1. Let’s Talk About The Advising Syllabus
Sandy Bauman
Courtney Johnsrud
Great Falls College Msu
Advising & Career Center
Introduce ourselves. We want people to talk about the topics as we got through the presentation

2. Advising!
“Good advising is one of the key conditions that promotes retention for it reflects an institutions commitment to the education of students.”
Vincent Tinto
“Good advising may be the single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience.”
Richard Light

3. So Let’s Talk
What does the philosophy of “advising as teaching and learning” mean to you? The conversations we had about this topic really led us to all that follows
Do people agree with that statement?
Talk about this for a few minutes and discuss as a group what this means.
Get people talking

4. Teaching and Learning
“An excellent advisor does the same for the student’s entire curriculum that the excellent teacher does for one course”
Marc Lowenstein, 2005
Shift – advising away from an administrative task to a teaching opportunity. This means not just a philosophical shift, but a shift in what we do.

5. A Syllabus What does the syllabus do?
What are the benefits of using a syllabus?
Can we just expect students to know and understand the value of advising?
Lead a discussion briefly each of these questions

6. Topics for today How we did it? Who What Why
How does it contribute to our campus culture?
How and where do we use it?
How do we plan to move forward?

7. Why include all of these groups?
How did we do it – WHO?
Advising & Career Center
Executive Team representative
Common Ground - Advisory Board
Faculty
Student
Staff
Distance Faculty
Why include all of these groups?
Describe how our advising center operates – centralized, all students assigned to advisor, don’t change advisors, faculty advise competitive program students
Ask - Who else would they want to include on their campus?

8. How did we do it – WHAT?
First steps – Develop an advising mission statement that ties to the College’s mission statement
Advising is a teaching and learning process dedicated to student success. The Advising & Career Center will work collaboratively with the campus community to assist students in developing and implementing individual plans in order to live, work, and learn as active members of a global society.
NACADA advise – develop your mission and tie everything back to it. Guides your processes, programs and curriculum. Must tie to the college mission.

9. How did we do it – WHAT?
And we developed a common definition (course description) of advising that fits our college….
Advising is a comprehensive educational process whereby students, faculty and advisors are partners in:
providing encouragement and support;
ensuring student academic success;
identifying resources to help students achieve their personal, academic, and career goals;
meeting essential learning outcomes; and
engaging students throughout their entire experience at the College.
Everyone looks at advising the same way – course description of what it is

10. The Syllabus
We followed our academic common syllabus template as much as possible – meets the guidelines of all syllabi on the campus
How did this help us……
Make it relevant to the campus, division, etc that will be using it
Don’t reinvent the wheel!
Tied to academics which created a common connection to the faculty and put advising on the same level
NACADA resources
Resources – NACADA clearinghouse, publications, advising network

11. The Syllabus: The Parts
Responsibilities of Advisors
Encourage and guide students to define and develop realistic educational goals
Communicate the College’s degree requirements, policies, and procedures
Monitor students’ progress
Responsibilities of Advisees
Clarify personal values and goals
Become knowledgeable about college programs, policies and procedures
Keep a personal record of academic progress
Creates the understanding that Advising is a two-way responsibility
Tells students and the advisor what they can expect and do to get the most out of advising

12. The Syllabus – The Parts
Learning Outcomes
What do you expect students to
Know and Understand (policies and procedures)
Do (navigate Banner Web)
Value and Appreciate (role of advising)
as a result of academic advising
Example: Students will develop a comprehensive, individual academic plan to graduation
As a new advising center, this was a primary focus in the first and second year as we transition almost all students to the Center

13. The Syllabus: The Parts
Outcomes assessment – did you meet the learning objectives?
Start small – measure 2-3 a year
Creates accountability to the student and the College
Ties back to academics and accreditation
Evaluates how well the process of teaching and learning is progressing
Let’s students and the campus know that we are accountable for doing what we say we are going to do
Ties into our outcomes for the college and the individual courses – what we call Phase IV evaluation of each class

14. The Syllabus: The Parts
Resources – on and off campus
Advising calendar
Materials (catalog, planning sheets, web, etc)
Contact Info
What else?
What could also be on the syllabus?

15. How did we do it – WHY? Buy in!
Reinforce advising as an academic pursuit – it is more than course planning
Give us a means for evaluating our progress
Gain cross-campus support for the new model of advising
Let the faculty know their students were going to be taken care of!

16. How does it contribute to our culture?
Sets the tone for advising relationship
Clarifies what advising is and the value it adds to the educational experience
Makes advising visible and transparent to the College
Creates mutual obligations
Accountability
It also creates a friendly and open relationship
Promotes communication with students, faculty and staff
Creates accountability for both parties involved in advising
Makes advising part of the student’s academic pursuit

17. How do we use it? Introduce at registration
Small groups
Explains the relationship they can expect
May be the first introduction to a syllabus, what it is, and why it is important – teach the language of higher education
Review at first advisor individual appointment
More in depth discussion
Reinforces academic nature of advising
Defines the nature of advising to students

18. Are there challenges? A new process to learn
Can be uncomfortable as you figure out how and when to use it
Buy in from advising, students, and the College
It is a culture shift – it takes time
What do you include in the syllabus (can’t be everything!)

19. How do we plan to move forward?
Improve process for online students
Review our learning outcomes – develop them around momentum points
Find new ways to effectively use it – orientation, web, D2L, study skills course
Outcomes assessment – how do we measure it
Resources – find more
Advising Calendar – keeping it current
Professional Development - Practice
Measuring effectiveness of the outcomes AND the syllabus
We no longer have the student success course as a way to measure – need to find a new way

20. Remember….It’s all about student learning
The Syllabus
Remember….It’s all about student learning

21. References & Resources
Light, R.J. Making the most of college: Students speak their minds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.
Lowenstein, M. (2005). If Advising Is Teaching, What Do Advisors Teach? The NACADA Journal, 25 (2)
Tinto, V. Taking Student Retention Seriously. Retrieved September 9/21/12 from
Resource:
Advising Syllabi: