1

Appendix A UATF-IT Response to College Plans

1 The Team Model UATF-IT continues to support a team approach to advising and encourages faculty advisors and professional advisors in the colleges and in the Advising Center to pursue that model The team approach will be crucial to insuring a seamless unified advising experience for students and to insuring that faculty and professional advisors integrate their work on behalf of students The college plans do incorporate the team approach to some degree although that team approach is defined differently in different colleges One common model is the ldquotag-teamrdquo approach where students go to one advisor first and then another as they progress through the degree In most cases the roles of faculty and professional advisors are very separate students will go to professional advisors for certain kinds of advising and to faculty for other kinds Information provided to students will need to clearly spell out the roles so there is no confusion about where to go UATF-IT members believe that the success of the team collaboration will impact the success of the advising for students Assessment within and between colleges should measure the success of the team approaches being used Per the UATF Report UATF-IT recommends developing a faculty fellowship program that would provide release time to faculty to work with advisors in the new reconstituted Advising Center so that we encourage the team approach to advising 2 Freshman Advising By Major One of the spurs for college-level plans for advising was a concern that students need earlier and more knowledgeable advising in the major Department chairs and deans expressed concerns about advisors in the UAAC not being specialized by major In investigating the issue UATF-IT realized its complexity Freshman have specialized needs because of their lack of experience with college the range of their academic preparedness their tendency to change majors their financial and social-emotional concerns and the campusrsquo need to retain them In addition it is now clear that freshman group together not just by major but in other ways that impact advising eg they include international students athletes undeclared students and academically at-risk students Each of these groups needs specialized advising and different constituencies on campus want advisors who are devoted to these specific populations The Athletic Department for example recommends having all freshman athletes advised by one advisor in the Center and one in the Honors Program Current center advisors have received suggestions that international students be advised by one advisor Undeclared students might also benefit from being advised by one advisor and in the new STARS program (a living-learning community) these academically at-risk students are now advised by one advisor A single student might be in multiple groups which requires prioritization of advising categories Which are the most important After discussion UATF-IT recommends that academically at-risk STARS students continue to be advised by one advisor regardless of major but that at this point other freshmen be advised by major regardless of other groups to which they may belong The advisors in the current UAAC have already been serving as liaisons to particular majors and will begin advising by major in fall 2012 with the in-coming freshman class The Capital Scholars Honors Program has already begun dividing up their freshman seminar by major and the instructors of the seminars serve as advisors The Athletic liaison in the newly constituted Advising Center will check all schedules of athletes each semester to insure they comply with eligibility

2

requirements Faculty and professional advisors in the colleges should also be prepared to insure that student athletes have schedules that meet eligibility requirements 3 Transition to Major Advising The CPAA plan has served as a model for the transition process between the Advising Center and major advising and the Advising Center and the General Education Advisor in the college have worked together to create a process by which sophomores are moving into the college Beginning in the fall all colleges will begin serving sophomores and each college needs to have a clear plan for transitioning those students The CPAA plan moves students into the college as of spring of the freshman year when students who are expected to earn 30 hours meet with college faculty Other colleges will transition students to college advising once they have earned 30 hours Certainly the relationship between the newly constituted Advising Center and the college advisors will involve a ldquohand-offrdquo that must be carefully coordinated to insure that students do not fall through the cracks Advising Center staff members have already been meeting with department chairs to work on that coordination To insure a smooth transition process UATF-IT suggests the following

a Make the F22 list (freshmen who have accepted the offer of admission) from Admissions available to department chairs on a regular basis Who provides the list and when will need to be established

b Advising Reports from Banner should be used by departments as soon as they are available so they know who their declared majors are

c Transition forms used by the UAAC for students who are ready to move to college advising should be converted to Banner lists provided to departments The lists will indicate which students are ready to transition and which students usually because of at-risk academic status and lack of progress to graduation are not ready to transition

d Transitions to college advising will need to take account of majors and programs with admissions processes such as Clinical Laboratory Science and Teacher Education

e Departments that have traditionally not worked with students until they have completed general education requirements will need to insure professional advisors and faculty are familiar with general education requirements

f When students come to the newly reconstituted Advising Center but should be served in the colleges they should be referred back to the colleges Contact should be made between advisors to insure the student does not ldquoget the run-aroundrdquo Student Referral Forms are already in place for this process

g Use the new form developed by UAAC for at-risk students As the transition to the colleges occurs the form identifies the on-going support that will be needed for students who are at risk for success in college but who are ready to transition to an advisor in their major This form will help keep faculty and professional staff in the college informed with regard to students who may need additional support as they transition This process is particularly important given recent data that indicates most attrition occurs for undergraduates between the second and fifth semesters of college

4 Terminology and Definitions a UATF recommends that all four colleges consider adopting the definition of

professional advising developed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (see below) Professional advising has come to be known by a variety of terms ldquotechnical advisorsrdquo ldquoschedulersrdquo and ldquoprofessional advisorsrdquo ldquogeneral education advisorsrdquo

3

and ldquoacademic advisorsrdquo Those terms are reflected in the college plans The UATF-IT urges the campus community to use accurate and appropriate terminology Professional advising as noted above in the definition from CLAS covers substantially more than scheduling technical advising (which seems to be synonymous with scheduling) and general education advising These academic advisors across the campus are in many cases members of NACADA have participated in professional development opportunities and have specialized training At least two are in the process of seeking doctoral degrees The terms ldquoprofessional advisorrdquo and ldquoacademic advisorrdquo are to be preferred

Professional Advisors The term ldquoprofessional advisorsrdquo is a standard industry term used to describe individuals who have chosen advising as a profession and includes both faculty and non-faculty employees The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) 2011 annual report notes that 10853 professional advisors are working with college and university students in the United States1

ldquoProfessional academic advisors are generally employed to devote the majority of their workday to meeting directly with students to address academic curriculum requirements college policies and procedures and general student development and success issues Professional advisors seek to teach their advisees the skill and knowledge that will ultimately result in the studentsrsquo succeeding in their academic and personal goalsrdquo2

It is important that we embrace the concept of professional advisors because it creates the expectation that anyone acting in an advising role within CLAS is committed to the concept of academic advising possesses the knowledge required of academic advising and has been properly trained in the skills needed for academic advising More importantly presenting our efforts as professional advising is an important step in building trust between advisor and advisee and communicates to our students that we are committed to their success

b The roles of faculty advisors are missing from most of the college plans although the

CLAS plan acknowledges that gap The UATF-IT recommends that faculty advising roles continue to be clarified even if those roles are different from one college to another

c UATF-IT recommends that all four colleges clarify the relationship between intake advising for new transfer students and advising for enrolled students and determine who will take on those roles

5 Staffing UATF-IT recommends continued efforts to fund more professional advising positions in the colleges UATF-IT was pleased to learn that the Director of the newly reconstituted Advising Center will be hired for fall 2012 and that discussions are ongoing about funding other professional advising positions for the colleges 6 Summer Advising

1 NACADA 2011 Annual Report Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduAboutNACADAannualreportsdocuments2011AnnualReportpdf 2 Self Casey 2008 Advising Delivery Professional Advisors Counselors and Other Staff In Academic Advising A

Comprehensive Handbook 2nd ed San Francisco Jossey-Bass Pub p 269

2

requirements Faculty and professional advisors in the colleges should also be prepared to insure that student athletes have schedules that meet eligibility requirements 3 Transition to Major Advising The CPAA plan has served as a model for the transition process between the Advising Center and major advising and the Advising Center and the General Education Advisor in the college have worked together to create a process by which sophomores are moving into the college Beginning in the fall all colleges will begin serving sophomores and each college needs to have a clear plan for transitioning those students The CPAA plan moves students into the college as of spring of the freshman year when students who are expected to earn 30 hours meet with college faculty Other colleges will transition students to college advising once they have earned 30 hours Certainly the relationship between the newly constituted Advising Center and the college advisors will involve a ldquohand-offrdquo that must be carefully coordinated to insure that students do not fall through the cracks Advising Center staff members have already been meeting with department chairs to work on that coordination To insure a smooth transition process UATF-IT suggests the following

a Make the F22 list (freshmen who have accepted the offer of admission) from Admissions available to department chairs on a regular basis Who provides the list and when will need to be established

b Advising Reports from Banner should be used by departments as soon as they are available so they know who their declared majors are

c Transition forms used by the UAAC for students who are ready to move to college advising should be converted to Banner lists provided to departments The lists will indicate which students are ready to transition and which students usually because of at-risk academic status and lack of progress to graduation are not ready to transition

d Transitions to college advising will need to take account of majors and programs with admissions processes such as Clinical Laboratory Science and Teacher Education

e Departments that have traditionally not worked with students until they have completed general education requirements will need to insure professional advisors and faculty are familiar with general education requirements

f When students come to the newly reconstituted Advising Center but should be served in the colleges they should be referred back to the colleges Contact should be made between advisors to insure the student does not ldquoget the run-aroundrdquo Student Referral Forms are already in place for this process

g Use the new form developed by UAAC for at-risk students As the transition to the colleges occurs the form identifies the on-going support that will be needed for students who are at risk for success in college but who are ready to transition to an advisor in their major This form will help keep faculty and professional staff in the college informed with regard to students who may need additional support as they transition This process is particularly important given recent data that indicates most attrition occurs for undergraduates between the second and fifth semesters of college

4 Terminology and Definitions a UATF recommends that all four colleges consider adopting the definition of

professional advising developed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (see below) Professional advising has come to be known by a variety of terms ldquotechnical advisorsrdquo ldquoschedulersrdquo and ldquoprofessional advisorsrdquo ldquogeneral education advisorsrdquo

3

and ldquoacademic advisorsrdquo Those terms are reflected in the college plans The UATF-IT urges the campus community to use accurate and appropriate terminology Professional advising as noted above in the definition from CLAS covers substantially more than scheduling technical advising (which seems to be synonymous with scheduling) and general education advising These academic advisors across the campus are in many cases members of NACADA have participated in professional development opportunities and have specialized training At least two are in the process of seeking doctoral degrees The terms ldquoprofessional advisorrdquo and ldquoacademic advisorrdquo are to be preferred

Professional Advisors The term ldquoprofessional advisorsrdquo is a standard industry term used to describe individuals who have chosen advising as a profession and includes both faculty and non-faculty employees The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) 2011 annual report notes that 10853 professional advisors are working with college and university students in the United States1

ldquoProfessional academic advisors are generally employed to devote the majority of their workday to meeting directly with students to address academic curriculum requirements college policies and procedures and general student development and success issues Professional advisors seek to teach their advisees the skill and knowledge that will ultimately result in the studentsrsquo succeeding in their academic and personal goalsrdquo2

It is important that we embrace the concept of professional advisors because it creates the expectation that anyone acting in an advising role within CLAS is committed to the concept of academic advising possesses the knowledge required of academic advising and has been properly trained in the skills needed for academic advising More importantly presenting our efforts as professional advising is an important step in building trust between advisor and advisee and communicates to our students that we are committed to their success

b The roles of faculty advisors are missing from most of the college plans although the

CLAS plan acknowledges that gap The UATF-IT recommends that faculty advising roles continue to be clarified even if those roles are different from one college to another

c UATF-IT recommends that all four colleges clarify the relationship between intake advising for new transfer students and advising for enrolled students and determine who will take on those roles

5 Staffing UATF-IT recommends continued efforts to fund more professional advising positions in the colleges UATF-IT was pleased to learn that the Director of the newly reconstituted Advising Center will be hired for fall 2012 and that discussions are ongoing about funding other professional advising positions for the colleges 6 Summer Advising

1 NACADA 2011 Annual Report Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduAboutNACADAannualreportsdocuments2011AnnualReportpdf 2 Self Casey 2008 Advising Delivery Professional Advisors Counselors and Other Staff In Academic Advising A

Comprehensive Handbook 2nd ed San Francisco Jossey-Bass Pub p 269

3

and ldquoacademic advisorsrdquo Those terms are reflected in the college plans The UATF-IT urges the campus community to use accurate and appropriate terminology Professional advising as noted above in the definition from CLAS covers substantially more than scheduling technical advising (which seems to be synonymous with scheduling) and general education advising These academic advisors across the campus are in many cases members of NACADA have participated in professional development opportunities and have specialized training At least two are in the process of seeking doctoral degrees The terms ldquoprofessional advisorrdquo and ldquoacademic advisorrdquo are to be preferred

Professional Advisors The term ldquoprofessional advisorsrdquo is a standard industry term used to describe individuals who have chosen advising as a profession and includes both faculty and non-faculty employees The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) 2011 annual report notes that 10853 professional advisors are working with college and university students in the United States1

ldquoProfessional academic advisors are generally employed to devote the majority of their workday to meeting directly with students to address academic curriculum requirements college policies and procedures and general student development and success issues Professional advisors seek to teach their advisees the skill and knowledge that will ultimately result in the studentsrsquo succeeding in their academic and personal goalsrdquo2

It is important that we embrace the concept of professional advisors because it creates the expectation that anyone acting in an advising role within CLAS is committed to the concept of academic advising possesses the knowledge required of academic advising and has been properly trained in the skills needed for academic advising More importantly presenting our efforts as professional advising is an important step in building trust between advisor and advisee and communicates to our students that we are committed to their success

b The roles of faculty advisors are missing from most of the college plans although the

CLAS plan acknowledges that gap The UATF-IT recommends that faculty advising roles continue to be clarified even if those roles are different from one college to another

c UATF-IT recommends that all four colleges clarify the relationship between intake advising for new transfer students and advising for enrolled students and determine who will take on those roles

5 Staffing UATF-IT recommends continued efforts to fund more professional advising positions in the colleges UATF-IT was pleased to learn that the Director of the newly reconstituted Advising Center will be hired for fall 2012 and that discussions are ongoing about funding other professional advising positions for the colleges 6 Summer Advising

