LETS CHOOSE OUR COURSES: GROUP ADVISING IN NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION

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LETS CHOOSE OUR COURSES GROUP ADVISING INNEW
STUDENT ORIENTATION

• College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising Center
• Temple University

PRESENTERS Matthew Badura, Dr. Catherine M.
Hence, Anar P. Khandvala, Dr. Mark Rohland
CONTRIBUTORS Randi Max, Dawn Renta, Libby
Reynard, Erin Spiotta, Amanda Wright, Dr.
Andrea Nelson
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GOALS OF THIS PRESENTATION

• Explain why Temples CLA Academic Advising Center
  chose group advising for New Student Orientation
  (NSO)
• Show how a group-advising model at NSO benefits
  students and advisors
• Demonstrate how we adapted this model for
  transfer students

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SO MANY STUDENTS,SO LITTLE TIMEOr, The Problem
Posed
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Effectively serving students with the
constraints of limited personnel and dwindling
resources is an ongoing issue at many
institutions. (Bentley-Gadow Silverson, 2005)
Bentley-Gadow, J. and Silverson, K. (2005). The
sequential advising model for group advising
Modifying delivery venues for freshmen and
transfer students. Retrieved 9/18/07 from the
NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising
Resources Web site http//www.nacada.ksu.edu/Claea
ringhouse/AdvisingIssues/Group.htm.
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ADVISING NEW STUDENTS AT A LARGE INSTITUTION

• At Temple, CLA student-to-advisor ratio is 7001
• Heavy volume in advising centers
• 500 incoming first-year students expected to
  meet with each individually
• One-to-one meetings tend to be hurried and
  prescriptive and also promote advisor dependence

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OUR OLD NSO MODELDay One - Presentation

• PowerPoint on graduation requirements followed by
  supplemental handouts on extracurricular and
  developmental activities
• Students signed up for a specific time to
  meetone-to-one with a CLA advisor for the next
  days registration process
• Evening sessions with peer orientation leaders

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OUR OLD NSO MODELDay Two - Registration

• 30-minute, one-to-one advising sessions
• Due to time constraints, sessions focused on
  registration
• Limited time to discuss degree or personal
  development
• Short sessions often used to compensate for time
  lost during more complicated sessions

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WHAT WE NEEDED TO RETHINK

• How can we more effectively use our resources?
• How do we encourage greater student independence
  without making them feel abandoned?
• How do we make NSO more than a registration
  marathon?

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THE VISIONGROUP ADVISING

• Sessions emphasize self-registration and degree
  accountability
• Students familiar with registration and
  requirements should be more comfortable with
  college
• Comfortable students are more likely to be
  independent and adventurous students

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THE VISIONGROUP ADVISING

• Advisors function as facilitators and teachers,
  rather than registration machines
• More attention to developmental advising, program
  selection, and individual needs
• Advising center traffic reduced and the
  appearance of registration-day chaos minimized

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Students who participate in group advising
appreciate the opportunity to interact with peers
as well as with an advisor. The feeling of not
being alone is a powerful by-product of the group
experience. (King, 2000)
King, Nancy. (2000). Advising students in groups.
In Virginia N. Gordon, Wesley R. Habley, and
Associates (Eds.), Academic Advising A
Comprehensive Handbook. (p.236). San Francisco,
CA Jossey-Bass.
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GROUP ADVISING TO THE RESCUEOr, Our New NSO
Model
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OUR GROUP ADVISING MODEL Day One - Presentation

• Presentation focuses on the role of advisors,
  student responsibility, the uniqueness of CLA,
  and careers
• Handouts about planning a roster, online
  resources, and important deadlines are
  distributed
• After an interactive game, advisors walk students
  through the online orientation system
• Students meet with peer orientation leaders later
  that evening

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OUR GROUP ADVISING MODEL Day Two - Registration

• Groups of 25 students meet with several advisors
  in a computer lab to register
• Registration sessions last 60-90 minutes three
  sessions per day
• Students are instructed on how to use placement
  test scores and other materials to choose courses
• Students register while advisors circulate the
  computer lab and answer questions

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OUR GROUP ADVISING MODEL Day Two - Registration

• Students must have their rosters checked by an
  advisor before they leave the lab
• Later that day, rosters are reviewed again and
  students are e-mailed about any problems
• Students are encouraged to continue to work on
  their rosters at home, so long as they e-mail
  questions and revised registrations to an advisor

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2008 SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2 Agree
3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I found the summer CLA presentation helpful.
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2008 SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2 Agree
3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I got the help I needed from advisors.
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2008 SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2 Agree
3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I liked working on registration with other
students.
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2008 SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2 Agree
3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I found courses that I like.
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2008 SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2 Agree
3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I found registering for my current courses
confusing.
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2008 SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2 Agree
3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I feel confident with making revisions to my fall
2008 roster.
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2008 SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2 Agree
3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I feel comfortable using OWLnet to choose next
semesters courses.
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WHAT FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS SAID

• I found the opinions of the different advisors
  helpful. I felt better getting more than one
  perspective.
• We werent just watching the advisors go through
  it. We were doing it right with them.
• We were independent, but we could also get help
  if we needed it.
• I was able to get a clear picture of what my
  requirements are and how I can meet them.

