. Whatever the next steps are, our role is help students map out their upcoming educational journey.

Final Thoughts

Advising undeclared or undecided students is undoubtedly challenging. We, as advisors, have the benefit of hindsight when we talk about our educational experiences. It is easier for us to articulate the process of becoming decided because we’ve already done it. The benefits that work to our advantage in supporting undecided students, however, are the knowledge we have about our programs, our toolkit of advising skills, and the resources developed within the advising community.

So, please try out the Model and Workbook activities! Let us know how it goes so we can continue to improve our exploratory conversations to help students become comfortable with exploring!  

References

Baxter Magolda, M.B. (2009). The activity of meaning making: A holistic perspective on college student development. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 621-639.

Burnett, W., & Evans, D.J. (2016). Designing your life. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

FabLab. (2012). The STEM Fab Studio design process. [N.DiGiorgio, Instructor]. Cleveland, OH.

Freeman, L.C. (2008). Establishing effective advising practices to influence student learning and success. Peer Review, 10(1), 12-14.

Lowenstein, M. (2000). Academic advising and the “logic” of the curriculum. The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal, 2.

Lowenstein, M. (2009). If advising is teaching, what do advisors teach? NACADA Journal, 25(2), 65-73.

McKenzie, D., Tan, T.X., Fletcher, E.C., & Jackson-Williams, A. (2017). Major re-selection advising and academic performance. NACADA Journal, 37(1), 15-25.

Michelozzi, B.N. (1998). Coming alive from nine to five: The career search handbook (3^rd ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing.

Miller, B., & Woycheck, S. (2003). The academic advising implications of the self-directed search and Holland’s theory: A study of Kent State University exploratory students. NACADA Journal, 23(1 & 2), 37-43.

Mitchell, K.E., Levin, A.S., & Krumboltz, J.D. (1999). Planned happenstance: Constructing unexpected career opportunities. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 115-124.

Morris, H., & Warman, G. (2015). Using design thinking in higher education. Educause Review. Retrieved from https://er/educause.edu/articles

Razzouk, R., & Shute, V. (2012). What is design thinking and why is it important? Review of Educational Research, 82(3), 330-348.

Sharf, R.S. (2010). Applying career development theory to counselling (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.

Swanson, J.L., & Fouad, N.A. (2015). Career theory and practice: Learning through case studies (3^rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Watson, A.D. (2015). Design thinking for life. Art Education, 68(3), 12-18.

Improve your Interactions and Outcomes with Students: 3 Advising Situations Utilizing Emotional Intelligence & Perception

Terina Mailer
Manager, Academic Advising

Terina Mailer is the Manager, Academic Advising at University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, in B.C.

I love it when a student leaves my office expressing gratitude that they saw me. I’m grateful for feeling useful, valued for the information I’m able to share, and inspired by the conversations that develop when I’ve provided a tailored service to each individual student.

I’ve learned to challenge myself to see what’s under the surface – for both students and for myself – to see more than the questions I’m being asked.  Why? Because my interactions with students are undeniably richer and outcomes more gratifying when I do.

Here are three advising situations for you to consider around exercising and developing your emotional intelligence and perception.   

Is it really about the academic question?

Don’t ignore the red eyes (insert any sign of distress here). Don’t ignore your intuition that something else is going on. Name it: “I’m very happy to answer your question – but I can’t help notice that you look upset. Are you okay? Is there something else going on?”.   As Gordon (2007) stated,  “questions can lead to a better understanding of the student’s needs and concerns” (p. 197).

Your student will appreciate that you’re noticing – that you care. You may not be told what IS going on – and that’s okay. It’s an opportunity to make referrals to your campus partners (Health and Wellness/Counselling) who may be able to help further. You can always revisit and circle back to the academic question, but that student feels that YOU cared and YOU were paying attention. You looked after the person first leaving lots of room to take care of the student later.  Crockett’s (1978) research found students want an advisor who demonstrates a caring attitude toward them. In addition, Nadler and Simerly (2006) suggested the relationship between advisor and student can be built on trust and mutual respect when the student “perceives the advisor as being concerned with his or her specific situation” (p. 216).

It’s everyone else. It’s the prof. It’s the group. It’s the lab tech. It’s not me.

Well, maybe. Maybe not. But how can we work together to get you to a better place from here? Acknowledge the concern and their feelings around it. Again, look after the human being first and then the student. Begin to ask questions that empower them. They can’t change their prof or their lab tech, TA, assigned groups, or the assignment. But they have power over their actions in the situation: “What can YOU do here? Yes, it may mean more work than you think is fair – but then what’s the priority – a good mark or fair allocation of work?”. Align their current situation with future challenges they will undoubtedly face. In every work environment, they’ll find situations where they feel they’ve been treated unfairly by bosses or coworkers. Encourage them to use this as a training ground for coming out of it successfully no matter the actions of others – because they have no control over that. They have control over what THEY say and what THEY do. Empower the student to hunt for their own solutions to their concerns and challenges. Ask questions that enable them to see their own power and help them to see how valuable these creative skills will be in future. According to Howey (2008), this self-regulated learning and problem-solving approach helps to move the student away from blaming others, and for the student to be “more involved in the process of coming up with their own strategies for addressing a problem” (para. 20).

A student and/or parent(s) walk in angry. What can we do to de-escalate the emotion of the situation to clear a path for developing solutions?