1 NACADA 2011 Annual Report Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduAboutNACADAannualreportsdocuments2011AnnualReportpdf 2 Self Casey 2008 Advising Delivery Professional Advisors Counselors and Other Staff In Academic Advising A

Comprehensive Handbook 2nd ed San Francisco Jossey-Bass Pub p 269

4

UATF-IT recommends that all colleges develop plans for summer advising 7 Assessment None of the colleges have assessment plans As noted above this topic will require discussion both within and between colleges

Appendix B BRM Letter Name Address Phone Email Dear [Name] Greetings from the Office of Undergraduate Education I hope your semester is off to a good start This letter provides you with important information about your academic program(s) and will help you successfully progress through your academic career at UIS and graduate on time You must meet all degree requirements from this catalog in order to graduate [catalog term] Our current records show the following information about your academic program(s)

Program(s) Advisorrsquos Name Advisorrsquos Email Advisorrsquos Phone No

Dept Office Address

Dept Phone

[Major 1]

[Major 2]

[Minor 1]

[Minor 2]

[Concentration 1]

[Concentration 2]

Do you see something incorrect in the information above Herersquos how to address the issue

1 If your major(s) minor(s) or concentration(s) are incorrect Complete a Change of Curriculum Form available on the Registrarrsquos website at wwwuiseduregistrationforms

2 If your advisor is incorrect if there is no advisor listed for a major or minor or if you would like to change advisors Contact the department and ask that your advisor information be updated

3 If you need to change the catalog under which you are graduating Complete a Student Petition Form available on the Registrarrsquos website at wwwuiseduregistrationforms

4 If your contact information is incorrect Please log into Student Self-Service (httpsappsuillinoisedu) to update all telephone numbers and addresses (including mailing permanent and emergency contactaddress)

Some academic programs have entrance requirements (TEP onlineblended programs and CLS for example) If you are interested in declaring a major or minor with entrance requirements please contact the department to determine whether you meet those requirements If you have further questions or concerns please contact the Office of Undergraduate Education at 217-206-7413 or uisugeuisedu Sincerely

Dr Karen R Moranski Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education

Appendix B BRM Letter Name Address Phone Email Dear [Name] Greetings from the Office of Undergraduate Education I hope your semester is off to a good start This letter provides you with important information about your academic program(s) and will help you successfully progress through your academic career at UIS and graduate on time You must meet all degree requirements from this catalog in order to graduate [catalog term] Our current records show the following information about your academic program(s)

Program(s) Advisorrsquos Name Advisorrsquos Email Advisorrsquos Phone No

Dept Office Address

Dept Phone

[Major 1]

[Major 2]

[Minor 1]

[Minor 2]

[Concentration 1]

[Concentration 2]

Do you see something incorrect in the information above Herersquos how to address the issue

1 If your major(s) minor(s) or concentration(s) are incorrect Complete a Change of Curriculum Form available on the Registrarrsquos website at wwwuiseduregistrationforms

2 If your advisor is incorrect if there is no advisor listed for a major or minor or if you would like to change advisors Contact the department and ask that your advisor information be updated

3 If you need to change the catalog under which you are graduating Complete a Student Petition Form available on the Registrarrsquos website at wwwuiseduregistrationforms

4 If your contact information is incorrect Please log into Student Self-Service (httpsappsuillinoisedu) to update all telephone numbers and addresses (including mailing permanent and emergency contactaddress)

Some academic programs have entrance requirements (TEP onlineblended programs and CLS for example) If you are interested in declaring a major or minor with entrance requirements please contact the department to determine whether you meet those requirements If you have further questions or concerns please contact the Office of Undergraduate Education at 217-206-7413 or uisugeuisedu Sincerely

Dr Karen R Moranski Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education

Faculty Advising Survey https l illinoisedulsbreportAuthl29636quickJeport

Faculty Advising Survey Total Submissions 62 Status running

1 How long have you been a faculty member at UIS

1 year o 2-5 years

6-10 years r More than 10 years

2 To what college are you primarily aSSigned

College of Business and

Management

College of Education and

Human Services

0

College of Liberal Arts and

Sciences

College of Public Affairs and

Adm inistration

L-==J

3 Are you a department chair

Yes

No

4 Are you currently adviSing undergraduates

Yes

No D

5 If you are not currently advising undergraduates please indicate which of the following are

reasons for why you are not advising undergraduates (Check the box next to all that apply)

I am a first year faculty

member

No advisees have been

assigned to me

I am currently on sabbatical

or on leave from UIS

My workload is too heavy in

other areas (Le research

teaching)

I of It

Percent Count

2

45 28

24 15

29 18

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

13 8

2

71 44

15 9

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

26 16

74 46

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

95 59

5 3

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

417120 II 158 PM

Faculty Advising Survey httpslliJlinoisedulsbreportAuthl29636quick_report

I prefer not to advise

undergraduate students

I advise only graduate 0 students

Undergraduate students in

my program are advised by

professional staff

I am unprepareduntrained to

advise

Other o

6 How many advisees do you have

10 or fewer

11-25

26-50

51 or more

Not sure o

7 On average I spend the following amount of time per week advising

Less than one hour

1-5 hours

6-10 hours

More than 10 hours

8 Which groups do you spend time advising (Check the box next to all that apply)

Freshmen - sophomores

_________________________Juniors-seniors

Transfer students

Non-traditional adult learners

Undeclared majors

Graduate students [

Online students

9 When during the semester do you do most of your advising (Check the box next to all that

apply)

Beginning of each semester

Mid-semester (prior to and

during registration)

0 0

2

0 0

0 0

3 2

Answered 3

Skipped 59

Percent Count

10 6

24 15

39 24

21 13

5 3

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

15 9

65 40

18 11

2

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

56 35

90 56

82 51

68 42

15 9

47 29

35 22

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

37 23

73 45

2 of 1 41712011 1 58 PM

https ll illinoisedulsbreportAuthl29636quick_report Faculty Advising Survey

Orientation (SummerFall

Transfer)

Regularly throughout the fall

and spring semesters

23

60

Answered

Skipped

Percent

58

26

11

3

0

Answered

Skipped

Percent

53

26

15

3

2

Answered

Skipped

Percent

5

23

45

19

5

Answered

Skipped

Percent

85

40

15

10

0

Answered

Skipped

Percent

14

37

61

Count

36

16

7

2

0

61

Count

33

16

9

2

61

Count

3

14

28

12

3

60

2

Count

53

25

9

6

o

61

Count

10 In person

Very Often

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

11 Email

Very Often

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

12 Phone

Very Often

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

r

I

I

0 0

D _ _ --1

[

13 Which do you believe are the most effective communication methods for advising (You may

check up to two boxes)

In person

Email

Phone

It doesnt make much

difference

Other

14 On average how much time do you spend with each advisee per advising session

3 of II 417120 II 158 PM

Faculty Advising Survey https lillinoisedulsbreportAuthl29636quick_report

15 minutes or less

Between 15 and 30 minutes

Between 30 minutes and an --_ ___=J hour

More than 1 hour

15 On average how often do you interact in an advising capacity with each advisee

More than once per

semester

Once per semester

Once per year

Less than once per year

16 Are you regularly called on to do advising in the summer months

Yes but I am regularly on

contract in the summer

months

Yes and I am NOT regularly

on contract in the summer

months

No and I am regularly on

contract in the summer

months

No and I am NOT regularly [1 _ _ _ ---

on contract in the summer

months

17 Do you currently receive release time to do advising during the academic year (not counting

the summer months)

Yes o No

C middotmiddotmiddot_--_middot

18 How confident are you in your advising skills regarding the undergraduate academ ic programs

in your department

Very confident

Confident

Somewhat confident

Not very confident o Not confident at all

Not sure

8

53

37

0

Answered

Skipped

Percent

24

58

11

5

Answered

Skipped

Percent

34

31

13

19

Answered

Skipped

Percent

3

95

Answered

Skipped

Percent

52

31

13

2

0

0

Answered

5

33

23

o 61

Count

15

36

7

3

61

Count

21

19

8

12

60

2

Count

2

59

61

Count

32

19

8

0

0

60

4 of 11 41712011 158 PM

Faculty Advising Survey https ll illinois edusbreportAuthl29636quick_report

Skipped 2

19 How confident are you in your advising skills regarding lower division general education

Very confident

Confident

Somewhat confident

Not very confident

Not confident at all CJ Not sure o

20 How confident are you in your advising skills regarding the Engaged Citizenship Common

Experience (ECCE)

Very confident

Confident

Somewhat confident

Not very confident

Not confident at all

Not sure

LI_ _ _ _ -

L___ _ _ -

lt-I__-

0

21 What frustrations do you face when you advise students (Check the box next to all that

apply)

I have too many students to

advise

I do not have enough time to

do advising

Students do not really want

advising only a signature

The value of advising is not L __ ______ _ ___--l

adequately recognized at UIS

Excellence in advising is not

rewarded in the tenure and

promotion process

Advising work is not L consistently emphasized in

annual performance reviews

Students do not take an

active role during advising

sessions

Students do not prepare

adequately for advising

sessions

Students do not seek

advising

I am not really prepared to

do advising

_ _ _______---

Percent

13

26

24

23

10

2

Answered

Skipped

Percent

27

23

27

15

5

0

Answered

Skipped

Percent

44

50

24

60

55

50

26

56

45

16

Count

8

16

15

14

6

60

2

Count

17

14

17

9

3

0

60

2

Count

27

31

15

37

34

31

16

35

28

10

5 of II 4712011158PM

https llillinoisedulsbreportAuthl29636quick_reportFaculty Advising Survey

Students want me to be a

counselor not an advisor

I have no concerns o Other

22 Students academic progress

Often

Occasionally

Never o

23 Schedulingregistration procedures

Often

Occasionally

Never D

24 Droppingadding courses

Often

Occasionally

Never o

25 Obtaining course credit through nontraditional means (CLEP AP CPL etc)

Often

Occasionally

Never

26 Selectingchanging majors

Often

c=Occasionally

Never

27 Meeting graduation requirements

Often

Occasionally

13 8

2

13 8

Answered 61

Skipped 1

Percent Count

60 37

35 22

3 2

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

65 40

27 17

5 3

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

40 25

56 35

2

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

13 8

47 29

37 23

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

15 9

73 45

10 6

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

87 54

11 7

6 of I 41712011 I58 PM

Faculty Advising Survey httpsllillinoisedulsbreportAuthl29636quick_report

Never

28 Improving study skills and habits

Often

Occasionally

Never

29 Matching learning styles to courses and sections

Often

Occasionally

Never

30 Utilizing campus student support services

Often c=_ _ ------ Occasionally

Never D

31 Clarifying lifecareer goals

Often [

Occasionally

Never

32 Discussing ECCE learning outcomes (social responsibility diversity involvemenUleadership

respect for community how economicpoliticalsocial systems operate ethical decision-making

and action possibilities and limitations of social change)

Often

Occasionally

Never

33 Matching course content to student needs and interests

Often I Occasionally [ J

Never c=]

0 o Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

18 11

56 35

23 14

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

11 7

34 21

52 32

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

29 18

61 38

6 4

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

48 30

42 26

8 5

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

8 5

31 19

55 34

Answered 58

Skipped 4

Percent Count

37 23

47 29

13 8 Answered 60

7 of 11 41712011158 PM

Faculty Advising Survey httpslillinois edulsbreportAuthl29636quick_report

34 Letters of recommendation

Often

Occasionally

Never o

35 Obtaining and managing financial aid

Often o Occasionally

Never

36 Obtaining employment while a student

Often o Occasionally

Never

37 Post-graduationcareer planning

Often

Occasionally

Never o

38 Discussing academic integrity issues

Often

Occasionally

Never

39 Withdrawingtransferring from the institution

Often o Occasionally

Never

40 Dealing with personal problems

Skipped 2

Percent Count

52 32

42 26

5 3

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

2

56 35

37 23

Answered 59

Skipped 3

Percent Count

8 5

66 41

23 14

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

55 34

39 24

5 3

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

13 8

58 36

27 17

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

2

56 35

39 24

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

8 of l I 417120 II ISS PM

Faculty Advising Survey httpsll i IlinoisedulsbreportAuthl29636quick _report

Often

Occasionally

Never

41 Finding internship opportunities

Often

Occasionally

Never

42 On average how many classes do you teach per semester

D 2 I ]

3 [

4 0 More than 4

43 On average how many students are in each of your classes

10 or fewer 0 11-20 I

21-35 C More than 35 D

44 If given the choice would you prefer to include advising among your professional

responsibilities alongside teaching scholarship and service

Yes

No

Prefer not to answer

45 In which category do you think advising should count among faculty professional

responsibilities

Teaching I Service L Both I

Other 0

15 9

71 44

11 7

Answered 60

Skipped 2

Percent Count

39 24

48 30

11 7

Answered 61

Skipped

Percent Count

6 4

21 13

69 43

3 2

0 0

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

2

13 8

79 49

6 4

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

58 36

26 16

16 10

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

27 17

34 21

34 21

5 3 Answered 62

9 of Ll 41712011 158 PM

Faculty Advis ing Survey httpsi II report

46 What rewards should faculty receive for excellence in advising (Check the box next to all that

apply )

Monetary com pe nsation

Evaluation in consideration

for retention tenure and

promotion

Public recognition

Release time

All of the above

Other D

47 How familiar are you with the sections of the Faculty Personnel Policies that deal with

advising

Very familiar I I

Familiar

Somewhat familiar I Not very familiar [

Not familiar at all

Not sure

48 If you are at least somewhat familiar with the Faculty Personnel Policies please rate the clarity

of the advising sections of the Faculty Personnel Policies

Very clear

Clear I

Somewhat clear [ I

Not very clear D Not clear at all 0 Not sure [

49 Which of the following resourcestrainingassistance would be most useful to you for

improving your ability to advise undergraduates (Check the box next to all that apply)

