Benefits to Advisors

1
The Role of Academic Advising in Campus-Wide
Early Intervention Strategies

• Benefits to Advisors
• ? Provides early feedback for timely
  advisor intervention
• ? Facilitates advisor-advisee relationships
• ? Increases collaboration between advisor,
  faculty, and
• support services
• ? Allows advisor to connect advisees to
  campus resources
• ? More honest and forthcoming conversations
• Expressed Concerns
• ? Fosters a lack of independence/hand-holdin
  g
• ? Perpetuates the need for affirmation/pat
  on the back

ECU Early Alert Effective fall 2011, ECU
implemented a new academic early alert tool
(Starfish Retention Solutions) and intervention
process. Through Starfish, faculty can inform
students of their academic performance within a
course and connect students to appropriate
support resources. Since implementation, the
following notifications have been
raised Academic Advising and
Starfish National Academic Advising Association
President, Charlie Nutt (2003), suggests that
advising is a central part of retention. A major
focus of advising is connecting students to
campus resources. Through Starfish notifications,
advisors are informed of student progress which
provides opportunities for early intervention.
Starfish helps advisors be the go-to resource
for students on campus. Research
Methodology Professional and faculty academic
advisors were surveyed to gauge Starfish usage.
Focus groups were held with both advisor
populations to examine trends within their
follow-up strategies and perceptions of Starfish
effectiveness. Conclusions Results yielded
opportunities for further advisor development and
strategies for intrusive intervention.
Differences in the utilization of Starfish
between professional and faculty advisors exist
in follow-up methods, number of interactions,
and overall perspective.
Advisor Follow-Up to Advisee (check all that apply) Difficulty Difficulty Kudos Kudos
Advisor Follow-Up to Advisee (check all that apply) Professional (N48) Faculty (N43) Professional (N48) Faculty (N43)
Emailed 88 58 67 37
Phone Advisee 13 0 8 0
Face-to-Face Meeting 42 33 31 19
Social Media 0 0 0 0
No Follow-Up 8 26 35 60
Other 13 12 10 7
Notification Type Fall 2011 Spring 2012 Fall 2012 Spring 2013 Total
Kudos 11,974 14,059 15,235 15,371 56,639
Difficulty 12,513 11,215 10,980 10,013 44,721
Attendance 3,764 3,778 3,228 3,312 14,082
Total 28,251 29,052 29,443 28,696 115,442
If a student received 3 or more academic difficulty/or attendance related notifications, I was more aggressive in contacting students and/or intervening If a student received 3 or more academic difficulty/or attendance related notifications, I was more aggressive in contacting students and/or intervening If a student received 3 or more academic difficulty/or attendance related notifications, I was more aggressive in contacting students and/or intervening If a student received 3 or more academic difficulty/or attendance related notifications, I was more aggressive in contacting students and/or intervening
Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree N/A
Professional Advisors (N47) 77 11 11
Faculty Advisors (N43) 40 12 49
Student Survey Questions in Regards to Receiving Notification Students Receiving Kudo Flag (Agree Strongly Agree) N1010 Students Receiving Academic Difficulty Flag (Agree Strongly Agree) N544
Motivational 62 N/A
Beneficial 77 46
Took Action N/A 84
I use Starfish on a daily basis. This is a
wonderful tool for advisors to have so we can
keep track of our advisees and to lend them
advice and resources when they are struggling.
This helps advisors reach out to students in need
and hopefully prevents them from failing a
course.
I appreciate how Starfish notifies advisors about
the academic progress of their advisees. When I
receive notifications for my advisees, I am able
to reach out to these students and identify
possible resources which may assist them in
succeeding in the identified class.
Team Members John Trifilo, Associate Director Starfish/Academic Support Initiatives Steven Asby, Associate Director Academic Advising and Support Center Kelly Willetts, Academic Advisor Academic Advising and Support Center