First, listen. If they’ll let you. And usually they do because often someone else didn’t. Really listen. Hughey (2011) highlighted how “active listen­ing to responses inspired by challenging questions leads to advisor insight into the experiences, feel­ings, and emotions of their students. An appropri­ate response to these feelings requires accuracy in reading the type and intensity of the emotion” (p. 25). There’s lots of additional research on the effectiveness of active listening– but it’s sometimes hard to do when you may be triggered by the heightened emotions of your students or parents. Ali and Johns (2018) recommended using mindfulness to help advisors be aware of their emotions, thoughts and behaviours. So do a check-in with yourself. Are your cheeks flushed? Are you uncomfortable with anger and have butterflies in your stomach? That’s okay. Take a second to acknowledge they’re there – but also recognize these physical and emotional discomforts won’t last forever. Settle in to your own feelings of discomfort – acknowledge them silently – and then get down to the business of listening. What’s happening for the person or people in front of you? Every situation is different and there’s no magical formula to address each and every one. Ask a few questions of clarification to ensure you understand the situation. Then start clearing paths to what they can and cannot do, what YOU can and cannot do along with next steps. When we feel heard, the next steps are easier. It doesn’t mean anyone gets exactly what they want – and students certainly don’t always get information they love to hear – but allowing space for the person first in turn helps the student. 

I hope this challenges you to pay more attention to the subtleties of your day-to-day interactions with your students for the purpose of improving their experience as well as deepening your own personal and professional fulfillment. What I’m proposing we do here is not easy. And it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes work and the willingness to constantly and consistently self-reflect. But in doing so, I believe that not only will your interactions with students improve in meaningful ways, but your personal fulfillment may also reap residual benefits.

References

Ali, M. & Johns, S. (2018, December). Compassion fatigue and self-care for academic advisors. Academic Advising Today, 41(4). Retrieved from https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Compassion-Fatigue-and-Self-Care-for-Academic-Advisors.aspx

Crockett, D. S. (1978). Academic advising: A cornerstone of student retention. New Directions for Student Services, 1978(3), 29–35.

Gordon, V. A. (2007). Undecided students: A special population [monograph]. NACADA, 17, 187-233.

Howey, S. C. (2008). Factors in student motivation. Retrieved from
http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Motivation.aspx

Hughey, J. K. (2011). Strategies to enhance interpersonal relations in academic advising. NACADA Journal, 31(2), 22-32.

Nadlery, S., & Simerly, R. L. (2006). Effect of listening on the formation of students trust and commitment in academic advising: A study at a United States university. The International Journal of Management, 23, 215-221.

Making the Most out of Email Communications

Sara Neziol
M.Ed, Hons B.A.

Sara Neziol is the Manager, Educational Advising at Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford, Ontario.

Email is the most used tool in my Academic Advising Office used to communicate with students.  It is efficient, accurate and easy to access.

Email communication is available for students to connect with their Academic Advisor 24 hours a day, from most devices.  It serves the non-traditional student well in that they can ask their questions at a time that works for their schedule- which may not match up to our office’s business hours.  We receive emails 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  Email also allows students to bypass an in-person meeting.  In-person meetings can cause anxiety in some students- from a busy waiting room to discussing a potential embarrassing situation with an advisor- it breaks down some barriers that these students may had typically avoided, perhaps avoiding academic advising altogether. Gaines (2014) asserted that “academic advisors need to assess the advisees’ personality types to choose the variety of interaction opportunities that best fit” (p. 44).

Email is an efficient method of communication in academic advising.  In the same amount of time that I can spend in an in-person appointment, I could probably solve three complex email questions.  Advisors may find they have a bit of extra time by finishing a project early or from a “no-show” appointment- with this extra time they can easily jump onto the email queue and help a student or two.  Advisors can also work on e-mails anywhere- slow-drop in’s in residence, hop on email.  Presentation ended earlier than expected? Log on and answer a couple more.  Email is efficient for both the student and the advisor.

Email also provides students and the advisors a written record of advice.  It is important to be as accurate as possible.  Be clear and concise.  Choose words wisely.  Take the time to cite your advice as this will teach the student where to find information on their own.  For example, do not just tell a student their minor requirements; also add the academic calendar link.  Is a student asking about the last day to drop a course?  Do not just tell them the date; also include a link to the academic dates.  This will provide the student with a clear understanding of where the university holds this sort of information, but also how they can self-service in the future.  As Pellegrin (2015) suggested, advisors should respond to email inquiries the same way they would if the student were asking the question during an in-person advising session.  Advisors should anticipate further questions to reduce the amount of back and forth. Emails should also include an interpersonal exchange (e.g. “Congrats on being halfway through the semester”) and probing to generate additional considerations of the student (e.g. “Have you spoken to your financial aid advisor to understand the impact of dropping this class will have on your government funding?” or “Do you know how to search to find when a class will be offered again?”). This is similar to what an advisor would do during an in-person advising session.  Email questions should prompt the advisor to provide further information the student may not have thought of (e.g. “How are you doing in your math class? I see it is your second time taking it, please let me know if you are having any trouble so we can discuss strategies for your success”).

In our office, we try not to email students from our personal work accounts.  The reason being is that if an advisor takes a leave, changes position, or has a prolonged absence, the emails and record of emails are only found in that individual’s mailbox.  By using a generic email (i.e. academicadvising@school.com), it ensures constant monitoring of the account and that records are accessible at all times.  We use a colour coded tagging system to assign emails to particular advisors.  This is especially useful when a history of advising is evident between a particular advisor and a particular student.  E-mail management systems also provide coding and a history of communications with an advisor and a student.