Updated advising guides for

majorsm inors

Faculty advising workshops

Faculty advising manual

Faculty peer mentor

Professional advising staff L_ _____ _ _ _ for some advising functions

0Skipped

Percent Count

23 14

56 35

21 13

40 25

27 17

6 4

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

13 8

24 15

26 16

24 15

11 7

2

Answered 62

Skipped 0

Percent Count

0 0

18 11

32 20

8 5

3 2

18 11

Answered 49

Skipped 13

Percent Count

53 33

26 16

58 36

18 11

53 33

10 of 11 41712011 158 PM

Faculty Advising Survey https ll illinoisedulsbreportAuthl29636quick_report

Opportunities for ongoing

professional development in

advising

Other

50 Please indicate the level of your agreement with the following statement All full-time faculty

should do advising

Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

51 What accountability should be assigned to faculty advising (Check the box next to all that

apply)

Advising evaluations [_____----1

com pleted by students

Peer review of advising

Advising criteria included in

annual performance review

Specific advising criteria

included in requirements for

retention tenure and

promotion

Other C=J

52 What consequences should be applied to faculty who fail to do advising at a satisfactory level

view answers

53 If you could provide two or three suggestions for improving advising at UIS they would be

view answers

54 Please provide any additional comments regarding your advising experience at UIS

view answers

29

10

Answered

Skipped

Percent

39

35

15

11

Answered

Skipped

Percent

31

16

55

50

15

Answered

Skipped

Answered

Skipped

Answered

Skipped

Answered

Skipped

18

6

59

3

Count

24

22

9

7

62

0

Count

19

10

34

31

9

58

4

Count

43

19

Count

50

12

Count

25

37

11 of 11 41712011 1 58 PM

1

Appendix D

UATF FACULTY ADVISING SURVEY SUMMARY OF QUALITATIVE RESPONSES

Faculty qualitative comments involved responses to three questions

What consequences should be applied to faculty who fail to do advising at a satisfactory level

If you could provide two or three suggestions for improving advising at UIS they would be

Please provide any additional comments regarding your advising experience at UIS

The answers faculty provided revolved around the following nexus of issues

1 REWARDSINCENTIVES Reward excellent advising Faculty do excellent work in this area because they care about students and they want that excellent work to be acknowledged at an institutional level Some faculty had suggestions regarding specific incentives which included

a Additional professional development money b NIAs c Monetary compensation d Quote ldquoToo few faculty dont see advising for the opportunity it is - a

chance to make a difference in an emerging adults life Students ability to have frequent and meaningful contact with faculty in out of class settings like advising is what sets UIS apart from many other schools That difference should be celebratedrdquo

2 ACCOUNTABILITY Use the personnel process and other methods to provide consequences for faculty who fail to do satisfactory advising Faculty report that some of their colleagues do not take advising seriously There is some disagreement about whether faculty who do not advise well should be relieved of that responsibility (with the responsibility given to a few good faculty or to professional staff) or should be forced to take it seriously Faculty suggested the following consequences involving the personnel process

a Lack of merit b Impact on reappointment and tenure decisions c Evaluations to be entered into personnel file like teaching evaluations d Letters to file e Peer evaluations f Monitored action plan for improvement

2

g Quote ldquoOur current process sadly is set up to reward faculty for ignoring their advisees This puts a burden on department chairs to set a standard and figure out how to motivate faculty to meet that standard despite a lack of institution wide incentives to encourage good advisingrdquo

h Quote ldquoRight now I work hard at advising because I love working with students and I realize thats a huge responsibility in the role faculty members play in students educational experience However I also work with a few colleagues in my department who prefer to have students disappointed in their advising experiences with them so they can lose them as advisees and not have to devote the extreme time to advising that I put in each semester In fact these colleagues mock me for the hard work I put into advisingrdquo

i Quote ldquoJust like evaluation of teaching -- student evaluation (it would be a good idea to have students complete evaluations) should be combined with other evidence (one-page synopsis self-assessment in annual review andor reappointment narrative) to evaluate excellence of advising As with review of classroom teaching in the personnel process evidence of problems should initiate feedback and suggestions for improvement early in the probationary period Departments should provide support amp resources for improvementrdquo

There were a couple of dissenting voices to the idea of using accountability measures One faculty member argued ldquoDo not add another layer to the annual performance evaluations using flawed data to evaluate advisingrdquo A couple of faculty urged that accountability be at the college or departmental level and include the development of guidelines scheduling of courses several years in advance and other local measures Other suggestions included requiring faculty who fail to advise (or do not advise well) to have more service responsibilities or higher expectations with regard to scholarship

3 FACULTY DEVELOPMENT Faculty want training to do advising well and they frequently suggest mandatory training for faculty who do not advise satisfactorily Faculty need help to understand ldquothe relationship between advising and retentionrdquo Suggestions include

a Training at New Faculty Orientation b More regular faculty development opportunities around advising

including targeted workshops on topics such as ldquoadvising graduate students advising majors advising on general education requirementsrdquo

c Wide dissemination of any changes in curriculum that might affect advising

d Several faculty suggested the creation of an advising handbook

3

e Another suggestion involves having a ldquopoints of contactrdquo for various units on campus so that faculty will more easily be able to find information they need to help students

f Quote ldquoResources to support professional development including in-services webinars consultants mentoring professional conferencesrdquo

g A referral list that would contain contacts for a variety of issues across campus including ldquoother program requirements financial aid internships counselingrdquo etc

h Quote ldquoLike more than half the faculty currently teaching here I was hired in the last 6 years My department chair provided me with some informal training on advising at the department and college level After that I was on my own The greatest difficulty I find is in determining who to ask specific questions of On more than one occasion an employee told me the answer was somewhere on the UIS website In turn the alphabetical listing on the UIS website is not always helpful Perhaps there could be a separate listing of common advising questions with a direct link to the department unit or person to contact in the case of further questionsrdquo

4 PROFESSIONAL ADVISING STAFF A frequent suggestion in the qualitative comments involves hiring more professional advising staff Faculty want professional advising staff to be in the colleges so that the professional advisors understand the requirements for each major Faculty suggest that professional advisors focus on general graduation requirements such as general education and ECCE on progress towards the degree and on more routine advising tasks such as helping students interpret DARS reports understanding the catalog and basic policies and procedures Faculty advisors believe advising in the major and career mentoring are their province There is some disagreement on whether faculty should deal with scheduling of classes Some faculty clearly take great pride in detailed work with students on scheduling

ldquoWhen students walk out of my office they have a print-out in hand and an email sent to them as a Word document chart fall and spring for a 2- 3- or 4-year plan with major requirements and ECCE courses tentatively scheduled in each semester On the bottom there are individually tailored questions for them to consider in further planning and links to the resources they need This is what students can understandrdquo

Other faculty believe professional advisors should do scheduling ldquoSeparate faculty advising on learning and career advising [from] admin advising (scheduling and classes)rdquo

There are some frustrations with professional advising expressed by faculty There is some feeling by faculty that online coordinators and professional

4

advisors are not ldquoacademicrdquo enough or do not have enough training in major requirements Others believe professional advisors should not advise for the major Another frequent suggestion involves the hiring of more professional advisors A few faculty suggested more collaboration between professional advisors and faculty to aid the transition of students between lower and upper division Quote ldquoMy experience with lower class undergrads in particular is that the freshman advising does not adequately understand the course flow for our degree and our students do not take courses in the order they need to Online students have an additional layer of confusion in how to place the online coordinator in the chain of commandrdquo

5 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY A number of faculty suggest that students take more responsibility for the advising process Some argue that students should be required to see an advisor at least once per semester or once per year

a Quote ldquoStudents are responsible for seeking out good advice Faculty should not be punished for students failure to be advisedrdquo

b Quote ldquoStudents do not seek much advising and too often advising only takes place when there is a problem (academic probation or a degree requirement not met)rdquo

6 ADVISING SYSTEMS AND RESOURCES A number of faculty express

dissatisfaction with DARS and other advising resources Suggestions include ldquoa better software system for trackingcommunicatingmonitoring students through the systemrdquo and an accurate list of the advisees for each department Quote ldquoLack of central resource that collects together student status registration and progress info seriously hampers advising for both students and faculty Very frustrating how hard it is to access this kind of information in one place Banner and DARS are jokesrdquo

7 SIMPLICITY Some faculty want simplification of gen ed or ECCE requirements or of curriculum in general Quote ldquoStreamline genedmajorECCE requirements--an interactive flowchart that could handle these issues might work online Single website for all advising issues (scheduling GenEd and ECCE courses DARS)rdquo

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 20 I I httpsli II inoisedulsbreportAuthl2963 Oquick_ report

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 2011 Totai Submissions 289 Status running

1 Please indicate how many advisors you have had during your career at UIS

No formal advisor 0 Only one formal advisor I

Two to three formal advisors Four or more formal advisors D Not sure 0

2 Do you know who your current primary advisor is

I

I

Yes

No

Not sure

3 Is your primary advisor

A professional advisor in the

Undergraduate Academic

Advising Center

A professional or faculty

advisor in the Capital

Scholars Honors Program

A professional advisor in

your online degree

completion program

A faculty advisor in (one of)

your major(s)

Other

o o

D

0

o

4 If your primary advisor is a faculty member in one of your majors please identify the academic program

Accountancy

Biology

Business Administration

Chemistry

Clinical Laboratory SCiences

Communication

Com puter Science

Criminal Justice

Economics

0

0 cJ 0 I

0 D

0

Percent Count

3 9

45 131

43 124

5 15

3 10

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

89 257

5 15

6 17

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

13 37

7 19

7 21

66 191

2 7

Answered 275

Skipped 14

Percent Count

8 23

4 13

10 30

2 5

0

8 23

6 18

3 10

0 0

10f7 417120 IJ 153 PM

2

g Quote ldquoOur current process sadly is set up to reward faculty for ignoring their advisees This puts a burden on department chairs to set a standard and figure out how to motivate faculty to meet that standard despite a lack of institution wide incentives to encourage good advisingrdquo

h Quote ldquoRight now I work hard at advising because I love working with students and I realize thats a huge responsibility in the role faculty members play in students educational experience However I also work with a few colleagues in my department who prefer to have students disappointed in their advising experiences with them so they can lose them as advisees and not have to devote the extreme time to advising that I put in each semester In fact these colleagues mock me for the hard work I put into advisingrdquo

i Quote ldquoJust like evaluation of teaching -- student evaluation (it would be a good idea to have students complete evaluations) should be combined with other evidence (one-page synopsis self-assessment in annual review andor reappointment narrative) to evaluate excellence of advising As with review of classroom teaching in the personnel process evidence of problems should initiate feedback and suggestions for improvement early in the probationary period Departments should provide support amp resources for improvementrdquo

There were a couple of dissenting voices to the idea of using accountability measures One faculty member argued ldquoDo not add another layer to the annual performance evaluations using flawed data to evaluate advisingrdquo A couple of faculty urged that accountability be at the college or departmental level and include the development of guidelines scheduling of courses several years in advance and other local measures Other suggestions included requiring faculty who fail to advise (or do not advise well) to have more service responsibilities or higher expectations with regard to scholarship

3 FACULTY DEVELOPMENT Faculty want training to do advising well and they frequently suggest mandatory training for faculty who do not advise satisfactorily Faculty need help to understand ldquothe relationship between advising and retentionrdquo Suggestions include

a Training at New Faculty Orientation b More regular faculty development opportunities around advising

including targeted workshops on topics such as ldquoadvising graduate students advising majors advising on general education requirementsrdquo

c Wide dissemination of any changes in curriculum that might affect advising

d Several faculty suggested the creation of an advising handbook

3

e Another suggestion involves having a ldquopoints of contactrdquo for various units on campus so that faculty will more easily be able to find information they need to help students

f Quote ldquoResources to support professional development including in-services webinars consultants mentoring professional conferencesrdquo

g A referral list that would contain contacts for a variety of issues across campus including ldquoother program requirements financial aid internships counselingrdquo etc

h Quote ldquoLike more than half the faculty currently teaching here I was hired in the last 6 years My department chair provided me with some informal training on advising at the department and college level After that I was on my own The greatest difficulty I find is in determining who to ask specific questions of On more than one occasion an employee told me the answer was somewhere on the UIS website In turn the alphabetical listing on the UIS website is not always helpful Perhaps there could be a separate listing of common advising questions with a direct link to the department unit or person to contact in the case of further questionsrdquo

4 PROFESSIONAL ADVISING STAFF A frequent suggestion in the qualitative comments involves hiring more professional advising staff Faculty want professional advising staff to be in the colleges so that the professional advisors understand the requirements for each major Faculty suggest that professional advisors focus on general graduation requirements such as general education and ECCE on progress towards the degree and on more routine advising tasks such as helping students interpret DARS reports understanding the catalog and basic policies and procedures Faculty advisors believe advising in the major and career mentoring are their province There is some disagreement on whether faculty should deal with scheduling of classes Some faculty clearly take great pride in detailed work with students on scheduling

ldquoWhen students walk out of my office they have a print-out in hand and an email sent to them as a Word document chart fall and spring for a 2- 3- or 4-year plan with major requirements and ECCE courses tentatively scheduled in each semester On the bottom there are individually tailored questions for them to consider in further planning and links to the resources they need This is what students can understandrdquo

Other faculty believe professional advisors should do scheduling ldquoSeparate faculty advising on learning and career advising [from] admin advising (scheduling and classes)rdquo

There are some frustrations with professional advising expressed by faculty There is some feeling by faculty that online coordinators and professional

