New initiatives, resources aimed at improving undergraduate advising
John Bravman
Steven Zipperstein
BY RAY DELGADO
Acknowledging that undergraduate advising and mentoring programs at the university fall "below the standards" set in other undergraduate education reforms, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education John Bravman announced several new initiatives that should significantly alter the experience for students and their advisers.
Bravman and Director of Undergraduate Advising Steven Zipperstein outlined a detailed plan to address some of the problems that plague the undergraduate advising system, with even more emphasis placed on freshman advising, at last week's Faculty Senate meeting. One of the major initiatives was the creation of a full-time professional adviser, known as "Academic Director," at Wilbur Hall, home to 25 percent of the university's freshmen.
"From freshmen advising at the very beginning days of a student's time at the university through the supervision of honors theses and major advising, enough of us who have been involved with [advising] have had hundreds and hundreds of conversations over the years to indicate that, at every level, there are many places in which we simply are not doing a very good job," Bravman said. "This is not a matter of assigning fault or blame. It's a matter of understanding why ... these problems still persist in ways that have proven resistant to our efforts to date."
Although he emphasized that many students and their faculty or staff advisers enjoy good advising experiences, Bravman cited a number of issues that have contributed to disappointing experiences for many.
-Faculty participation in advising has dropped from as much as 48 percent in the late 1970s to 12 to 15 percent today, partly due to ever-increasing demands on their time.
-Some advisers complained that they were matched with groups of students with nothing in common with each other or their adviser and felt uncomfortable participating in the standard socialization events. He said some faculty also complained about having too much information to digest when they became advisers.
-Many students do not take full advantage of advising opportunities or resources. He said his own experience since 1992 has shown that 23 percent of students who had scheduled appointments with him didn't show up.
-Students are increasingly arriving at the university with complex personal issues, including many who take psychotropic medications, which add another challenge to a sound advising program.
-Too many over-corrective efforts for advising have resulted in too many specialized groups and a general sense of confusion for many students. Bravman said programs have been offered through residential education, the advising center and the office of the Dean of Freshmen and Transfer Students, as an example.
"We have added layer upon layer upon layer and one of the results of that is that there's a total information overload and a total block about where to go to get even the most basic questions answered," Bravman said.
A number of steps already have been taken to help address some of the concerns of undergraduate advising. Zipperstein, the Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History, was tapped to lead the Undergraduate Advising Center last fall -- the first faculty member ever to lead undergraduate advising. The center is currently conducting a national search for a senior staff leader who will serve as its head of staff.
The center will be renamed Undergraduate Advising Programs (UAP) to better reflect the array of services that are offered in many different locations on campus. The office of the Dean of Freshmen and Transfer Students recently moved under the umbrella of Bravman's office to help with undergraduate advising, and Bravman said other office resources and personnel will be realigned to assist the various advising initiatives.
An advisory board for undergraduate education made up of professors and various university administrators has been established to assist the UAP with its short-term and long-term initiatives.
The UAP staff plan to devote more energy over the summer to matching students and advisers based on common interests and utilizing the incoming student questionnaire, which is more detailed than ever.
The various student/adviser socialization expectations, such as quarterly lunches in the dorms, will be dropped, and advisers will be able to decide for themselves the most appropriate venue for advising conversations.
"We hope that we can engage many more faculty in pre-major advising," Bravman said. "I think 15 percent is just a number that we should not be happy with. As a reasonable goal, I would love to get back to the point where we have half of our advisers who are on the faculty."
The handbook issued to advisers will be overhauled to emphasize the most crucial information. Professional advisers from UAP will be available to answer any specific questions and will act as an information filter to assure that advisers aren't burdened with unnecessary communications such as e-mails.
Bravman's office established Potter College as an academic theme house focused on undergraduate research, independent scholarship and the arts. The new college is a programmatic cousin to the popular Freshman/Sophomore College and will have 12 faculty fellows who also will serve as advisers.
The UAP will pay close attention to a pilot program that will be operated in Wilbur Hall this fall with an academic director who will work full time at the hall as a professional adviser for the students. That person will be the go-to person for students and advisers for any advising issues and will have better access to student information from various departments across the university.
"The goal for this person is either they solve the problem or they have the information or they know in one referral who has the right information and they will help the student get it," Bravman said.
Zipperstein emphasized that educating both students and potential advisers about the changes to the undergraduate advising programs will be crucial to improving the shared experience. He said UAP staff will work more closely with students during orientation to emphasize the existence of advising programs. He hopes that faculty will see the streamlined advising experience and decide to participate in what could be a very meaningful partnership.
"What we have worked very carefully on is trying to be more realistic about what faculty advisers can do," Zipperstein said. "In the end, the benefit is going to be really the prospect of having some sort of ongoing relationship with students in an uncertain stage. It's going to mean that those of us who are taxed will be somewhat more taxed. But at the same time, there will be residual emotional, intellectual benefits on both sides."
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