Why Bother with Academic Advising? Dr. Wes Habley Graduation Rates Conference University of Texas System September 30, 2005

Academic Advising... …has a powerful influence on student success …is critical to institutional effectiveness and student persistence

TOPICS n Scope of the problem n What Works in Student Retention? n Why is there a link between advising and persistence? n Conditions necessary for advising to have an impact

TOPICS n Scope of the problem n What Works in Student Retention? n Why is there a link between advising and persistence? n Conditions necessary for advising to have an impact

Types of Attrition n Expected and Justified u realized a goal other than a degree/certificate n Stopping Out u not on our timeframe n Unnecessary and subject to institutional intervention

Advising and Persistence n RETENTION: the process of holding or keeping in one’s possession n ATTRITION: the process or state of being gradually warn down n PERSISTENCE: to continue to exist or prevail

51.3 (’04)53.1 ('83) (‘05)70.0 (‘04) ('89)70.1 (‘05) (‘86)78.1 ('04) 77.5 Two-year public BA/BS public MA public Ph.D. public Retention Trends Freshman-Sophomore LowestHighestCurrent % % %.

*completion of bachelor’s degree in five years or less BA/BS public MA/MS public Ph.D. public Completion Rates * Four-year Public Colleges Highest Lowest Current % % %.

Degree Attainment and persistence (after 6 years) Descriptive Summary of Beginning Postsecondary Students:Six Years Later National Center for Educational Statistics, December, 2002

Degree attainment and persistence (after 6 years) Descriptive Summary of Beginning Postsecondary Students:Six Years Later National Center for Educational Statistics, December, 2002

TOPICS n Scope of the problem n What Works in Student Retention? n Why is there a link between advising and persistence? n Conditions necessary for advising to have an impact

What Works in Student Retention (WWISR) n Survey sent to 2,995 colleges n Survey Sections u Institutional Characteristics (24 items) u Student Characteristics (20 items) u Campus Practices (84 items) n Returned by 1,061 colleges (35.4%) u 228 (42.5%) four-year public colleges

Retention/Degree Completion Goals 59.6% have established a goal for improved first to second year retention 45.6% have established a goal for improved degree completion

Coordination of Retention Programs Coordination of Retention Programs 48.7% have designated a person to coordinate retention activities 18.9% of those designated to coordinate are dean-level or higher 8.1% include retention in the coordinator’s title

Student Characteristics Of 20 Student Characteristics 16 Cited as making a moderate or higher contribution to attrition

Student Characteristics Greatest contribution to attrition F Inadequate financial resources F Lack of motivation to succeed F Inadequate preparation for college level work F Poor study skills F Too many job demands F Lack of educational aspirations and goals F Poor academic integration

Institutional Characteristics Of 24 institutional characteristics n Only 5 are cited as making a moderate contribution or higher to student attrition u amount of financial aid available u academic advising u student-institution fit u student involvement in campus life u social environment

John Gardner comments…. It is disturbing to note that in spite of all we know about student retention that institutions are still inclined to hold students responsible for their retention/attrition while dramatically minimizing the institutional role in student retention.

Greatest Contribution to Retention Clusters of Programs/Services making the greatest contribution to retention fall into 3 categories Academic Advising First Year Transition First Year Transition Learning Support Learning Support

Greatest Contribution to Retention n Advising interventions with selected student populations (4.0) n Increased advising staff (4.0) n Academic advising center (3.9) n Supplemental instruction (3.9) n Comprehensive learning assistance center/lab (3.9) n Reading center/lab (3.9) n Honors student program (3.9) n Eight interventions tied at 3.8 including u Integration of Advising with First-Year Transition Programs u Centers that combine academic advising with career/life planning

High Impact Programs/Services n Identify the three programs on your campus that you believe have the highest impact on student retention. u Freshman Seminar/University 101 for credit (20.2%) u Learning Communities (18.4%) u Advising Interventions for selected student populations (12.3%) u All remaining practices cited at fewer than 10% of the colleges (61 practices not cited by any respondents )

Institutional Data Questionnaire (IDQ) u ACT’s Annual collection of data from all two-year and four-year degree-granting institutions u Includes information about admissions, academic programs, co-curricular activities, and other campus characteristics u Includes first-second year dropout and degree completion rates u Data set includes 2,523 colleges (2003)

Top 25% Middle 50% Bottom 25% Top 25% Middle 50% Bottom 25% HIGH Performing Moderate Performing LOW Performing D e g r e e C o m p l e t i o n R e t e n t i o n

Four-year Public Colleges Of the 228 four-year public colleges that returned the retention survey 34 were High Performers: F Top 25% in both retention and degree completion 26 were Low Performers: F Bottom 25% in both retention and degree completion

High performing four-year public colleges were more likely to implement u Advising Interventions with Selected Student Populations u Increased Advising Staff u Academic Advising Center u Supplemental Instruction u Comprehensive Learning Assistance Center u Summer Bridge Program u Freshman Seminar

WWISR Conclusion Institutions that are most successful in retaining their students make significant use of advising interventions to enhance retention and degree completion.