4

advisors are not ldquoacademicrdquo enough or do not have enough training in major requirements Others believe professional advisors should not advise for the major Another frequent suggestion involves the hiring of more professional advisors A few faculty suggested more collaboration between professional advisors and faculty to aid the transition of students between lower and upper division Quote ldquoMy experience with lower class undergrads in particular is that the freshman advising does not adequately understand the course flow for our degree and our students do not take courses in the order they need to Online students have an additional layer of confusion in how to place the online coordinator in the chain of commandrdquo

5 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY A number of faculty suggest that students take more responsibility for the advising process Some argue that students should be required to see an advisor at least once per semester or once per year

a Quote ldquoStudents are responsible for seeking out good advice Faculty should not be punished for students failure to be advisedrdquo

b Quote ldquoStudents do not seek much advising and too often advising only takes place when there is a problem (academic probation or a degree requirement not met)rdquo

6 ADVISING SYSTEMS AND RESOURCES A number of faculty express

dissatisfaction with DARS and other advising resources Suggestions include ldquoa better software system for trackingcommunicatingmonitoring students through the systemrdquo and an accurate list of the advisees for each department Quote ldquoLack of central resource that collects together student status registration and progress info seriously hampers advising for both students and faculty Very frustrating how hard it is to access this kind of information in one place Banner and DARS are jokesrdquo

7 SIMPLICITY Some faculty want simplification of gen ed or ECCE requirements or of curriculum in general Quote ldquoStreamline genedmajorECCE requirements--an interactive flowchart that could handle these issues might work online Single website for all advising issues (scheduling GenEd and ECCE courses DARS)rdquo

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 20 I I httpsli II inoisedulsbreportAuthl2963 Oquick_ report

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 2011 Totai Submissions 289 Status running

1 Please indicate how many advisors you have had during your career at UIS

No formal advisor 0 Only one formal advisor I

Two to three formal advisors Four or more formal advisors D Not sure 0

2 Do you know who your current primary advisor is

I

I

Yes

No

Not sure

3 Is your primary advisor

A professional advisor in the

Undergraduate Academic

Advising Center

A professional or faculty

advisor in the Capital

Scholars Honors Program

A professional advisor in

your online degree

completion program

A faculty advisor in (one of)

your major(s)

Other

o o

D

0

o

4 If your primary advisor is a faculty member in one of your majors please identify the academic program

Accountancy

Biology

Business Administration

Chemistry

Clinical Laboratory SCiences

Communication

Com puter Science

Criminal Justice

Economics

0

0 cJ 0 I

0 D

0

Percent Count

3 9

45 131

43 124

5 15

3 10

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

89 257

5 15

6 17

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

13 37

7 19

7 21

66 191

2 7

Answered 275

Skipped 14

Percent Count

8 23

4 13

10 30

2 5

0

8 23

6 18

3 10

0 0

10f7 417120 IJ 153 PM

3

e Another suggestion involves having a ldquopoints of contactrdquo for various units on campus so that faculty will more easily be able to find information they need to help students

f Quote ldquoResources to support professional development including in-services webinars consultants mentoring professional conferencesrdquo

g A referral list that would contain contacts for a variety of issues across campus including ldquoother program requirements financial aid internships counselingrdquo etc

h Quote ldquoLike more than half the faculty currently teaching here I was hired in the last 6 years My department chair provided me with some informal training on advising at the department and college level After that I was on my own The greatest difficulty I find is in determining who to ask specific questions of On more than one occasion an employee told me the answer was somewhere on the UIS website In turn the alphabetical listing on the UIS website is not always helpful Perhaps there could be a separate listing of common advising questions with a direct link to the department unit or person to contact in the case of further questionsrdquo

4 PROFESSIONAL ADVISING STAFF A frequent suggestion in the qualitative comments involves hiring more professional advising staff Faculty want professional advising staff to be in the colleges so that the professional advisors understand the requirements for each major Faculty suggest that professional advisors focus on general graduation requirements such as general education and ECCE on progress towards the degree and on more routine advising tasks such as helping students interpret DARS reports understanding the catalog and basic policies and procedures Faculty advisors believe advising in the major and career mentoring are their province There is some disagreement on whether faculty should deal with scheduling of classes Some faculty clearly take great pride in detailed work with students on scheduling

ldquoWhen students walk out of my office they have a print-out in hand and an email sent to them as a Word document chart fall and spring for a 2- 3- or 4-year plan with major requirements and ECCE courses tentatively scheduled in each semester On the bottom there are individually tailored questions for them to consider in further planning and links to the resources they need This is what students can understandrdquo

Other faculty believe professional advisors should do scheduling ldquoSeparate faculty advising on learning and career advising [from] admin advising (scheduling and classes)rdquo

There are some frustrations with professional advising expressed by faculty There is some feeling by faculty that online coordinators and professional

4

advisors are not ldquoacademicrdquo enough or do not have enough training in major requirements Others believe professional advisors should not advise for the major Another frequent suggestion involves the hiring of more professional advisors A few faculty suggested more collaboration between professional advisors and faculty to aid the transition of students between lower and upper division Quote ldquoMy experience with lower class undergrads in particular is that the freshman advising does not adequately understand the course flow for our degree and our students do not take courses in the order they need to Online students have an additional layer of confusion in how to place the online coordinator in the chain of commandrdquo

5 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY A number of faculty suggest that students take more responsibility for the advising process Some argue that students should be required to see an advisor at least once per semester or once per year

a Quote ldquoStudents are responsible for seeking out good advice Faculty should not be punished for students failure to be advisedrdquo

b Quote ldquoStudents do not seek much advising and too often advising only takes place when there is a problem (academic probation or a degree requirement not met)rdquo

6 ADVISING SYSTEMS AND RESOURCES A number of faculty express

dissatisfaction with DARS and other advising resources Suggestions include ldquoa better software system for trackingcommunicatingmonitoring students through the systemrdquo and an accurate list of the advisees for each department Quote ldquoLack of central resource that collects together student status registration and progress info seriously hampers advising for both students and faculty Very frustrating how hard it is to access this kind of information in one place Banner and DARS are jokesrdquo

7 SIMPLICITY Some faculty want simplification of gen ed or ECCE requirements or of curriculum in general Quote ldquoStreamline genedmajorECCE requirements--an interactive flowchart that could handle these issues might work online Single website for all advising issues (scheduling GenEd and ECCE courses DARS)rdquo

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 20 I I httpsli II inoisedulsbreportAuthl2963 Oquick_ report

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 2011 Totai Submissions 289 Status running

1 Please indicate how many advisors you have had during your career at UIS

No formal advisor 0 Only one formal advisor I

Two to three formal advisors Four or more formal advisors D Not sure 0

2 Do you know who your current primary advisor is

I

I

Yes

No

Not sure

3 Is your primary advisor

A professional advisor in the

Undergraduate Academic

Advising Center

A professional or faculty

advisor in the Capital

Scholars Honors Program

A professional advisor in

your online degree

completion program

A faculty advisor in (one of)

your major(s)

Other

o o

D

0

o

4 If your primary advisor is a faculty member in one of your majors please identify the academic program

Accountancy

Biology

Business Administration

Chemistry

Clinical Laboratory SCiences

Communication

Com puter Science

Criminal Justice

Economics

0

0 cJ 0 I

0 D

0

Percent Count

3 9

45 131

43 124

5 15

3 10

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

89 257

5 15

6 17

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

13 37

7 19

7 21

66 191

2 7

Answered 275

Skipped 14

Percent Count

8 23

4 13

10 30

2 5

0

8 23

6 18

3 10

0 0

10f7 417120 IJ 153 PM

4

advisors are not ldquoacademicrdquo enough or do not have enough training in major requirements Others believe professional advisors should not advise for the major Another frequent suggestion involves the hiring of more professional advisors A few faculty suggested more collaboration between professional advisors and faculty to aid the transition of students between lower and upper division Quote ldquoMy experience with lower class undergrads in particular is that the freshman advising does not adequately understand the course flow for our degree and our students do not take courses in the order they need to Online students have an additional layer of confusion in how to place the online coordinator in the chain of commandrdquo

5 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY A number of faculty suggest that students take more responsibility for the advising process Some argue that students should be required to see an advisor at least once per semester or once per year

a Quote ldquoStudents are responsible for seeking out good advice Faculty should not be punished for students failure to be advisedrdquo

b Quote ldquoStudents do not seek much advising and too often advising only takes place when there is a problem (academic probation or a degree requirement not met)rdquo

6 ADVISING SYSTEMS AND RESOURCES A number of faculty express

dissatisfaction with DARS and other advising resources Suggestions include ldquoa better software system for trackingcommunicatingmonitoring students through the systemrdquo and an accurate list of the advisees for each department Quote ldquoLack of central resource that collects together student status registration and progress info seriously hampers advising for both students and faculty Very frustrating how hard it is to access this kind of information in one place Banner and DARS are jokesrdquo

7 SIMPLICITY Some faculty want simplification of gen ed or ECCE requirements or of curriculum in general Quote ldquoStreamline genedmajorECCE requirements--an interactive flowchart that could handle these issues might work online Single website for all advising issues (scheduling GenEd and ECCE courses DARS)rdquo

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 20 I I httpsli II inoisedulsbreportAuthl2963 Oquick_ report

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 2011 Totai Submissions 289 Status running

1 Please indicate how many advisors you have had during your career at UIS

No formal advisor 0 Only one formal advisor I

Two to three formal advisors Four or more formal advisors D Not sure 0

2 Do you know who your current primary advisor is

I

I

Yes

No

Not sure

3 Is your primary advisor

A professional advisor in the

Undergraduate Academic

Advising Center

A professional or faculty

advisor in the Capital

Scholars Honors Program

A professional advisor in

your online degree

completion program

A faculty advisor in (one of)

your major(s)

Other

o o

D

0

o

4 If your primary advisor is a faculty member in one of your majors please identify the academic program

Accountancy

Biology

Business Administration

Chemistry

Clinical Laboratory SCiences

Communication

Com puter Science

Criminal Justice

Economics

0

0 cJ 0 I

0 D

0

Percent Count

3 9

45 131

43 124

5 15

3 10

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

89 257

5 15

6 17

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

13 37

7 19

7 21

66 191

2 7

Answered 275

Skipped 14

Percent Count

8 23

4 13

10 30

2 5

0

8 23

6 18

3 10

0 0

10f7 417120 IJ 153 PM

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 20 I I httpsli II inoisedulsbreportAuthl2963 Oquick_ report

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 2011 Totai Submissions 289 Status running

1 Please indicate how many advisors you have had during your career at UIS

No formal advisor 0 Only one formal advisor I

Two to three formal advisors Four or more formal advisors D Not sure 0

2 Do you know who your current primary advisor is

I

I

Yes

No

Not sure

3 Is your primary advisor

A professional advisor in the

Undergraduate Academic

Advising Center

A professional or faculty

advisor in the Capital

Scholars Honors Program

A professional advisor in

your online degree

completion program

A faculty advisor in (one of)

your major(s)

Other

o o

D

0

o

4 If your primary advisor is a faculty member in one of your majors please identify the academic program

Accountancy

Biology

Business Administration

Chemistry

Clinical Laboratory SCiences

Communication

Com puter Science

Criminal Justice

Economics

0

0 cJ 0 I

0 D

0

Percent Count

3 9

45 131

43 124

5 15

3 10

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

89 257

5 15

6 17

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

13 37

7 19

7 21

66 191

2 7

Answered 275

Skipped 14

Percent Count

8 23

4 13

10 30

2 5

0

8 23

6 18

3 10

0 0

10f7 417120 IJ 153 PM

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 20 II https iltinoisedulsbreportAuthl2963 Oquick_report

English D 6 17

Global Studies 0 0

History 0 2 5

Legal Studies 0 2 7

Liberal Studies 0 4 11

Management 0 2 6

Management Information 1 2 Systems

Mathematical Sciences 0 2 5

Philosophy I 0

Political Science 0 4 11

Psychology c=J 12 34

Social Work 0 4 11

Sociology I Anthropology 0 1 2

Visual Arts I 0

Answered 236

Skipped 53

5 How often do you make contact with your primary advisor in person by email or by telephone Percent Count

to discuss your academic scheduling or career

Never 8 23

Once a year 11 33

Once a semester 40 116

More than once a semester 36 103

Answered 275

Skipped 14

6 My primary advisor is knowledgeable about my degree requirements Percent Count

Strongly agree I I 38 110

Agree I 39 113

Disagree CJ 12 34

Strongly disagree 0 4 13

Answered 270

Skipped 19

7 My primary advisor is knowledge about my major program Percent Count

Strongly agree 44 128

Agree 39 112

Disagree o 7 21

Strongly disagree o 3 10

Answered 271

Skipped 18

8 My primary advisor is knowledgeable about my lower division general education requirements Percent Count

Strongly agree 26 75

2 0f7 41712011 153 PM

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 20 11 httpsilJinoisedulsbreportAuth29630quick_report

Agree

Disagree o Strongly disagree D Not able to evaluate

9 My primary advisor is knowledgeable about my Engaged Citizenship Common Experience

(ECCE) requirements

Strongly agree I -J

Agree I Disagree D Strongly disagree 0 Not able to evaluate

10 My primary advisor is a mentor who is helps guide my academic goals

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

11 My primary advisor is a mentor who is helps guide my career goals

Strongly agree ---__J Agree I

Disagree -=l L-I_ _ __

Strongly disagree c=J

12 I typically make more decisions on my own utilizing available tools (OARS UIS website) than

with my primary advisor

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree o

13 My primary advisor is rarely available when I need help

Strongly agree D Agree

36 103

9 25

5 14

18 53

Answered 270

Skipped 19

Percent Count

30 88

37 108

7 21

4 13

14 40

Answered 270

Skipped 19

Percent Count

26 74

35 101

25 72

8 24

Answered 271

Skipped 18

Percent Count

18 51

29 83

35 100

12 36

Answered 270

Skipped 19

Percent Count

43 123

31 90

18 52

3 8

Answered 273

Skipped 16

Percent Count

7 21

14 40

30f7 417120 II 1 53 PM

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 2011 httpsillinoisedulsbreportAuthl29630quick_report

Disagree

Strongly disagree

14 I am able to trust that what I discuss with my primary advisor is kept private and confidential

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree o Strongly disagree o Not applicable

15 My primary advisor has a general awareness of how to help me connect with the various

support services within the university (such as Financial Aid Center for Teaching and Learning

Counseling Center Disability Services Library)

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree o Strongly disagree o Not able to evaluate

16 My primary advisor encourages me to seek a diverse educational experience that will increase

my involvement in and understanding of cultures different than my own

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree D

17 The environment where my advising takes place is conducive to the advising process

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree D Strongly disagree II Not able to evaluateMy

advisor works with me on

the phone or by email

18 My primary advisor shows respect for my opinions and feelings

Strongly agree

44

28

Answered

Skipped

Percent

42

34

2

2

15

Answered

Skipped

Percent

20

32

5

3

34

Answered

Skipped

Percent

15

36

35

6

Answered

Skipped

Percent

28

42

6

1

17

Answered

Skipped

Percent

35

126

80

267

22

Count

120

98

6

6

42

272

17

Count

58

93

15

8

97

271

18

Count

43

104

102

18

267

22

Count

80

121

18

2

50

271

18

Count

102

40f7 41712011 1 53 PM

Student Strrvey of Undergraduate Advising at UJS-Spring 20 11 httpsll illinoisedulsbreportAuthl29630quickJeport

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Not able to evaluate

o o

19 Overall my primary advisor meets my needs

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

20 From whom have you sought advice regarding scheduling and course selection other than

your primary advisor (check the box next to all that apply)

Friends

Parents

Instructors IL-_______ __--

Departmental graduate D assistants

Program staff (departmental

secretaries online

coordinators)

Staff in units on campus

(such as Admissions Career

Development Center Center

for First Year Students

Disability Services Diversity

Center English as a Second

Language Experiential and

Service Learning Volunteer

and Service Learning)

Coaches or other athletic 0 staff

Work supervisors at UIS 0 Other

21 Please indicate your status upon entry to UIS

First-time freshman (fewer

than 12 hours of college credit)

Transfer freshman (ie more D than 12 but less than 30

college credits)

Transfer student (ie more

than 30 college credits)

38 110

5 15

2 5

13 37

Answered 269

Skipped 20

Percent Count

28 80

39 112

18 51

8 24

Answered 267

Skipped 22

Percent Count

51 147

24 69

49 143

7 21

31 89

16 46

3 10

3 8

15 42

Answered 275

Skipped 14

Percent Count

35 102

7 20

56 161

Not sure o 1 4

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at VIS-Spring 20 11 https ll illinoisedulsbreportAuth29630quick_report

22 Please indicate whether you are enrolled in an online degree completion program

Yes I

No I

Not sure 0

23 Please indicate how many hours you have com pleted toward your degree as of the end of fall

2011

Fewer than 30 hours D 31-60 hours [

61-90 hours

More than 91 hours I

Not sure 0

24 Please indicate if you are currently a Capital Scholars Honors student

Yes

No

25 Please indicate your age range

19 or younger

20-24

25 and older

26 Please indicate your sex

Male

Female

I prefer not to answer o

27 Racial Identification (Check the box next to all that apply)

American Indian or Alaska

Native

Asian

Black or African American

o o c=J

l

Answered 287

Skipped 2

Percent Count

17 48

79 228

4 13

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

6 17

17 49

25 71

49 141

3 10

Answered 288

Skipped

Percent Count

17 48

82 238

Answered 286

Skipped 3

Percent Count

11 32

53 153

36 104

Answered 289

Skipped 0

Percent Count

32 93

66 190

2 5

Answered 288

Skipped

Percent Count

2 7

2 7

11 32

60f7 41712011 153 PM

Student Survey of Undergraduate Advising at UIS-Spring 20 J I https lliliinoisedulsbreportAuthl29630quick_report

Native Hawaiian or other

Pacific Islander

White

Other [ I

I prefer not to answer c=J

28 Ethnic Identification

Hispanic or Latino o Not Hispanic or Latino

Other

I prefer not to answer

29 Please provide additional comments regarding your experience of advising at UIS

view answers

30 Please provide suggestions for the improvement of advising at UIS

hide answers

0

76

3

9

Answered

Skipped

Percent

3

71

12

12

Answered

Skipped

Answered

Skipped

Answered

Skipped

219

9

27

288

Count

9

205

35

34

283

6

Count

156

133

Count

121

168

70f7 41712011 153 PM

Appendix F

UATF Student Advising Survey Spring 2011

Summary of Qualitative Responses

Student qualitative comments involved responses to the following requests

Please provide additional comments regarding your experience of advising at UIS

Please provide suggestions for the improvement of advising at UIS

The answers students provided revolved around two main issues

1 ADVISOR EXPERTISE Both positive and negative comments surrounded advisor expertise Students

want advisors both professional and faculty advisors to be knowledgeable about degree requirements

ldquoAll advisorsinstructors should be aware of their students requirements to graduate They should know

how many credits what kind of classes the student needs to take and understand the ECCE

requirementsrdquo

Some students felt their advisors were knowledgeable

ldquoI trust my advisor because she is knowledgeable in the field and has lead me on the right path

since I started working on my degree requirementsrdquo

ldquoMy undergraduate advising [in UAAC] was awesome They were very helpful and met all my

needs They were knowledgeable of what I needed to get to my major classesrdquo

ldquoDr [name removed] was my advisor and has been an excellent source of information for my

graduation requirements As an older non-traditional student he understood my need to

complete my degree as soon as possible and did everything to help me accomplish thatrdquo

ldquoI have had a great experience through my advising at UIS both from my CAP advisor [name

removed] and my [department] advisor [name removed] Both are always willing to speak with

me at anytime as well as I have gotten great and pertinent advice that has contributed to me

graduating a year early Both of my advisors also gave me excellent advice about internship

programs and graduate programs Overall I think I have definitely benefitted from their

guidancerdquo

There were however substantial concerns about advisor expertise

Of the 8 negative comments about the Undergraduate Advising Center staff most were related

to concerns about a lack of program knowledge

About a third of the 42 negative comments for faculty stated that the adviser did not have the

knowledge base needed for the student to make good choices Students often stated that the

advisor had difficulty helping him or her pick classes suggested the wrong classes or wasnrsquot

knowledgeable in general education ECCE andor multiple majorsminors

Quotes

ldquoWhen I go in to talk to my adviser and ask questions she - more often than not - tells me that she

doesnt know and that I need to talk to someone else or look at my DARs The adviser needs to be more

informedrdquo

ldquoMy first advisor in the [UAAC] was more detrimental to my course selection than positive My

experience with this advisor (who knew very little about choosing courses) was very poor If I had

listened to the course strategy she proposed for me I would have been at UIS an extra two years I

always struggled to talk her into my course selections so I could get her to allow me to register for these

coursesrdquo

ldquoI dont believe that it was my advisers fault for not meeting my needs but rather a lack of training or

formal instruction An adviser should be able to point me in the direction that is going to assist me in

what career I am pursuing But all mine was knowledgeable was simply what the typical program

courses I should take but nothing about extra research credits studying abroad and etcrdquo

ldquoProvide the primary advisers for each major with training on lower division courses ECCE

requirements and elective requirements and eliminate the general education staff There is no reason

why students should have to meet with no less than two different advisers to accomplish their academic

goals Further for those who double-major there is not a single person who can be the least bit helpful

in any way The student has to piece information together like a detective This is not the way advising

should workrdquo

ldquoWhile my advisor is friendly she has never really helped me with specific requirements For instance I

ask her what classes are best for my major concentration and I am told oh you can pick any course

from this list just choose 3 Im never really sure if one class would be better than another Then I am

rushed out of her office feeling a littlestuckrdquo

ldquoI would like to see professional academic advisers and not rely so much on professors who are already

busy with their job and research and do not put as much effort in as I would hope a professional adviser

would I also feel that a professional adviser would have a more intimate knowledge of the various

degrees and exactly what you need to do to graduate in a timely mannerrdquo

2 ADVISOR AVAILABILITYAPPROACHABILITY Student qualitative comments focused heavily on the

availability and approachability of advisors both professional and faculty Online coordinators are

almost universally praised for their availability and willingness to help students Positive comments for

the UAAC focus the advisorsrsquo helpfulness resourcefulness and availability although two negative

comments suggest some students have been shuffled through a process without personal attention

Comments on faculty advising are mixed on this issue Positive comments often focus on a faculty

memberrsquos availability and interest in the well-being of the students but over half of the negative faculty

comments stated that the adviser was not available or had very little contact with students

Sample Positive Comments

ldquoI trust my advisor because she is knowledgeable in the field and has lead me on the right path since I

started working on my degree requirements I know that would I e-mail her with a question she will get

back to me within a day or just a few hours I also know that if I need to talk to her about a question she

will make the time and set an appointment to hear my concerns or questionsrdquo

ldquoI loved my initial [UAAC] advisor [name removed] She was extremely helpful and I still feel like I can

go to her with any questions that I have She is a FANTASTIC advisorrdquo

ldquoMy program advisor in the [name removed] department is fantastic and very passionate about helping

students achieve their personal academic and career goals She has been an invaluable mentor during

my time at UIS and I am very appreciative of her efforts The faculty at UIS I have had are scholars in

their subject area but also definitely interested in grooming the next generation of thinkers and

citizensrdquo

Sample Negative Comments

ldquoWhen I asked questions of my advisor I was basically told I could just as well look it up myself I didnt

feel my advisor was there to help me - I felt more like I was inconveniencing them by asking questionsrdquo

ldquoI know that it is up to the student to keep tabs with their advisor but it seems like faculty advisors are

sort of checked out Mine doesnt even seem to remember that I am his advisee until I mention itrdquo

ldquoI always seem to get the run around My advisor is listed on my DARS report This person says they are

not my advisor and then refers me to the department secretary Who is usually the person who helps

me the most maybe she should be an advisor If the department secretary is unable to help me I have

been referred back to the person who says they are not my advisor It is a really wonderful process I

have one class left and pray that the next time I have to speak with an advisor they are able to help me

get signed up for this final classrdquo

ldquoI would like to see the advising center help us make good decision instead of trying to just get us in and

out of the processrdquo

ldquoMy experience has been abysmal My advisor is wholly unresponsive - disappeared on a year-long

sabbatical and I was not notified nor assigned another advisor - she has repeatedly failed to respond to

my e-mails I am in an online program and nearly finished with all requirements but to date have had all

of one e-mail from my advisorrdquo

ldquoStudent feedback surveys similar to what we do for class instructors would be nice As Ive tried to work

around the lack of response from my official advisor and found other staff not overwhelmingly

interested in helping me to do so I feel like there is a lack of accountability for faculty advisors who

clearly feel they have other prioritiesrdquo

ldquoI just wish the advisor would initiate an email to me once a semester just to check on merdquo

ldquoIt would be nice if advisors would contact advisees from time to time with information that might be

applicable--particularly with academic advisors As an online student I sometimes feel out of the loop

concerning what is going onavailable through UIS and within my department ([department name

removed]) I will say however that the Online [department name removed] Coordinator has been a

wonderful help to me when I have questionsrdquo

ldquoI am disappointed that my advisor is not on campus but teaching in another state While we can

communicate by emailphone I dont think it is very professional of the school to do this to a student

While technically you can communicate over the phone or email it is not the same as speaking with

somebody in person rdquo

ldquoOverall there is a lack of trust in advising at UISrdquo

Suggestions for the improvement of advising at UIS

There were 120 total responses 101 of which were pertinent to the topic

31 students suggested that increased frequency availability communication andor contact

would positive

23 students suggested training of advisers in areas such as general education ECCE minor

selection and career paths

16 students suggested better notification of who adviser(s) are and how the selection is

maintained or determined

5 students suggested improvement to the DARS system

Individual suggestions included

o More ldquohelpfulrdquo advisors

o Centralized advising services

o Increased organization within the department offices

o Advising guides

o Student forum on advising at UIS

o Student feedback surveys similar to what we have for class instructors

Appendix G

Draft Student Evaluation of Faculty Advising Form

Context and rationale ndash To enhance the potential of having the faculty advisor evaluation form approved by the Faculty Senate we have designed it to parallel the form used by students to evaluate teaching Doing so we believe will limit the number objections since advising is part of teaching according to personnel policy Four questions indicated by are identical

Questions on the teaching evaluation forms

1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 Grade you expect to receive in this class 4 I took this course as (elective program requirement) 5 As a result of taking this course my interest in this subject has (decreased remained the

same increased) 6 This course has increased my skills in critical thinking (yes no) 7 The instructorrsquos presentation is well planned and organized (yes no) 8 Do you think this teacher is competent in the content or material offered in this course

(yes no) 9 This course has motivated me to work at my highest level (yes no) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as a teacher (poor fair good very good

excellent)

Student evaluation of faculty advisors 1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 The name of the faculty advisor you deal with most frequently ________________ 4 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements of my major program

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 5 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements for general education

and ECCE (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 6 My advisor keeps regular office hours for advising or my advisor provides

reasonable opportunities for me when I need advising (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

7 My advisor shows respect for my opinions and feelings (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

8 Do you think this person is competent as an advisor (yes no) 9 I am able to trust that what I discuss with my advisor is kept private and confidential

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as an advisor (poor fair good very

good excellent)

1

Appendix H

Advising Roles and Responsibilities Given the importance of advising to the recruitment and retention of students at UIS and given recent attention to advising processes at UIS the Undergraduate Advising Task Force Implementation Team sets out the following definitions for advising roles and responsibilities These definitions are derived from the professional literature on advising but UATF-IT has attempted to place theoretical definitions within the specific operational context of UIS UNESCO List of Advising Responsibilities UNESCO has identified a number of functions for an academic advisor

1 To assist students in developing educational plans that are consistent with their life goals 2 To provide students with accurate information about academic progression and degree requirements 3 To assist students in understanding academic policies and procedures 4 To help students access campus resources that will enhance their ability to be academically successful 5 To assist students in overcoming educational and personal problems 6 To identify systemic and personal conditions that may impede student academic achievement and developing appropriate interventions 7 To review and use available data about students academic and educational needs performance aspirations and problems 8 To increase student retention by providing a personal contact that students often need and request thereby connecting them to the institution

1

Prescriptive vs Developmental Advising The professional literature on advising identifies two primary types of advising prescriptive and developmental BB Crookston wrote the classic 1972 article differentiating between the two types of advising

2 Crookston describes prescriptive advising as a hierarchically-oriented doctor-patient relationship

The student has a problem which the advisor solves from the knowledge or experience he or she has acquired The prescriptive advising relationship is ldquotidyrdquo and ldquoconvenientrdquo (Crookstonrsquos words) and requires little from either the student or the advisor in terms of time or engagement In prescriptive advising a student comes to an advisor to ask specific questions (eg ldquoWhich courses should I take next semesterrdquo ldquoHow do I get a course accepted for transfer creditrdquo or ldquoWhy does my DARS report list a course in one category but not in another) an answer is provided and the student moves on At UIS we have sometimes labeled prescriptive advising as ldquotechnical advisingrdquo ldquoadministrative advisingrdquo or ldquoschedulingrdquo Advising literatures suggests that prescriptive advising can lead to several problems with the studentrsquos learning process

1 The Roll of Student Affairs and Services in Higher education A Practical Manual for Developing Implementing and

Assessing Student Affairs Programmes and Services United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) Paris 2002 p 25-26 Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseAdvisingIssuesUNESCOhtm

2 Crookson BB (1994) A Developmental View of Academic Advising as Teaching NACADA Journal 14(2) 5-9 Click on the

link to read the article

ldquoWhen I go in to talk to my adviser and ask questions she - more often than not - tells me that she

doesnt know and that I need to talk to someone else or look at my DARs The adviser needs to be more

informedrdquo

ldquoMy first advisor in the [UAAC] was more detrimental to my course selection than positive My

experience with this advisor (who knew very little about choosing courses) was very poor If I had

listened to the course strategy she proposed for me I would have been at UIS an extra two years I

always struggled to talk her into my course selections so I could get her to allow me to register for these

coursesrdquo

ldquoI dont believe that it was my advisers fault for not meeting my needs but rather a lack of training or

formal instruction An adviser should be able to point me in the direction that is going to assist me in

what career I am pursuing But all mine was knowledgeable was simply what the typical program

courses I should take but nothing about extra research credits studying abroad and etcrdquo

ldquoProvide the primary advisers for each major with training on lower division courses ECCE

requirements and elective requirements and eliminate the general education staff There is no reason

why students should have to meet with no less than two different advisers to accomplish their academic

goals Further for those who double-major there is not a single person who can be the least bit helpful

in any way The student has to piece information together like a detective This is not the way advising

should workrdquo

ldquoWhile my advisor is friendly she has never really helped me with specific requirements For instance I

ask her what classes are best for my major concentration and I am told oh you can pick any course

from this list just choose 3 Im never really sure if one class would be better than another Then I am

rushed out of her office feeling a littlestuckrdquo

ldquoI would like to see professional academic advisers and not rely so much on professors who are already

busy with their job and research and do not put as much effort in as I would hope a professional adviser

would I also feel that a professional adviser would have a more intimate knowledge of the various

degrees and exactly what you need to do to graduate in a timely mannerrdquo

2 ADVISOR AVAILABILITYAPPROACHABILITY Student qualitative comments focused heavily on the

availability and approachability of advisors both professional and faculty Online coordinators are

almost universally praised for their availability and willingness to help students Positive comments for

the UAAC focus the advisorsrsquo helpfulness resourcefulness and availability although two negative

comments suggest some students have been shuffled through a process without personal attention

Comments on faculty advising are mixed on this issue Positive comments often focus on a faculty

memberrsquos availability and interest in the well-being of the students but over half of the negative faculty

comments stated that the adviser was not available or had very little contact with students

Sample Positive Comments

ldquoI trust my advisor because she is knowledgeable in the field and has lead me on the right path since I

started working on my degree requirements I know that would I e-mail her with a question she will get

back to me within a day or just a few hours I also know that if I need to talk to her about a question she

will make the time and set an appointment to hear my concerns or questionsrdquo

ldquoI loved my initial [UAAC] advisor [name removed] She was extremely helpful and I still feel like I can

go to her with any questions that I have She is a FANTASTIC advisorrdquo

ldquoMy program advisor in the [name removed] department is fantastic and very passionate about helping

students achieve their personal academic and career goals She has been an invaluable mentor during

my time at UIS and I am very appreciative of her efforts The faculty at UIS I have had are scholars in

their subject area but also definitely interested in grooming the next generation of thinkers and

citizensrdquo

Sample Negative Comments

ldquoWhen I asked questions of my advisor I was basically told I could just as well look it up myself I didnt

feel my advisor was there to help me - I felt more like I was inconveniencing them by asking questionsrdquo

ldquoI know that it is up to the student to keep tabs with their advisor but it seems like faculty advisors are

sort of checked out Mine doesnt even seem to remember that I am his advisee until I mention itrdquo

ldquoI always seem to get the run around My advisor is listed on my DARS report This person says they are

not my advisor and then refers me to the department secretary Who is usually the person who helps

me the most maybe she should be an advisor If the department secretary is unable to help me I have

been referred back to the person who says they are not my advisor It is a really wonderful process I

have one class left and pray that the next time I have to speak with an advisor they are able to help me

get signed up for this final classrdquo

ldquoI would like to see the advising center help us make good decision instead of trying to just get us in and

out of the processrdquo

ldquoMy experience has been abysmal My advisor is wholly unresponsive - disappeared on a year-long

sabbatical and I was not notified nor assigned another advisor - she has repeatedly failed to respond to

my e-mails I am in an online program and nearly finished with all requirements but to date have had all

of one e-mail from my advisorrdquo

ldquoStudent feedback surveys similar to what we do for class instructors would be nice As Ive tried to work

around the lack of response from my official advisor and found other staff not overwhelmingly

interested in helping me to do so I feel like there is a lack of accountability for faculty advisors who

clearly feel they have other prioritiesrdquo

ldquoI just wish the advisor would initiate an email to me once a semester just to check on merdquo

ldquoIt would be nice if advisors would contact advisees from time to time with information that might be

applicable--particularly with academic advisors As an online student I sometimes feel out of the loop

concerning what is going onavailable through UIS and within my department ([department name

removed]) I will say however that the Online [department name removed] Coordinator has been a

wonderful help to me when I have questionsrdquo

ldquoI am disappointed that my advisor is not on campus but teaching in another state While we can

communicate by emailphone I dont think it is very professional of the school to do this to a student

While technically you can communicate over the phone or email it is not the same as speaking with

somebody in person rdquo

ldquoOverall there is a lack of trust in advising at UISrdquo

Suggestions for the improvement of advising at UIS

There were 120 total responses 101 of which were pertinent to the topic

31 students suggested that increased frequency availability communication andor contact

would positive

23 students suggested training of advisers in areas such as general education ECCE minor

selection and career paths

16 students suggested better notification of who adviser(s) are and how the selection is

maintained or determined

5 students suggested improvement to the DARS system

Individual suggestions included

o More ldquohelpfulrdquo advisors

o Centralized advising services

o Increased organization within the department offices

o Advising guides

o Student forum on advising at UIS

o Student feedback surveys similar to what we have for class instructors

Appendix G

Draft Student Evaluation of Faculty Advising Form

Context and rationale ndash To enhance the potential of having the faculty advisor evaluation form approved by the Faculty Senate we have designed it to parallel the form used by students to evaluate teaching Doing so we believe will limit the number objections since advising is part of teaching according to personnel policy Four questions indicated by are identical

Questions on the teaching evaluation forms

1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 Grade you expect to receive in this class 4 I took this course as (elective program requirement) 5 As a result of taking this course my interest in this subject has (decreased remained the

same increased) 6 This course has increased my skills in critical thinking (yes no) 7 The instructorrsquos presentation is well planned and organized (yes no) 8 Do you think this teacher is competent in the content or material offered in this course

(yes no) 9 This course has motivated me to work at my highest level (yes no) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as a teacher (poor fair good very good

excellent)

Student evaluation of faculty advisors 1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 The name of the faculty advisor you deal with most frequently ________________ 4 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements of my major program

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 5 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements for general education

and ECCE (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 6 My advisor keeps regular office hours for advising or my advisor provides

reasonable opportunities for me when I need advising (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

7 My advisor shows respect for my opinions and feelings (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

8 Do you think this person is competent as an advisor (yes no) 9 I am able to trust that what I discuss with my advisor is kept private and confidential

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as an advisor (poor fair good very

good excellent)

1

Appendix H

Advising Roles and Responsibilities Given the importance of advising to the recruitment and retention of students at UIS and given recent attention to advising processes at UIS the Undergraduate Advising Task Force Implementation Team sets out the following definitions for advising roles and responsibilities These definitions are derived from the professional literature on advising but UATF-IT has attempted to place theoretical definitions within the specific operational context of UIS UNESCO List of Advising Responsibilities UNESCO has identified a number of functions for an academic advisor

1 To assist students in developing educational plans that are consistent with their life goals 2 To provide students with accurate information about academic progression and degree requirements 3 To assist students in understanding academic policies and procedures 4 To help students access campus resources that will enhance their ability to be academically successful 5 To assist students in overcoming educational and personal problems 6 To identify systemic and personal conditions that may impede student academic achievement and developing appropriate interventions 7 To review and use available data about students academic and educational needs performance aspirations and problems 8 To increase student retention by providing a personal contact that students often need and request thereby connecting them to the institution

1

Prescriptive vs Developmental Advising The professional literature on advising identifies two primary types of advising prescriptive and developmental BB Crookston wrote the classic 1972 article differentiating between the two types of advising

2 Crookston describes prescriptive advising as a hierarchically-oriented doctor-patient relationship

The student has a problem which the advisor solves from the knowledge or experience he or she has acquired The prescriptive advising relationship is ldquotidyrdquo and ldquoconvenientrdquo (Crookstonrsquos words) and requires little from either the student or the advisor in terms of time or engagement In prescriptive advising a student comes to an advisor to ask specific questions (eg ldquoWhich courses should I take next semesterrdquo ldquoHow do I get a course accepted for transfer creditrdquo or ldquoWhy does my DARS report list a course in one category but not in another) an answer is provided and the student moves on At UIS we have sometimes labeled prescriptive advising as ldquotechnical advisingrdquo ldquoadministrative advisingrdquo or ldquoschedulingrdquo Advising literatures suggests that prescriptive advising can lead to several problems with the studentrsquos learning process

1 The Roll of Student Affairs and Services in Higher education A Practical Manual for Developing Implementing and

Assessing Student Affairs Programmes and Services United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) Paris 2002 p 25-26 Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseAdvisingIssuesUNESCOhtm

2 Crookson BB (1994) A Developmental View of Academic Advising as Teaching NACADA Journal 14(2) 5-9 Click on the

link to read the article

ldquoI trust my advisor because she is knowledgeable in the field and has lead me on the right path since I

started working on my degree requirements I know that would I e-mail her with a question she will get

back to me within a day or just a few hours I also know that if I need to talk to her about a question she

will make the time and set an appointment to hear my concerns or questionsrdquo

ldquoI loved my initial [UAAC] advisor [name removed] She was extremely helpful and I still feel like I can

go to her with any questions that I have She is a FANTASTIC advisorrdquo

ldquoMy program advisor in the [name removed] department is fantastic and very passionate about helping

students achieve their personal academic and career goals She has been an invaluable mentor during

my time at UIS and I am very appreciative of her efforts The faculty at UIS I have had are scholars in

their subject area but also definitely interested in grooming the next generation of thinkers and

citizensrdquo

Sample Negative Comments

ldquoWhen I asked questions of my advisor I was basically told I could just as well look it up myself I didnt

feel my advisor was there to help me - I felt more like I was inconveniencing them by asking questionsrdquo

ldquoI know that it is up to the student to keep tabs with their advisor but it seems like faculty advisors are

sort of checked out Mine doesnt even seem to remember that I am his advisee until I mention itrdquo

ldquoI always seem to get the run around My advisor is listed on my DARS report This person says they are

not my advisor and then refers me to the department secretary Who is usually the person who helps

me the most maybe she should be an advisor If the department secretary is unable to help me I have

been referred back to the person who says they are not my advisor It is a really wonderful process I

have one class left and pray that the next time I have to speak with an advisor they are able to help me

get signed up for this final classrdquo

ldquoI would like to see the advising center help us make good decision instead of trying to just get us in and

out of the processrdquo

ldquoMy experience has been abysmal My advisor is wholly unresponsive - disappeared on a year-long

sabbatical and I was not notified nor assigned another advisor - she has repeatedly failed to respond to

my e-mails I am in an online program and nearly finished with all requirements but to date have had all

of one e-mail from my advisorrdquo

ldquoStudent feedback surveys similar to what we do for class instructors would be nice As Ive tried to work

around the lack of response from my official advisor and found other staff not overwhelmingly

interested in helping me to do so I feel like there is a lack of accountability for faculty advisors who

clearly feel they have other prioritiesrdquo

ldquoI just wish the advisor would initiate an email to me once a semester just to check on merdquo

ldquoIt would be nice if advisors would contact advisees from time to time with information that might be

applicable--particularly with academic advisors As an online student I sometimes feel out of the loop

concerning what is going onavailable through UIS and within my department ([department name

removed]) I will say however that the Online [department name removed] Coordinator has been a

wonderful help to me when I have questionsrdquo

ldquoI am disappointed that my advisor is not on campus but teaching in another state While we can

communicate by emailphone I dont think it is very professional of the school to do this to a student