To be successful with email, academic advisors need to place value on the importance of it.  Resources need to be devoted to monitoring the inbox.  During our most busy times, we ensure an advisor is dedicated to monitoring emails, just as we ensure there are advisors available for walk-in appointments.  We usually are able to respond to an email within one business day- most are answered same day. A quick response time avoids the student contacting multiple areas with the same question, resulting in multiple staff members working independently to answer a question- costing valuable time and causing confusion.  Updating an automatic response with an approximate response time can also mitigate a student contacting multiple areas for assistance.  Students expect a quick answer so we try our best to meet their expectations. As discussed by Joslin (2009), students have become accustomed to 24/7 access to online resources and information, and this expectation transfers to their academic advising. It is important to remember students who reach out via email do not have a visual cue as to why there is a delay in response, which can lead to frustration and feeling unsupported (Ohrablo, 2010).

Email in academic advising can be overwhelming at times.  Busy periods can send hundreds of emails from students into the Advising Office inbox. I have found that by making email a priority and devoting resources in ensuring that it is constantly monitored, email is an effective communication tool in my office. 

References

Gaines, T. (2014). Technology and academic advising: Student usage and preferences. NACADA Journal, 34(1), 43-49.

Joslin, J. (2009). Voices from the field: Veteran advisors. NACADA Journal, 29(2), 68-75.

Ohrablo, S. (2010). Developmental advising in an on-demand world. Retrieved from the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources website: https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Developmental-advising-today.aspx

Pellegrin, J. (2015). Advising online. In P. Folsom, F. Yoder, & J. Joslin (Eds.), The new advisor guidebook: Mastering the art of academic advising (2nd ed., pp. 289-296). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Transition Programming for First Year Students at Niagara College

Katherine Gottli

Cynthia Manzo

Katherine Gottli & Cynthia Manzo are both Academic Advisors at Niagara College in Ontario, Canada.

Introduction

The new reality of post-secondary education, particularly in one and two-year institutions, is one that no longer welcomes a homogenous demographic of students every intake. Post-secondary students represent a wide spectrum of identities in every sense of the word, which can make implementing effective, responsive programming challenging for student services professionals. To find the common denominator in a flurry of inconsistency as a starting point for program development, however, we can rely on clichés: the only thing you can count on is change.

Incoming post-secondary students are all navigating a change in their life. Transitions can transcend, but also complicate a student’s identity. To address this, and establish a student-centered community of support, Niagara College has adopted a wrap-around transition program that includes pre-Orientation activities, Predictive Assessment, and 6 weeks of outreach and engagement opportunities at the beginning of a student’s program. The use of these early intervention strategies has allowed for meaningful student-centered transition programming that addresses student persistence, community, and identity.

Academic Advising Group Sessions & Kick Start

In the summer of 2016, Niagara College piloted the delivery of academic advising group sessions for new students starting classes in the fall. Academic Advisors were extremely busy during the first weeks of the term, meeting with students who had questions that could have been easily answered ahead of time in a group session. It was determined that by providing students with key information before classes started, they would be better equipped to make informed decisions at that stage of the term without the need of consulting with an Academic Advisor. Therefore, it was time to design and put into action a new early intervention strategy, one based on a more intrusive advising model to address the high volume of inquiries that a first-year student would typically have in the first couple of weeks. This programing would also ease students and their supporters into “NC Life”, including developing relationships with their advisors and peers, with a focus on academic success. The academic advising team fortunately had the institutional support to move ahead with this new initiative. Niagara College recognized the value and importance of activities like this and the impact it would have on student success. As Garing (1993) mentions: When these strategies are integrated as necessary components of the institution’s advising system, not only are the efficiency and effectiveness of advising enhanced, but the retention of students is ultimately affected in a positive way due to the solidness of this critical student-adviser link” (p. 97).

Students were invited for a two-hour group advising session in the month of August. Each individual session was delivered by the Academic Advisor assigned to a given program of study. According to Kuh (2008), the advisor plays an important role in establishing an early connection with those new students whom they will be working with throughout their time at college. He also suggests that it helps them navigate the college system to overcome barriers until they graduate. Some of the topics included in the group advising session were the key dates in the term, the progression policy, and the student services available, such as the Health, Wellness and Accessibility Office, the Test Center, and the Library. Students also learned about how their Program of Instruction (POI) is structured and they identified if there were pre-requisite courses in their programs. Academic Advisors also wanted students to be familiar with Blackboard, which is the learning management system used at Niagara College. They learned about where and how to locate information related to their courses and how to communicate with their instructors through the platform. The implementation of the academic advising sessions in the summer was very well received by the new students and their parents/supporters. However, it was decided that there would have been a better outcome if the advising sessions were part of the pre-orientation program Kick Start, which also takes place in the summer.

Since student success is Niagara College’s top priority, Academic Advisors wanted to make sure that the transition for new students was as enjoyable, smooth, and comprehensive as possible for them. We are well aware that sometimes students will be more receptive to new information if this comes from different parties that recognize that the responsibility of student success lies not only on Academic Advisors, but also on Faculty, Co-op and Career Consultants, Counselors, and other staff members. This is what Kuh (2008) describes as the “tag team approach.” Therefore, in the summer of 2017 we formally integrated the advising group sessions with NC’s Kick Start pre-orientation program. Kick Start is a 1-day transition based program offered to all incoming students to give them the opportunity to get familiar with the college environment before they start classes. This program offers campus and residence tours, a Blackboard session, and the opportunity to pick up their student ID card and program materials ahead of time. There are also some parent/supporter sessions, students are able to meet their classmates, and their Academic Advisor during the advising session. The newly designed and more fulsome Kick Start has yielded great success and positive feedback. It has served to bring resources together, has achieved improved efficiencies and mirrors NC’s integrated service approach.

Student Strengths Inventory (SSI)

With student persistence and retention as a goal, Academic Advisors utilize Early Alert strategies to best allocate time and resources.  Connecting with students as early and as meaningfully as possible in their academic career at Niagara College has become the foundation for our advising philosophy. To achieve this, the Student Strengths Inventory (SSI) is facilitated within the first two weeks of each term for incoming students. Within a predominantly two-year institution, the ability to predict the possibility of retaining a student if curated supports are provided is significant given the short time advisors or other student services have to make an impact (Napoli & Wortman, 1998). The SSI allows Academic Advisors the ability to gain key insights directly from students on how they view themselves and their learning. This approach creates a common measure across all student demographics and allows for differentiation by program/program cluster. The SSI assess non-cognitive or psychosocial attitudes and behaviors that are present in successful people (Gore et. al., 2019). It measures two main indicators; academic success and retention probability through a series of 50 questions on personality and motivational habits and attitudes that facilitate functioning well within a post-secondary setting (Campus Labs, 2012).

The SSI is administered in all first year first term classrooms. Academic Advisors typically attend the classroom themselves to facilitate the assessment, which doubles as important face time with the class, establishing the Academic Advisor as key contact on campus (O’Keefe, 2013). Immediate, curated feedback to the student is presented as ‘Next Step’ statements to students, dependent on their ranking in the following categories: Academic Engagement; Academic Self-Efficacy; Campus Engagement; Educational Commitment; Resiliency; Social Comfort (Campus Labs, 2012). This information bridges the gap between the administration of the SSI, and any initial meeting with an Academic Advisor. The hope is that students begin to access these resources within their first weeks on campus to better develop their Niagara College identity and affinity to the NC community, academically and socially. Providing this information to students recognizes the holistic nature of the role of Advising on campus – we view students as a “whole package”, understanding that partitioning student needs into ‘Academic’, ‘Health and Wellness’, ‘Social’, etc., diminishes the effectiveness of any kind of interventional strategy, and can complicate their transition.

Students are sorted into ‘Low Risk’, ‘High Risk’, and ‘Target’ groups based on their Academic Success and Retention scores, and individualized interventions are facilitated with the groups. The Target group (High Academic Success, Low Retention) receives the most aggressive interventions in the form of an individual meeting request from their Academic Advisor within the first month of the semester. Often, this meeting will result in follow up meetings over the course of the student’s academic career, as it can establish the Academic Advisor as a teacher who understanding the greater narrative of that particular student’s education (Lowenstein, 2005). Academic Advisors are able to link student concerns to supports on campus, furthering the wrap-around approach to student success Niagara College has employed.

First Six Weeks Programming

Niagara College’s approach to connecting and engaging with a diverse student population has evolved over the years. The Center for Student Engagement & Leadership has made extensive efforts to maximize the effectiveness of its programs. Working under the premise that student engagement plays an important role in student success and retention (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, & Whitt, 2005), it has been necessary to re-think the delivery format of the orientation program for first year students. In the past, the orientation program was structured in a way that all welcoming activities – including campus tours, welcoming parties, program sessions, and the student services fair – were all scheduled to take place over the course of a couple of days. A more comprehensive and strategic model, however, was implemented in the fall of 2019.  

Matthews (2009) suggests that the first six weeks, in college or university for new students, will contribute significantly to solidify a trusting relationship between the student and the educational institution, “It is the make-or-break period for many students regarding their academic, social and emotional engagement with their chosen institution” (para.12). Based on this idea, a group of different activities and information on college resources, programs and services was put together to address academic, financial, and personal areas to achieve student success. The Six Weeks Program was designed to provide the relevant information students need to avoid feeling overwhelmed in the early part of the semester. Details on the scheduling of activities were disseminated via email, promotional boards, and social media channels, such as Instagram. The participation received through Instagram was very positive since students felt quite comfortable connecting with staff by using a platform that they typically use to engage with their own friends. Obtaining immediate responses to their questions helped them feel connected and heard which contributes to making transition to college smoother.

Conclusion

Student success, academically, socially, and professionally, is the reward Student Services professionals can all hope to experience with their students. This success planning starts from the moment a student connects with any member of our student services team at Niagara College. As we guide students through their transition to post-secondary, the Niagara College tag-team approach has had a real impact on a first-year student’s affinity to the Niagara College community. First year students can rest assured that they will be connected with suitable support to navigate their new home. It is imperative for staff at Niagara College to encourage and empower students to utilize the resources available to them, which starts with pre-orientation, early intervention, and first six weeks programming. 

Academic Advisors consistently revisit and adjust the program goals of transition programming, and continually collaborate with other areas to emphasize that we see our students as a whole package. Moving forward, as we assess these programs term to term, the hope is that students will continue to validate our assumptions of the impacts of these initiatives. Providing students with the tools to persist and develop resiliency are skills that are applicable throughout their lives. If Academic Advisors are a piece of that personal development, then we validate the role of Academic Advising in post-secondary institutions. 

References

Campuslabs. (2012). “Using the Non-cognitive Factors of Beacon in Advising” [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://beaconsupport.campuslabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/203979368-Student-Strengths-Inventory-SSI-

Garing, M. T. (1993). Intrusive academic advising. New Directions for Community Colleges, 1993(82), 97-104. https://doi:10.1002/cc.36819938211

Gore, P. A., Leuwerke, W. C., Metz, A. J., Brown, S., & Kelly, A. R. (2019). Measuring Noncognitive Factors Related to College Student Outcomes: Development and Initial Construct Validation of the Student Strengths Inventory. Journal of Career Assessment, 27(1), 47–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072717727463

Kuh, G. D. (2008). Advising for Student Success In Academic Advising. A Comprehensive Handbook (pp. 68-74). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., & Whitt, E. J. (2005). Student Success in College. Creating Conditions that Matter. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lowenstein, M. (2005). If Advising is Teaching, What Do Advisors Teach?. NACADA Journal. 25(2), 65-73.

Matthews, B. (2009, November 2). Retention Matters. Retrieved November 29, 2019, from https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2009/11/02/retention-matters

Napoli, A. R. & Wortman P.M. (1998). Psychosocial Factors Related to Retention and Early Departure of Two-Year Community College Students. Research in Higher Education, 39(4). 419-455.

O’Keffe, Patrick. (2013). A sense of belonging: Improving student retention. College Student Journal, 47, 605-613.

Cue Vitamin C Graduation Song

Allison Scully (that’s me) is Lead Hand, Career and Student Success Advisor at Humber College. She (aka me) is also a proud member of the NACADA Canadian Advising Steering Committee.

The Countdown Begins

In 14 days and 4 hours and 59 minutes (not that I’m counting), I will have completed my masters degree. I have been waiting three and a half years to say that. Well, if I’m being honest, I’ve been waiting 12 years to say that.  My journey to a masters felt a bit like a temper tantrum: I felt I should get it but I also really didn’t want to go back to school, and couldn’t feasibly see how I could while working.

I knew I had to find a masters program that I was truly passionate about if I was going to commit the time and money.  After a career change (goodbye digital marketing), I made my way into the post secondary world. Here it became even more obvious a masters was the route I needed to take to develop into the professional I wanted to become. In the PSE world, the two masters programs that kept tapping me on the shoulder were masters in counseling and higher education/student affairs. But I still wasn’t convinced.

Aha Moment!

Then one magical day, my manager at the time recommended I look into the masters program through NACADA.  I had no idea that was even a thing. I did my research and – aha! – I knew immediately I had found the program for me. It was a Masters of Science in Academic Advising at Kansas State University (KSU), in partnership with NACADA. And, even better, it was completely online. This meant I could study something I was passionate about and everything I learned in school I could apply to my job (and vice versa). Added bonus, KSU’s football team are the Wildcats. Yes, that’s right, I would be living my own version of High School Musical. Dreams do come true!

I frantically wrote my letter of intent and applied. Spoiler alert: I got accepted. I was excited and nervous at the same time. Did I even remember how to write an essay? I was used to the no homework life; would I still have time to nap on weekends (one of my guilty pleasures I wasn’t willing to give up)?

Reality Time

Here are the realities of being in a masters program:

• You will have moments of wanting to take the semester off. Don’t do it. Your future self will thank you;
• If you’re like me and do most of your assignments during the weekend, you will start to dread weekends. But take the power back and still find time to do fun weekend things, just bookend it with schoolwork; and
• Whoever you live with will feel ignored. Remind them daily it’s for the greater good and it won’t last forever (unless you do your doctorate, then it might).

Being a Student is Hard

The biggest thing I learned from my masters? No matter how good of a student you are, all of the things you advise your students not to do, you will do yourself:

• Procrastination is real;
• Due dates can easily be forgotten until half an hour before they’re due;
• Sophomore slump is a thing, motivation comes and goes and remembering your goals is key; and
• That big, final project you’ve been dreading isn’t as scary as you think if you break it down into smaller chunks.

Why Specializing Your Studies on Advising is 👍💯

Many of you reading this may already have a masters or may be considering your options. Let me tell you why the KSU MSc. in Academic Advising is, in my opinion, the best masters program for advisors (Note: All opinions are my own, NACADA is not paying me for this, but I will accept the honour of being valedictorian if that’s available 😉) :

• Your professors are the experts in the world of advising. When you read about research and theories in advising, you say with pride “that’s my teacher, I know them”;
• You learn alongside other advisors from all levels of their career and are exposed to their experiences, lessons learned and best practices; and
• You take a deep dive into student development theory, students with special needs, multicultural aspects of advising, learning principles, career development, research methods, interpersonal relations, student athletes and assessment of advising.

Sappy Reflection

The greatest gift the masters program provided me is my newfound confidence. I’m no longer afraid to do or say the wrong thing. I use theory and research to back what I do as an advisor rather than relying on my own experience and bias. And if I am stuck on how to help a student, I have the resources and community to support me.

Moral of the Story

Why did I want to share this with fellow Canadian advisors? If you are looking for that sign to push you to continue your education, this is it. Do it. Now’s the time.  It will be hard; it will be tiring and you will want to quit. But I guarantee, it will be one of the best things you will do for yourself both personally and professionally.