TOPICS n Scope of the problem n What Works in Student Retention? n Why is there a link between advising and persistence? n Conditions necessary for advising to have an impact

Themes of Attrition Academic Boredom Academic Underpreparedness Lack of Certainty in major/career choice Transition/adjustment Difficulty Dissonance/Incompatibility Irrelevancy

Advising: Retention Definition “Providing assistance in the mediation of dissonance between student expectations and the actualities of the educational experience.” Habley, 1983

Students Who Expect & Experience Specific Outcomes in College Be undecided7% Change majors12 Fail a course1 Take extra time to complete a degree8 Drop out1 Transfer colleges12 Work in college36 Seek personal counseling6 Need tutoring15 Seek career guidance5 To:ExpectExperience 20 %

TOPICS n Scope of the problem n What Works in Student Retention? n Why is there a link between advising and persistence? n Conditions necessary for advising to have an impact

The conditions... ACADEMIC ADVISING n must be broadly defined

The task of advising is concentrated in the opening days of registration and enrollment and consists of aiding students in the selection of courses. Handbook of College and University Administration Asa Knowles, Editor 1960’s Definition of Advising

Academic advising assists students to realize the maximum educational benefits available to them by helping them to better understand themselves and to learn to use the resources of the institutions to meet their special educational needs. David Crockett Advising Defined...

Academic advising is a decision- making process during which students reach their maximum educational potential through communication and information exchange with an academic advisor. Thomas J. Grites Advising Defined...

Advising is concerned not only with a specific personal or vocational decision, but also with facilitating the student’s rational processes, environmental and interpersonal interactions, behavioral awareness and problem-solving, decision- making and evaluation skills. Burns Crookston Advising Defined...

The conditions... ACADEMIC ADVISING n must be broadly defined n is a form of teaching

Advising: a form of teaching Teaching is an instinctual art, mindful of potential, craving of realizations, a pausing, seamless process, where one rehearses constantly while acting, sits as a spectator at a play one directs, engages every part in order to keep the choices open and the shape alive for the student, so that the student may enter in, and begin to do what the teacher has done --- make choices. A. Bartlett Giamatti, A free and ordered space: the real world of the university

Advisors teach students u to value the learning process u to apply decision-making strategies u to put the college experience into perspective u to set priorities and evaluate events u to develop thinking and learning skills u to make choices Core Values, NACADA

The role of advising… Advising, rather than an extension of the educator’s role is integral to it. It is teaching which stretches beyond instruction. Robert Berdahl (past President, University of Texas Chancellor Emeritus, UC-Berkeley) New Directions for Teaching and Learning

The conditions... ACADEMIC ADVISING n must be broadly defined n is a form of teaching n is closely related to career/life planning

Traditional advising for course sequencing and selection is based on the assumption that a student has made a reasoned decision and is committed to a specific academic program. Underlying assumption...

The role of the advisor is to ensure that a student...efficiently processes through...a predetermined sequence of courses...to earn a particular academic credential...in a specified period of time. Underlying assumption...

IS FALSE! n students who are willing to admit they are undecided n students who change their minds from application to orientation n students who will change their minds (maybe more than once) Underlying assumption...

O’Banion paradigm 1. Exploration of Life Goals 2. Exploration of Career/Educational Goals 3. Selection of an Educational Combination 4. Selection of Classes 5. Scheduling of Classes

The conditions... ACADEMIC ADVISING n must be broadly defined n is a form of teaching n is closely related to career/life planning n is the hub of services for students

Orientation Financial Aid Etc., etc., etc. Counseling Admissions Housing Registration Health StudentSupportServices Advising

Academic Advising

The role of advising… Advising should be at the core of the institution’s educational mission rather than layered on as a service. Robert Berdahl New Directions for Teaching and Learning

Admissions Career/Life Planning Learning Assistance Supplemental Instruction Learning Communities Special Populations Academic Departments Orientation Registration Records Undergrad. Colleges First Year Seminar Testing Academic Advising Collaborative Efforts Efforts CoordinatedProcesses CoordinatedDelivery

Academic advising... Academic advising... CANNOT BE DONE IN ISOLATION coordination collaboration Advising requires coordination and collaboration among units across the campus that provide and/or support advising services

The conditions... ACADEMIC ADVISING n must be broadly defined n is a form of teaching n is closely related to career/life planning n is the hub of services for students n is a collaborative, coordinated process. n requires active outreach to students

Active outreach to students Advisors should be available at times when, at times when, and in places where, and in places where, students make educational decisions students make educational decisions

Why reach out? n An academic advisor is unlike any role model the new student has encountered n Students receive advice from all sorts of people and much of that advice is inaccurate, incomplete, or inappropriately value laden

Why reach out? n The use of technology may supplant rather than support the advising process n The first six weeks of transition are critical to the institution’s retention efforts n It is easier to anticipate a problem than it is to solve one

The conditions... ACADEMIC ADVISING n must be broadly defined n is a form of teaching n is closely related to career/life planning n is the hub of services for students n is a collaborative, coordinated process. n requires active outreach to students

Academic advising is the only structured activity on the campus in which all students have the opportunity for on- going, one-to-one interaction with a concerned representative of the institution. Why bother with academic advising?