A Vision for Academic Advising

Joan Giblin, associate dean of academic advising and student success, currently chairs a comprehensive, campus committee whose aim is to enhance academic advising. This committee includes faculty, department chairs, an academic dean, technology services, student affairs, and student representation.

One of the most important tools for academic advising is the degree audit. Each student has one…a personalized road map to the completion of a degree. In our recent #WITwants2know, 53% of our respondents reported not knowing what a degree audit is….and that percentage varies by class year. For example, of our first year respondents, 76% are not aware of the degree audit, compared to a much smaller percentage of seniors.  The degree audit tracks a student’s successful completion of all degree requirements, including general education, major, and minor. While the tracking sheet that is distributed to students is helpful, the degree audit is the official record keeping of a student’s progress.  Learn more about a degree audit here.

Information such as this is helpful to the advising committee to understand the students’ experience. Over the past month, the advising sub-committees have made great progress in their work.

  • The Mission and Outcomes sub-committee has created a draft of the mission and the outcomes.  This committee will merge with the assessment committee.  A draft of the mission and outcomes can be found here.
  • The Forms sub-committee has identified the five most frequently utilized forms and is working through revisions on these forms.  Their report is here.
  • The Technology sub-committee is identifying areas where technology can enhance and improve the advising process for all parties- students, faculty, and staff.  Their report is here.
  • The Training sub-committee is working on building a training agenda for all academic advisors. Their report is here.

In the coming weeks, there will be opportunities for students to provide feedback to the committee. Stay tuned…