Why do we stand out?

What is so unique about us?

Some team members had direct knowledge and experience with academic advising. Yet, our goal to be inclusive of diverse voices and experiences, assured that we were strategic during the design process to incorporate the voices of various ODU partners. Once the team recognized a pattern that was pervasive throughout the university, The Monarch Nation communication plan structure was designed around an empathetic understanding of the challenges and needs experienced by the advisee, an understanding of the challenges and needs faced by the advisor, and an understanding of the complexities and entangled challenges faced by university units. The team did not focus on the “problem” we focused on the “people.”

Empathetic listening of Black & Latinx students, advisors, academic and university units drove how the team redefined the problem that from strictly a Black and Latinx student advising challenge. The focus to remain human-centered enable us to not fall in the trap of the point, name and blame game that becomes the behavioral norm when solutions become the main and only focus. The more we empathetically listened, it became clear that as a group, we had to lean on our intuition and judgement. Consequently, we were able to identify alternative options to redesign an advising infrastructure that meets needs and empowers all to achieve success and satisfaction.

Researched the market

There are numerous alternatives to the way that institutions of higher education offer advising and support students in the choosing of majors. There are countless iterations and combinations of policies, processes, and procedures that are instituted to reflect the unique priorities, challenges, and goals/objectives of a particular university. Similar to within ODU, where the requirements, including the policies/processes may be different for a particular major, department, school, or college. For example, when challenges or issues arise, then the university, college, or school may respond with new policies or procedures. If graduate rates are deemed to be an area for improvement, then the policies and procedures for choosing a major may be modified accordingly. These policies and procedures may also be created based on available staff and faculty resources.

As a Research II (R2) university that is accredited by SACS and SCHEV, along with any accreditations held by colleges (such as AACSB for the Strome College of Business or NASPAA for the School of Public Service) the requirements for graduation that involves what requirements may be in place for a particular major; maybe in place to reflect the standards set forth by the accreditation bodies such as in when/what students must complete to graduate; and to fulfill the requirements of achieving notation of a major on the official transcript.

The choosing of a major also reflects the professions with regard to each major in the curriculum and performance required to attain the major. These standards are continuously changing with the market and serve as inputs to the material, classes, and subject-matter that is desired by employers. The knowledge, skills, and abilities desired by employers and the professional associations (and accreditation bodies) involves the coursework and content that students are expected to know. However, it is this material and course content that may impact the extent to which a student is interested in a particular field of study or major. Since each university, college, school has its own standards and expectations, especially given its strengths and competitive advantages in those fields of study, then it makes sense that the process for choosing majors is likely to be different at each institution.

Due to limited timeframe for further exploration and lack of resources to design and implement segments of the Monarch Nation Communication Plan, there was not a comprehensive rollout. However, sharing aspects of the communication plan with stakeholder during our sessions with faculty and students did occur.

odu partnership

Information Technology Services (ITS)
Partnerships with other departments for sending resources to incoming students
Faculty-classes

monarchnation = great comminication!

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