While technically you can communicate over the phone or email it is not the same as speaking with

somebody in person rdquo

ldquoOverall there is a lack of trust in advising at UISrdquo

Suggestions for the improvement of advising at UIS

There were 120 total responses 101 of which were pertinent to the topic

31 students suggested that increased frequency availability communication andor contact

would positive

23 students suggested training of advisers in areas such as general education ECCE minor

selection and career paths

16 students suggested better notification of who adviser(s) are and how the selection is

maintained or determined

5 students suggested improvement to the DARS system

Individual suggestions included

o More ldquohelpfulrdquo advisors

o Centralized advising services

o Increased organization within the department offices

o Advising guides

o Student forum on advising at UIS

o Student feedback surveys similar to what we have for class instructors

Appendix G

Draft Student Evaluation of Faculty Advising Form

Context and rationale ndash To enhance the potential of having the faculty advisor evaluation form approved by the Faculty Senate we have designed it to parallel the form used by students to evaluate teaching Doing so we believe will limit the number objections since advising is part of teaching according to personnel policy Four questions indicated by are identical

Questions on the teaching evaluation forms

1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 Grade you expect to receive in this class 4 I took this course as (elective program requirement) 5 As a result of taking this course my interest in this subject has (decreased remained the

same increased) 6 This course has increased my skills in critical thinking (yes no) 7 The instructorrsquos presentation is well planned and organized (yes no) 8 Do you think this teacher is competent in the content or material offered in this course

(yes no) 9 This course has motivated me to work at my highest level (yes no) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as a teacher (poor fair good very good

excellent)

Student evaluation of faculty advisors 1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 The name of the faculty advisor you deal with most frequently ________________ 4 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements of my major program

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 5 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements for general education

and ECCE (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 6 My advisor keeps regular office hours for advising or my advisor provides

reasonable opportunities for me when I need advising (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

7 My advisor shows respect for my opinions and feelings (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

8 Do you think this person is competent as an advisor (yes no) 9 I am able to trust that what I discuss with my advisor is kept private and confidential

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as an advisor (poor fair good very

good excellent)

1

Appendix H

Advising Roles and Responsibilities Given the importance of advising to the recruitment and retention of students at UIS and given recent attention to advising processes at UIS the Undergraduate Advising Task Force Implementation Team sets out the following definitions for advising roles and responsibilities These definitions are derived from the professional literature on advising but UATF-IT has attempted to place theoretical definitions within the specific operational context of UIS UNESCO List of Advising Responsibilities UNESCO has identified a number of functions for an academic advisor

1 To assist students in developing educational plans that are consistent with their life goals 2 To provide students with accurate information about academic progression and degree requirements 3 To assist students in understanding academic policies and procedures 4 To help students access campus resources that will enhance their ability to be academically successful 5 To assist students in overcoming educational and personal problems 6 To identify systemic and personal conditions that may impede student academic achievement and developing appropriate interventions 7 To review and use available data about students academic and educational needs performance aspirations and problems 8 To increase student retention by providing a personal contact that students often need and request thereby connecting them to the institution

1

Prescriptive vs Developmental Advising The professional literature on advising identifies two primary types of advising prescriptive and developmental BB Crookston wrote the classic 1972 article differentiating between the two types of advising

2 Crookston describes prescriptive advising as a hierarchically-oriented doctor-patient relationship

The student has a problem which the advisor solves from the knowledge or experience he or she has acquired The prescriptive advising relationship is ldquotidyrdquo and ldquoconvenientrdquo (Crookstonrsquos words) and requires little from either the student or the advisor in terms of time or engagement In prescriptive advising a student comes to an advisor to ask specific questions (eg ldquoWhich courses should I take next semesterrdquo ldquoHow do I get a course accepted for transfer creditrdquo or ldquoWhy does my DARS report list a course in one category but not in another) an answer is provided and the student moves on At UIS we have sometimes labeled prescriptive advising as ldquotechnical advisingrdquo ldquoadministrative advisingrdquo or ldquoschedulingrdquo Advising literatures suggests that prescriptive advising can lead to several problems with the studentrsquos learning process

1 The Roll of Student Affairs and Services in Higher education A Practical Manual for Developing Implementing and

Assessing Student Affairs Programmes and Services United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) Paris 2002 p 25-26 Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseAdvisingIssuesUNESCOhtm

2 Crookson BB (1994) A Developmental View of Academic Advising as Teaching NACADA Journal 14(2) 5-9 Click on the

link to read the article

ldquoIt would be nice if advisors would contact advisees from time to time with information that might be

applicable--particularly with academic advisors As an online student I sometimes feel out of the loop

concerning what is going onavailable through UIS and within my department ([department name

removed]) I will say however that the Online [department name removed] Coordinator has been a

wonderful help to me when I have questionsrdquo

ldquoI am disappointed that my advisor is not on campus but teaching in another state While we can

communicate by emailphone I dont think it is very professional of the school to do this to a student

While technically you can communicate over the phone or email it is not the same as speaking with

somebody in person rdquo

ldquoOverall there is a lack of trust in advising at UISrdquo

Suggestions for the improvement of advising at UIS

There were 120 total responses 101 of which were pertinent to the topic

31 students suggested that increased frequency availability communication andor contact

would positive

23 students suggested training of advisers in areas such as general education ECCE minor

selection and career paths

16 students suggested better notification of who adviser(s) are and how the selection is

maintained or determined

5 students suggested improvement to the DARS system

Individual suggestions included

o More ldquohelpfulrdquo advisors

o Centralized advising services

o Increased organization within the department offices

o Advising guides

o Student forum on advising at UIS

o Student feedback surveys similar to what we have for class instructors

Appendix G

Draft Student Evaluation of Faculty Advising Form

Context and rationale ndash To enhance the potential of having the faculty advisor evaluation form approved by the Faculty Senate we have designed it to parallel the form used by students to evaluate teaching Doing so we believe will limit the number objections since advising is part of teaching according to personnel policy Four questions indicated by are identical

Questions on the teaching evaluation forms

1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 Grade you expect to receive in this class 4 I took this course as (elective program requirement) 5 As a result of taking this course my interest in this subject has (decreased remained the

same increased) 6 This course has increased my skills in critical thinking (yes no) 7 The instructorrsquos presentation is well planned and organized (yes no) 8 Do you think this teacher is competent in the content or material offered in this course

(yes no) 9 This course has motivated me to work at my highest level (yes no) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as a teacher (poor fair good very good

excellent)

Student evaluation of faculty advisors 1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 The name of the faculty advisor you deal with most frequently ________________ 4 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements of my major program

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 5 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements for general education

and ECCE (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 6 My advisor keeps regular office hours for advising or my advisor provides

reasonable opportunities for me when I need advising (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

7 My advisor shows respect for my opinions and feelings (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

8 Do you think this person is competent as an advisor (yes no) 9 I am able to trust that what I discuss with my advisor is kept private and confidential

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as an advisor (poor fair good very

good excellent)

1

Appendix H

Advising Roles and Responsibilities Given the importance of advising to the recruitment and retention of students at UIS and given recent attention to advising processes at UIS the Undergraduate Advising Task Force Implementation Team sets out the following definitions for advising roles and responsibilities These definitions are derived from the professional literature on advising but UATF-IT has attempted to place theoretical definitions within the specific operational context of UIS UNESCO List of Advising Responsibilities UNESCO has identified a number of functions for an academic advisor

1 To assist students in developing educational plans that are consistent with their life goals 2 To provide students with accurate information about academic progression and degree requirements 3 To assist students in understanding academic policies and procedures 4 To help students access campus resources that will enhance their ability to be academically successful 5 To assist students in overcoming educational and personal problems 6 To identify systemic and personal conditions that may impede student academic achievement and developing appropriate interventions 7 To review and use available data about students academic and educational needs performance aspirations and problems 8 To increase student retention by providing a personal contact that students often need and request thereby connecting them to the institution

1

Prescriptive vs Developmental Advising The professional literature on advising identifies two primary types of advising prescriptive and developmental BB Crookston wrote the classic 1972 article differentiating between the two types of advising

2 Crookston describes prescriptive advising as a hierarchically-oriented doctor-patient relationship

The student has a problem which the advisor solves from the knowledge or experience he or she has acquired The prescriptive advising relationship is ldquotidyrdquo and ldquoconvenientrdquo (Crookstonrsquos words) and requires little from either the student or the advisor in terms of time or engagement In prescriptive advising a student comes to an advisor to ask specific questions (eg ldquoWhich courses should I take next semesterrdquo ldquoHow do I get a course accepted for transfer creditrdquo or ldquoWhy does my DARS report list a course in one category but not in another) an answer is provided and the student moves on At UIS we have sometimes labeled prescriptive advising as ldquotechnical advisingrdquo ldquoadministrative advisingrdquo or ldquoschedulingrdquo Advising literatures suggests that prescriptive advising can lead to several problems with the studentrsquos learning process

1 The Roll of Student Affairs and Services in Higher education A Practical Manual for Developing Implementing and

Assessing Student Affairs Programmes and Services United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) Paris 2002 p 25-26 Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseAdvisingIssuesUNESCOhtm

2 Crookson BB (1994) A Developmental View of Academic Advising as Teaching NACADA Journal 14(2) 5-9 Click on the

link to read the article

Appendix G

Draft Student Evaluation of Faculty Advising Form

Context and rationale ndash To enhance the potential of having the faculty advisor evaluation form approved by the Faculty Senate we have designed it to parallel the form used by students to evaluate teaching Doing so we believe will limit the number objections since advising is part of teaching according to personnel policy Four questions indicated by are identical

Questions on the teaching evaluation forms

1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 Grade you expect to receive in this class 4 I took this course as (elective program requirement) 5 As a result of taking this course my interest in this subject has (decreased remained the

same increased) 6 This course has increased my skills in critical thinking (yes no) 7 The instructorrsquos presentation is well planned and organized (yes no) 8 Do you think this teacher is competent in the content or material offered in this course

(yes no) 9 This course has motivated me to work at my highest level (yes no) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as a teacher (poor fair good very good

excellent)

Student evaluation of faculty advisors 1 Your current class standing (undergraduate graduate) 2 Your sex (female male) 3 The name of the faculty advisor you deal with most frequently ________________ 4 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements of my major program

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 5 I am confident in my advisorrsquos knowledge of the requirements for general education

and ECCE (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 6 My advisor keeps regular office hours for advising or my advisor provides

reasonable opportunities for me when I need advising (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

7 My advisor shows respect for my opinions and feelings (strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree)

8 Do you think this person is competent as an advisor (yes no) 9 I am able to trust that what I discuss with my advisor is kept private and confidential

(strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree) 10 Overall how to do rate the quality of this person as an advisor (poor fair good very

good excellent)

1

Appendix H

Advising Roles and Responsibilities Given the importance of advising to the recruitment and retention of students at UIS and given recent attention to advising processes at UIS the Undergraduate Advising Task Force Implementation Team sets out the following definitions for advising roles and responsibilities These definitions are derived from the professional literature on advising but UATF-IT has attempted to place theoretical definitions within the specific operational context of UIS UNESCO List of Advising Responsibilities UNESCO has identified a number of functions for an academic advisor

1 To assist students in developing educational plans that are consistent with their life goals 2 To provide students with accurate information about academic progression and degree requirements 3 To assist students in understanding academic policies and procedures 4 To help students access campus resources that will enhance their ability to be academically successful 5 To assist students in overcoming educational and personal problems 6 To identify systemic and personal conditions that may impede student academic achievement and developing appropriate interventions 7 To review and use available data about students academic and educational needs performance aspirations and problems 8 To increase student retention by providing a personal contact that students often need and request thereby connecting them to the institution

1

Prescriptive vs Developmental Advising The professional literature on advising identifies two primary types of advising prescriptive and developmental BB Crookston wrote the classic 1972 article differentiating between the two types of advising

2 Crookston describes prescriptive advising as a hierarchically-oriented doctor-patient relationship

The student has a problem which the advisor solves from the knowledge or experience he or she has acquired The prescriptive advising relationship is ldquotidyrdquo and ldquoconvenientrdquo (Crookstonrsquos words) and requires little from either the student or the advisor in terms of time or engagement In prescriptive advising a student comes to an advisor to ask specific questions (eg ldquoWhich courses should I take next semesterrdquo ldquoHow do I get a course accepted for transfer creditrdquo or ldquoWhy does my DARS report list a course in one category but not in another) an answer is provided and the student moves on At UIS we have sometimes labeled prescriptive advising as ldquotechnical advisingrdquo ldquoadministrative advisingrdquo or ldquoschedulingrdquo Advising literatures suggests that prescriptive advising can lead to several problems with the studentrsquos learning process

1 The Roll of Student Affairs and Services in Higher education A Practical Manual for Developing Implementing and

Assessing Student Affairs Programmes and Services United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) Paris 2002 p 25-26 Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseAdvisingIssuesUNESCOhtm

2 Crookson BB (1994) A Developmental View of Academic Advising as Teaching NACADA Journal 14(2) 5-9 Click on the

link to read the article

1

Appendix H

Advising Roles and Responsibilities Given the importance of advising to the recruitment and retention of students at UIS and given recent attention to advising processes at UIS the Undergraduate Advising Task Force Implementation Team sets out the following definitions for advising roles and responsibilities These definitions are derived from the professional literature on advising but UATF-IT has attempted to place theoretical definitions within the specific operational context of UIS UNESCO List of Advising Responsibilities UNESCO has identified a number of functions for an academic advisor

1 To assist students in developing educational plans that are consistent with their life goals 2 To provide students with accurate information about academic progression and degree requirements 3 To assist students in understanding academic policies and procedures 4 To help students access campus resources that will enhance their ability to be academically successful 5 To assist students in overcoming educational and personal problems 6 To identify systemic and personal conditions that may impede student academic achievement and developing appropriate interventions 7 To review and use available data about students academic and educational needs performance aspirations and problems 8 To increase student retention by providing a personal contact that students often need and request thereby connecting them to the institution

1

Prescriptive vs Developmental Advising The professional literature on advising identifies two primary types of advising prescriptive and developmental BB Crookston wrote the classic 1972 article differentiating between the two types of advising

2 Crookston describes prescriptive advising as a hierarchically-oriented doctor-patient relationship

The student has a problem which the advisor solves from the knowledge or experience he or she has acquired The prescriptive advising relationship is ldquotidyrdquo and ldquoconvenientrdquo (Crookstonrsquos words) and requires little from either the student or the advisor in terms of time or engagement In prescriptive advising a student comes to an advisor to ask specific questions (eg ldquoWhich courses should I take next semesterrdquo ldquoHow do I get a course accepted for transfer creditrdquo or ldquoWhy does my DARS report list a course in one category but not in another) an answer is provided and the student moves on At UIS we have sometimes labeled prescriptive advising as ldquotechnical advisingrdquo ldquoadministrative advisingrdquo or ldquoschedulingrdquo Advising literatures suggests that prescriptive advising can lead to several problems with the studentrsquos learning process

1 The Roll of Student Affairs and Services in Higher education A Practical Manual for Developing Implementing and

Assessing Student Affairs Programmes and Services United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) Paris 2002 p 25-26 Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseAdvisingIssuesUNESCOhtm

2 Crookson BB (1994) A Developmental View of Academic Advising as Teaching NACADA Journal 14(2) 5-9 Click on the

link to read the article

2

Learning is replaced with problem-solvingmdashthe focus is on answering specific questions rather than what MC King (2005) calls ldquocomprehensive advising concernsrdquo

3

A lack of engagement between student and advisor leads to o A lack of trust between student and advisor The student may fail to take the advice or

accept the solution to the problem o The undermining of the studentrsquos responsibility for his or her learning and progress towards

the degree Because the exchange is one-way and top-down (the advisor tells the student what to do) if the advice does not work out exactly as the student expects it will the advisor is at fault The student never had to make choices never learned from the process and does not take ownership for the decision-making It may help faculty to think of the difference between teacher-centered and learningstudent-centered pedagogy

o Impacts on persistence to degree Research indicates that a positive working relationship between advisor and advisee impacts persistence If the relationship is a distant or ldquotechnicalrdquo one underlying threats to persistence may never get explored and support that might have kept the student enrolled or making progress may never be offered

By contrast developmental academic advising

is concerned not only with a specific personal or vocational decision but also with facilitating the students rational processes environmental and interpersonal interactions behavioral awareness and problem-solving decision-making and evaluation skills Not only are these advising functions but deriving from the above assumptions they are essentially teaching functions as well (Crookston [1972] 5)

Crookston argued that higher education should insure that students ldquodevelop a plan to achieve self-fulfilling lives and that teaching included any experience that contributed to the studentrsquos growthrdquo (King) He further argued that advising is a shared responsibility between students and advisorsmdashboth should work to insure the quality of the experience and both learn from it Students should learn how to make prudent decisions to achieve their goals but the learning process should be consciously constructed by the advisor One way to think of developmental advising is as a process with five progressive steps envisioned here as an inverted pyramid (adapted from OrsquoBanion [1972]

4

3 King M C (2005) Developmental academic advising Retrieved from NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic

Advising Resources Web site httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseAdvisingIssuesdev_advhtm

4 OBanion T (1994) An Academic Advising Model NACADA Journal 14(2) 10 - 16

Exploration of Life Goals

Exploration of Vocational Goals

Program Choice

Course Choice

Scheduling

Courses

3

At each stage of the process students should be responsible for decision-making according to OrsquoBanion This process is akin to the assessment of student learning process which always starts with goals and learning outcomes and moves into more specific choices of assignments assessment methodologies and data analysis Winston et al (1984) define the developmental process Developmental academic advising is defined as a systematic process based on a close student-advisor relationship intended to aid students in achieving educational career and personal goals through the utilization of the full range of institutional and community resourcesrdquo

5 Specific tactics to employ in developmental advising include [from Kramer (1999)]

1 Knowingapplying student development theory 2 Focusing on students their on-going needs over an extended period of time One advising session

builds upon another 3 Challenging students to achieve their learning potential and to take academic risks 4 Viewing students as active partners actively engaged in intellectual and personal growth 5 Helping students think about and articulate what is important to them in their academic as well as

their personal lives 6 Setting short-term as well as long-term goals discuss ways to achieve those goals and help the

student monitor progress in fulfilling those goals6

At UIS developmental advising has been a matter of choice for advisors with some advisors instinctively using such an approach and others using it out of informed decision-making The ability to use such an approach has largely been considered a function of time--whether or not advisors have the time to engage the student in the process Whether the advisor is a professional advisor in the Advising Center an online coordinator or a faculty member time is at a premium when trying to have a discussion that starts off at the higher level of student goals and aspirations and progresses to selection of courses for a particular semester It is important to remember however that ldquoin-take advisingrdquo where advisors meet with new students (whether freshmen or transfer students) is where the initial goal-setting should be done An advisor need not go through the entire process during each advising appointment The development of the student occurs across time After in-take advisor and advisee should just periodically revisit the goals and the program choice to be sure the studentrsquos current needs are being met A specific approach to developmental advising involves the ldquoadvising syllabusrdquo

7 According to Trabant (2006)

an advising syllabus is ldquoadvising syllabus is a tool which allows individual advisors or offices to outline the advising relationship and experience for their adviseesrdquo Hemwell (2000) writes ldquoJust as faculty members develop a syllabus for a class a syllabus can be developed for advising This strategy actually reduces the time and stress placed on academic advisorsrdquo

8 Our ability to create a successful advising model is as dependent on

student perception as it is on our best efforts We must attempt to educate students about the advising process so that they understand our goals and responsibilities as well as their goals and responsibilities in the process This education is an important component of any effort to assess our advising efforts since students cannot accurately assess their advising experience if they do not have a clear understanding of what to expect from that experience One further advantage to an advising syllabus is that it helps students and advisors

5 Winston R Miller T Ender S Grites T amp Assoc (1984) Developmental Academic Advising San Francisco Jossey-

Bass Inc

6 Kramer GL (1999) Developmental Academic Advising In Session Guide Academic Advising Summer Institute pp 198-

216 Manhattan KS National Academic Advising Association

7 Trabant TD (2006) Advising Syllabus 101 Retrieved from NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources Web

site httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseAdvisingIssuessyllabus101htm

8 Hemwall MK 2000 Advising Delivery Faculty Advising In Academic Advising A Comprehensive Handbook 2

nd ed San

Francisco Jossey-Bass Pub p 260

4

integrate curriculum and co-curriculum Most advising syllabi according to Trabant have eight main elements

1 First and foremost an advising syllabus must be relevant to the specific campus office or advising philosophy Some situations may call for a short two-page overview while others may require a longer more detailed review

2 The advising syllabus should adhere to the course syllabus guidelines used by campus faculty It is important to use the tool in a recognizable and consistent format for students and campus stakeholders

3 The syllabus should include a three to five sentence definition of advising andor the advising mission statement used on campus Some campus syllabi include historical definitions of advising (see httpwwwnacadaksueduClearinghouseResearch_Relateddefinitionshtm) while others use a definition crafted for their specific campus or student population

4 Clear contact information is necessary so students can easily contact the correct advising office 5 An advising syllabus should include a set of student expectations andor responsibilities when

these are clearly delineated we can legitimately hold students responsible for their part of the advising relationship

6 Likewise an advising syllabus should include a corresponding list of responsibilities andor expectations for advisors if we expect to hold students accountable then we must do the same ourselves

7 Advising syllabi should include expected outcomes of advising Students must easily understand how advising impacts their success These outcomes may differ widely from office to office or campus to campus but they are an important method for communicating and measuring our impact on students lives

8 The final element includes tools resources andor recommendations for students For example a syllabus can include calendars of advising events and appointment times book or Web site recommendations detailed location descriptions or a blank line for advisors to personalize the syllabus with a recommendation

Advising syllabi are in place in the Undergraduate Academic Advising Center and in some departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Examples of advising syllabi can be viewed at [need url] Faculty Staff and ldquoProfessional Advisingrdquo UIS has a ldquohybridrdquo model for advising in which both faculty and staff work with students There has been much discussion about the relationship between the two types of advisors and much debate about the roles that each play in the various academic units Currently faculty continue to be the primary deliverers of academic advising as they are nation-wide

9 Since

faculty are responsible for developing and delivering the curriculum they are familiar with the content of the curriculum and the philosophy behind curricular decisions In addition faculty are often the most familiar with career possibilities in their particular field of study Staff have been serving advising functions on the UIS campus for some years now Online coordinators and staff in the Undergraduate Academic Advising Center are the most identifiable advising staff on campus but Teacher Education has ldquoin-take advisorsrdquo the College of Public Affairs has a ldquoGeneral Education Advisorrdquo and Social Work has a clinical instructor serving in an official advising role (this list is illustrative rather than exhaustive)

9 Hemwall MK 2000 Advising Delivery Faculty Advising In Academic Advising A Comprehensive Handbook 2

nd ed San

Francisco Jossey-Bass Pub p 255-266

5

The term ldquoprofessional advisingrdquo is a standard industry term used to describe individuals who have chosen advising as a profession and the term actually can include both faculty and non-faculty employees The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) 2011 annual report notes that 10853 professional advisors are working with college and university students in the United States

10

ldquoProfessional academic advisors are generally employed to devote the majority of their workday to meeting directly with students to address academic curriculum requirements college policies and procedures and general student development and success issues Professional advisors seek to teach their advisees the skill and knowledge that will ultimately result in the studentsrsquo succeeding in their academic and personal goalsrdquo

11

It is important that we embrace the concept of professional advisors because it creates the expectation that anyone acting in an advising role is committed to the concept of academic advising possesses the knowledge required of academic advising and has been properly trained in the skills needed for academic advising More importantly presenting our efforts as professional advising is an important step in building trust between advisor and advisee and communicates to our students that we are committed to their success At UIS we often seek to divide the responsibilities of faculty advisors from advising staff We often talk about faculty as ldquomentorsrdquo and professional staff as ldquoGen Ed advisorsrdquo ldquoTechnical advisorsrdquo or ldquoSchedulersrdquo Such terms are problematic because they suggest that professional staff do only prescriptive advising and faculty do only developmental In fact that is hardly the case Professional staff in the UAAC for example follow a strictly developmental advising approach and are continuously involved in issues beyond scheduling DARS reports and petitions Online coordinators have to ask questions about goals (degree career and life) to help students understand if UIS has the right degree program for their needs These professional staff are at the front line of retention just as faculty are Among the faculty it is clear that some see their role as solely prescriptive while others take a developmental approach The UATF-IT recommends that all advisors use a developmental approach whether the topic of conversation is career mentoring or a petition for transfer credit

10

NACADA 2011 Annual Report Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduAboutNACADAannualreportsdocuments2011AnnualReportpdf 11

Self Casey 2008 Advising Delivery Professional Advisors Counselors and Other Staff In Academic Advising A Comprehensive Handbook 2

nd ed San Francisco Jossey-Bass Pub p 269

5

The term ldquoprofessional advisingrdquo is a standard industry term used to describe individuals who have chosen advising as a profession and the term actually can include both faculty and non-faculty employees The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) 2011 annual report notes that 10853 professional advisors are working with college and university students in the United States

10

ldquoProfessional academic advisors are generally employed to devote the majority of their workday to meeting directly with students to address academic curriculum requirements college policies and procedures and general student development and success issues Professional advisors seek to teach their advisees the skill and knowledge that will ultimately result in the studentsrsquo succeeding in their academic and personal goalsrdquo

11

It is important that we embrace the concept of professional advisors because it creates the expectation that anyone acting in an advising role is committed to the concept of academic advising possesses the knowledge required of academic advising and has been properly trained in the skills needed for academic advising More importantly presenting our efforts as professional advising is an important step in building trust between advisor and advisee and communicates to our students that we are committed to their success At UIS we often seek to divide the responsibilities of faculty advisors from advising staff We often talk about faculty as ldquomentorsrdquo and professional staff as ldquoGen Ed advisorsrdquo ldquoTechnical advisorsrdquo or ldquoSchedulersrdquo Such terms are problematic because they suggest that professional staff do only prescriptive advising and faculty do only developmental In fact that is hardly the case Professional staff in the UAAC for example follow a strictly developmental advising approach and are continuously involved in issues beyond scheduling DARS reports and petitions Online coordinators have to ask questions about goals (degree career and life) to help students understand if UIS has the right degree program for their needs These professional staff are at the front line of retention just as faculty are Among the faculty it is clear that some see their role as solely prescriptive while others take a developmental approach The UATF-IT recommends that all advisors use a developmental approach whether the topic of conversation is career mentoring or a petition for transfer credit

10

NACADA 2011 Annual Report Retrieved from httpwwwnacadaksueduAboutNACADAannualreportsdocuments2011AnnualReportpdf 11

Self Casey 2008 Advising Delivery Professional Advisors Counselors and Other Staff In Academic Advising A Comprehensive Handbook 2

nd ed San Francisco Jossey-Bass Pub p 269