If any of you have any questions about the MSc in Academic Advising at KSU, I’m always happy to chat. You can reach me at Allison.Scully@humber.ca.

Three Ways to Face Academic Adversity

Shehna Javeed

Note from Editor: This was originally posted on Shehna Javeed’s LinkedIn and she has kindly allowed us to share it on the Canadian Advising Community blog.

Shehna Javeed is a higher education professional who works as an Academic Advisor and a Learning Strategist at University of Toronto Scarborough. She is also a TEDx speaker and an actively engaged citizen who volunteers and encourages civic engagement.

What a week!

We just passed the first week of classes as students return to continue their journey in higher education. It can be filled with eager anticipation, or dismal disappointment. Some students will proceed smoothly, forging ahead to the next year of their studies, while others have just come up against a devastating obstacle – academic failure.

Sitting face-to-face with students who are going through the painful realization that they must pause, detour, gather a wellness toolkit, change, maneuver, yield, reevaluate, I see their vulnerability and unyielding commitment to continue on the journey with strength and resolve.

What are some Skills Needed to Succeed at this Crossroad?

Self-Awareness

The examination of the self is very important at this point. And it is most important to be honest with oneself. No one knows you like you do.

What are the factors that may have contributed to being at this juncture? The reasons can be multi-layered and could include relationship issues, family and financial difficulties, physical health or mental health, procrastination or lack of motivation, lack of degree direction or simply a lack of engagement with the material. Honestly identifying which of these factors or others, may have gotten in the way, and then creating an action plan. The action plan can include small steps, of how to work towards working through these concerns and seeking realistic solutions. Developing a growth mindset (Mindset, The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, 2006) that is open to learning, and willing to savour the challenge of the change may be needed. This is easier said than done but without a critical analysis of the situation it will be difficult to change directions. A person with a growth mindset can begin to see the learning that happens in failure. This can be a monumental and powerful realization.

Acceptance and Decision-Making

In order to create an alternative plan of action, one must be able to make some choices which require making some difficult decisions. Perhaps in order to make a sound decision the individual might actually need a break to clear their head. Academic suspensions can sometimes be this painful but much needed break. Often, we roll from one thing to the next because it is what is expected and everyone else seems to be doing so. In this hustle and bustle we do not “pause” to reflect if the next thing is the right thing for us. A short break may be needed before sound decisions can be made with a clear mind.

Making decisions also requires an acceptance of the adversity at hand. It is not an acceptance of failure but it is an acceptance of the reality of the situation. It is acknowledging that this is an adversity that will need to be worked through. Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatte, in their book the Resilience Factor (2002) discuss ways to lay the ground work to cultivate resiliency. Advising students is a delicate and authentic relationship where the advisor respects the humanity of the experience but the reality of situation must be worked through.

Reaching Out For Support

It may seem like no one will understand your situation or truly understand your challenges, but it is important to reach out and ask for help. Yes, asking for help requires courage and being vulnerable can be the hardest position to be in. But you are not alone.

Perhaps others may not exactly feel your pain, but people can be genuinely helpful and willing to help if you ask. Service-providers and professionals who provide support can help to be partners in your progress. Meaningful change can only come from a desire to reflect and take steps towards the goal.

There are many self help and mental health tools available online that can also be helpful. Big White Wall (thebigwhitewall.com)and Bounceback by the Canadian Mental Health Association (bouncebackontario.ca) are examples of two mental health resources in the community that may be helpful in this journey.

Finding a partner such as a friend, a sibling or a parent, who can keep you accountable in your goals can also be a powerful motivator to keep on track. You can build check points with your partner that are weekly with preset markers and short-term goals. For example, if you procrastinate with gaming, you might want to schedule some reasonable gaming time and let your partner know when and how long you have set these for, and you can create mechanisms of checking in with each other on whether or not you are keeping to the plan.

Some Concluding Words

Be ready to recognize your own strengths. We are all good at some things but we are not all good at the same things. Identify your strengths and that which inspires a passion in you – some solutions may lie therein.

Remember that things can change and they often do. There is always hope because there are always many possibilities and alternatives as long as we are open to seeing them.

It is important for academic institutions to remember that when we celebrate students with high GPAs and beautiful accomplishments, we must also remember the extraordinary and untold stories of resilience and commitment that resonate throughout these institutions. These stories remind us that education is also about building character and strong citizens who can face adversity and emerge successful on their own terms and as a student development professional, I thank you for trusting us to be part of this transformation.

TEDxUTSC talk titled “Do you see people for who they are” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItHu5jRNrgE

Pics credit to Ali Javeed, Shehna Javeed, and puzzle pieces pic from pixabay.com

Creating Community in Academic Advising and Student Affairs & Services

By Michelle Lynch

Community is about doing and feeling. It’s about people coming together to solve a problem, to share in an experience, or to help or care for others.  Community is also the feeling of acknowledgement and belonging. There are a variety of operating theories, models, and methods related to community development like sustainable, pragmatic, social action, and social planning.  I particularly like to integrate a kind of asset-based community development into my work in higher education. An asset-based approach appreciates and recognizes the many talents and resources individuals already possess and helps them navigate where they want to go.