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WHAT FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS LIKED

• Choosing courses with other students fostered a
  sense of community
• Advisors provided sound advice about degree
  programs, courses, and college life
• Students received individualized attention from
  advisors
• Peer orientation leaders offered the unique
  perspective of a current, but advanced, student

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WHAT FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS WANT

• New ways to link one-to-one advising with group
  advising
• Separate, smaller advising sessions for specific
  majors
• More interactive presentations
• More opportunities to speak with advanced
  students on the presentation and registration days

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WHAT ADVISORS LIKED

• Being able to accommodate large numbers of
  students
• Being able to encourage self-registration and
  degree accountability
• Creating community with and among students
• Offering advice rather than just pressing keys

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BUILDING ON SUCCESSOr, Moving on to Transfers
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MOVING ON TOTRANSFER STUDENTS

• We perceived success with first-year students in
  summer 2007
• We decided that our group-advising model might
  work with Temples significant transfer
  population
• Summer 2008 out of 1071 new students, 451 were
  transfer students
• We adapted the model accordingly

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MOVING ON TOTRANSFER STUDENTS

• Temples transfer students come from a wide range
  of institutions and matriculate at a variety of
  levels
• Transfer students need additional information
  beyond the required online orientation
• Orientation and registration advising is a
  complex, time-intensive process
• Transfer students take longer than first-year
  students to orient and register

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WHAT WE DID

• Streamlined our two-day, first-year orientation
  toone-day (pilot January, full-scale summer
  2008)
• Prepared student files in advance transcript
  analysis and degree checksheets for each student
• At the computer lab, presented on Temple
  requirements and the online registration system
• Dedicated most of the session to helping students
  register themselves

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WHAT WE FOUND

• Transfer students appreciated online
  registration, though some did request individual
  advising
• Advisors worked longer with transfer students
  than first-year students
• Advisors felt able to offer more thoughtful,
  careful advice than in shorter, individual
  sessions
• Students interaction with advisors and other
  students helped them feel oriented

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WHAT WE NEED TO DO

• Fine-tune transfer group advising
• Devote more time to curriculum advising
• Work individually with students
• Encourage the option of an individual session if
  a student is having difficulty in the group

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TRANSFER SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2
Agree 3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I found the CLA presentation helpful.
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TRANSFER SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2
Agree 3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I got the help I needed from advisors.
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TRANSFER SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2
Agree 3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I liked working on registration with other
students.
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TRANSFER SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2
Agree 3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I found the courses that I like.
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TRANSFER SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2
Agree 3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I found registering for my current courses
confusing.
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TRANSFER SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2
Agree 3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I feel confident with making revisions to my fall
2008 roster.
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TRANSFER SURVEY RESULTS1 Strongly Agree 2
Agree 3 No Opinion 4 Disagree 5 Strongly
Disagree
I feel comfortable using OWLnet to choose next
semesters courses.
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WHERE WE GO FROM HEREOr, Our Next Steps
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OUR NEXT STEPS

• Find ways to provide more individual attention
• Designate time early in the semester to meet with
  new students one-to-one
• Develop advising between day-one presentations
  and day-two registration,possibly with peer
  advisors
• Offer breakout sections for majors

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OUR NEXT STEPS

• Continue our research
• Conduct pre- and post-session testing of
  curricular knowledge
• Fine-tune our surveys and interview protocols
• Develop best practices to share with NACADA and
  other organizations

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OUR NEXT STEPS

• Incorporate advising about academics
• Demonstrate how to read a syllabus
• Involve faculty advisors in orientation
• Work with other advising units at Temple
• Develop the F.A.C.T. model for group advising

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THE F.A.C.T. MODEL
Facilitating
Advising
Collaborating
Teaching
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THE F.A.C.T. MODEL

• FACILITATING Our purpose was to help students
  to understand their common task of building a
  fall 2008 roster and to assist them in achieving
  this goal.
• ADVISING We provided guidance to make certain
  that students were making informed decisions for
  selecting appropriate courses.

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THE F.A.C.T. MODEL

• COLLABORATING Students discussed their thoughts
  on future academic and career goals, and we
  worked togetherlooking at options and
  opportunities.
• TEACHING Our goal was to set the condition for
  a warm and stimulating learning environment so
  that students would be motivated and feel
  comfortable when asking questions.

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GROUP ADVISING AT TEMPLE

• Group advising allows us to serve a large student
  population comfortably
• Group advising empowers students to become more
  confident about online registration and their
  requirements
• Group advising helps students connect with
  advisors and other students

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GROUP ADVISING AT TEMPLE

• Group Advising can also be viewed as an early
  retention strategy
• Group Advising is more than a mechanism for
  registering a large number of new students

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WE APPRECIATE YOUR QUESTIONS FEEDBACK
College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising
Center Temple University