Generally speaking, the goals of community development are empowerment and social justice.  Bill Lee (1999) wrote that empowerment is “the sense in people that they have the ability and right to influence their environment” (p. 43).  Within these goals are five objectives: involvement or participation, a sense of community, organization development, concrete benefits, and social learning.  Examples of these are all around us in higher education. We intentionally create opportunities for our students to experience community through our services, programming, clubs, events, and residence.  We have initiatives and programs for students to further their skill development outside the classroom such as service learning, work integrated learning, and research partnerships. Academic staff and faculty are working together with service departments to launch student success programming, share research findings, collaborate with program advisory members, and host events.

There is ample literature related to community development in academic advising and student affairs and services.  There is even a chapter dedicated to community development in Students Services: A Handbook for the Profession (Roberts, 2011). In it  the author writes that developing community is at the core of helping students prepare for their “interdependent and global” future (p. 448).  There are relevant books and articles describing ways that academic departments and service departments can collaborate together (some are listed below). In “The Recipe for Promising Practices in Community Colleges” (2010) the authors’ research findings suggest that there are four characteristics that played key roles in improving achievement rates in community colleges: cohesion, cooperation, consistency, and  “connection—the ability of program personnel to sustain interdependent relationships with internal and external entities, such as other departments within the college and industry representatives” (p.31).  Community is forged in the connections between students and students, students and staff/faculty, and all stakeholders and the institution.

We can choose the level of our individual participation in our communities and, to some of us, it can be taxing to ‘do more’, especially financially.  But, seemingly small gestures can help create a sense of community and do not have to cost extra money. Here are a few:

#1 Acknowledge People:

• Sometimes, I do not meet up with a colleague the entire year, even though we work on the same campus! Once or twice a year I like to visit other departments (sometimes I bring treats) and say ‘hello’.  It is that brief interaction with some people I know and meeting people I don’t yet know which are moments that build community.  Sometimes when I visit, I take a few moments to thank someone for helping me with solving a problem or answering a question.  And, if I can’t do a visit, I phone or email them.

 

• We train our new Student Learning Centre staff over a two-day workshop.  The coming together of new student staff and returning student staff provides an excellent opportunity for community building.  I was invited to facilitate a session to this group on the topic of giving and receiving feedback. While I delivered the fun, engaging, experiential, and collaborative exercise, community engagement was definitely happening.  Further community building came later when there was a few minutes left before the next session and we were all chatting. The students and I had a lovely, and totally unrelated, conversation about music. We shared in the experience of learning from each other and sharing something that is special.  What was unscripted became a very special moment of connection.

 

#2 Invite People:  

• When the semester is up and running our Student Learning Centre (SLC) also has an open house each Fall and Winter term to welcome and share with students, staff, and faculty about the programs and services offered. The organizer makes it fun with food and prizes.  Also, the smell of popcorn attracts people (it’s science). Staff and faculty have a chance to meet their inter-departmental colleagues and catch up. Students come for the chance to win prizes and have a snack but while they’re visiting they are meeting new people and sharing in the experience of exploring what the SLC can offer.

 

• I have invited my colleagues and hosted lunch and learns to watch pertinent lecture videos or webinars and have our lunch together.  Then, I guide a discussion of our impressions of content and any ‘takeaways’ relevant to our experience, reflections on the past, and ideas for the future.  Afterwards, at least one colleague will declare “we should do this again!”

 

• Our Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering students have capstone or a final project course.  In this course students conduct research with an industry partner and design and develop a prototype. The department puts on a project showcase in the cafeteria and common spaces and student groups design posters and demonstrate their work.  I have participated in the organization of this event for many years. What I do, however, is not just list the event in the newsletter email. I personally hand deliver invitations to my college community members: other academic departments, facilities management, the bookstore staff, human resources, etc. It makes me so happy when folks from the Registrar’s office come and talk with the students about their projects.  It makes people feel happy to be invited.  It makes people feel good to belong.

These examples may seem small and insignificant.  These moments of connection can be glossed over and taken for granted.  However, our acknowledgement of and time spent with others serves as a model for our students.  Not every experience will be the best or the most positive, but the experiences students have and the connections they make during their time at our institutions are significant.

Many books and articles detail how a program or service came to be and how a new initiative or partnership increased student persistence rates, student satisfaction, or program quality.  However, it is the ‘why’ we do these things that what we must attend to. Peter Block (2018) writes that “the key to creating or transforming community, then, is to see the power in the small but important elements of being with others” (p.10).  It is through these moments which propels communication, furthers understanding, launches creativity, and motivates us for action. It is connection that transforms us from simply doing the same old things to creating something new, something that may not have even been considered before the connection.  Building community requires intentionally creating opportunities for belonging.  

What have been your moments of building community? Let us know in the comments!

 

References

 

Block, P. (2018). Community: The structure of belonging 2nd Ed. Oakland, CA:

Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

 

Lee, B. (1999). Pragmatics of Community Organization, 3rd Ed., Mississauga, ON:

CommonAct Press.

 

Levin, J. S., Cox, E. M., Cerven, C. & Haberler, Z. (2010). The Recipe for Promising

Practices in Community Colleges. 38(1), 31-58. Community College Review.

DOI: 10.1177/0091552110374505

 

Roberts, D. C., (2011). Community Development. In Schuh, J. H., Jones, S. R., &

Harper, S. R. (Eds.). Student services: A handbook for the profession

(pp.448-467). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

 

Further Reading

 

Asset Based Community Development – Canada (n.d). Tamarak Institute.  Retrieved

from: http://www.deepeningcommunity.org/abcd-canada-home

 

Berson, J., Potter, D. L., Engelkemeyer, S., & Terenzini, P. T. (1998). Powerful

Partnerships A Shared Responsibility for Learning. A Joint Report. American

Association for Higher Education. American College Personnel Association.

National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.  Retrieved from:

http://www.myacpa.org/sites/default/files/taskforce_powerful_partnerships_a_sh

red_responsibility_for_learning.pdf .

 

Ledwith, K. E. (2014). Academic advising and career services: A collaborative

approach. New Directions for Student Services, 2014(148), 49-63.

 

Levy, M. A., & Polnariev, B. A. (Eds.). (2016). Academic and Student Affairs in

Collaboration: Creating a Culture of Student Success. New York:  Routledge.

 

Lizzio, A. (2006). Designing an orientation and transition strategy for commencing

students: Applying the five senses model. Retrieved from:

http://fyhe.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Lizzio-TheFivesensesofStudent

successSelf-AssessmentFrameworkforplanningandreviewofOT_doc.pdf  

 

Pace, D., Blumreich, K. M., & Merkle, H. B. (2006). Increasing collaboration between

student and academic affairs: Application of the intergroup dialogue model.

Naspa Journal, 43(2), 301-315.

 

Roper, L. D., Porterfield, K. T., Whitt, E. J., & Carnaghi, J. E. (2016). Embracing core

values: Finding joy in the challenges of our work. New Directions for Student

Services, 2016(153), 55-67.

 

Advising Student-Athletes as a Special Population

By Carmen O’Callaghan
This blog post was organized in collaboration with the Advising CoP within CACUSS and the NACADA Canada Advising Community 

The notion of providing academic advising support for special populations has been around for many years.  Students have been divided by program, by year of study, by whether they are at-risk or high achieving in an effort to provide the best services possible.  Many universities offer services specific to international students, indigenous students, LGTBQ students and students with accessibility concerns – so why should the student-athlete special population be different?  The answer is, that according to the research, they probably shouldn’t be and constitute their own special population.

 

Special Population

What constitutes effective advising for “special” populations does not differ markedly from effective advising practices for all students (Strommer, 1995, p 28), but that often resources are not available to provide the services to traditional students that are recommended for special populations.  In his research on issues in advising student-athletes and whether they constitute a special population, Gordon (1986) states that:

Academic advisors working with student-athletes need to be aware of the special characteristics they bring to the advising relationship and the critical issues affecting the advising process.  Four of these issues and their implications for advising include:

1. the relationship between athletic participation and the academic performance;
2. individual differences among student-athletes;
3. the possible conflict in the roles of the student and athlete; and,
4. the debate over the need for special programs for student athletes. (p 81)

 

Advising Considerations

Gruber (2003) takes the considerations of rules governing student-athletes a step further, and provides a list of questions that advisors should ask during initial meetings with student-athletes to facilitate a more effective advising relationship:

• What are the participation expectations of these students?
• How do these expectations differ from out of-season expectations?
• What are the practice times, and how do these affect class schedules?
• What training outside of practice (e.g., weights, running, etc.) is expected, and are these workouts to be conducted at nonscheduled times?
• How many home and away games are scheduled during the season or year?
• What kind of time and travel commitments must the student make, and how do these affect the student’s ability to attend classes?
• Does the institution have a policy that allows for students who represent the school in an official capacity to be given make-up exams?
• Do particular academic majors require exhaustive time commitments from students and conflict with their commitments as student athletes?
• What are the eligibility rules for participation (conference/NCAA [U Sports])?
• How is full-time status and normal progress defined?
• What institutional support services are available to the student athlete based on his or her time constraints and commitments?
• Does the institution offer academic support services specifically for student athletes? If they do, what are their mission and scope? What services are provided? What is their formal and informal relationship to the advising office? (p 48)

Developing academic goals, determining academic strengths and weaknesses, and envisioning potential career options are all areas in which the advisor may be quite helpful to the athlete (Gruber, 2003, p 47).

 

Effective Advising

Strommer (1995) states that what constitutes effective advising for “special” populations does not differ markedly from effective advising practices for all students (p 28), but that often resources are not available to provide the services to traditional students that are recommended for special populations.  Strommer (1995) also notes that:

Advising special populations of students calls for structure and intrusiveness, contact with individuals, or, preferably, small groups made routine by weekly, biweekly, or monthly meetings.  Encounters should not be left to chance or the demands of registration.  Advisers and advisees need to plan the content of these advising sessions and need to develop precise goals and tasks to achieve them to meet the students’ needs at particular times in the undergraduate years. (p 28)

Advisors can champion collaboration among campus support departments and initiatives, to ensure that student-athletes have the necessary resources given their time limitations outside of their athletic commitments (Rubin, 2015).  Having advisors with the knowledge and understanding of student-athlete specific issues and the desire to facilitate communication between faculty, campus support departments and the team managing athletics can only help to lessen the pressures felt by student-athletes as they complete their university degrees while competing on a national stage for their institution.

 

References

Gordon, R. L. (1986). Issues in Advising Student-Athletes. NACADA Journal, 6 (1), 81-86.

Gruber, C. A. (2003). What Every Academic Advisor Should Know About Advising Student Athletes. NACADA Journal, 23(1-2), 44-49.

Rubin, L.M., (2015). Advising student athletes. Retrieved from the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources, http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-   Articles/Advising-Student-Athletes.aspx

Strommer, D. W. (1995). Advising special populations of students. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 1995: 25-34.