A role completely new to me when I arrived at Simon's Rock is that of an academic advisor. The Simon's Rock advisor's handbook states
"Academic advising is crucial to the well being of our students, who begin college at a younger age and who generally require closer supervision and clearer boundaries than traditionally aged college students. Thus, the role of academic advisor is both challenging and rewarding."
This role has definitely been rewarding for me. I have had the privilege of getting to know very kind, intelligent, and interesting students. I have had the privilege of supporting students when they are struggling in a course. I have had the privilege of watching many of them walk across stage after years of hard work as they graduated from the Associates program or metriculated from the Academy into the college. While I feel this way for all my students, my advisees are students with whom I spend more one-on-one time.
As stated in the handbook, this role has also been challenging. I believe the challenges all stem from my own personal struggle to set boundaries. Many of my advisees do not need me academically. They have character strengths becoming of good students. Thus, many of our meetings have been personal: what are their current goals in life, what music do they like, what happened with their friends, how has the election affected them, etc. Some advisees might have more intricate personal struggles such as learning disabilities or at-home concerns. Other advisees simply want to talk about how rough their week has been on the social aspect. To me, these are all equally important.
Luckily, I am employed at a school that feels the same
"Part of the stress of college life is social in nature. While academic advisors are not expected to be therapists or social workers, there are some aspects of advising that move beyond the concerns of classes. Indeed, academic success requires a measure of 6 social responsibility and emotional stability. ... The particular interpersonal dynamics of advisor - advisee meetings are as varied as the individuals themselves. There is no formula. Some students want a purely academic relationship where they can feel free to consider their scholastic pursuits. Others want mentors who are able to help with other areas of experience as well. It is best to let the advisee take the lead in this situation. However, it is worth noting that adolescents may have difficulty setting boundaries. Some do not yet understand how to negotiate relationships, especially with adults, so that they feel supported but not controlled, understood but not invaded. As long as the advisor maintains a solid frame by meeting regularly and by taking care to consider the academic details of college life, most advising thrives. "
Establishing boundaries, however, has always been a personal struggle for me. I believe I have improved in this area since beginning this work. When I first arrived, I would give each advisee one hour per week. This is when I have 4 advisees. Two of those advisees, though, would stay and chat for longer, making statements similar to "you are my hero". Obviously it became difficult for me to be clear about our time limit. I now have 12 advisees, and I do not have 12+ hours per week to spare with my other responsibilities. I had to learn to establish a clear time line. I have scheduled them so that first semester students (both in the college and in the Academy) meet with me every week, as required by Simon's Rock. I do not allot one hour, though. Only 30 minutes per first semester students. When students enter their second semester, I continue to meet with them for 30 minutes but I do so every other week. With this set up, I am able to alternate students during the same time slot. College sophomores meet with me every other week for 15 minutes until they moderate. Then, I require a meeting once per month only. College juniors will meet with me only once per month. College seniors have their thesis director, so they are not required to meet with me any longer. For Academy advisees in their 10th grade year, I will meet with them every other week for 30 minutes. When they enter the college as freshmen, that time allotment will be 15 minutes every other week. When they enter sophomore year, this continues until they moderate. At this time, they will follow the college junior-senior schedule as described above.
Students who use me purely as an academic resource often don't stay the full amount of time or may skip meetings occasionally for course obligations. Students who need me as a mentor will come more frequently or stay longer than I have scheduled. Although I have these times set, I have found difficulty with the latter type of student. There are many moments where I have firmly asked a student to leave. These students will leave, but will pack their things slowly and will continue to stand in my door way attempting to engage me in a new conversation. I found these moments to be the most difficult because I am not sure how many ways I can ask a student to leave. Rather than feel rude or uncaring, in these moments, I have learned to walk the student to the front door of the building or find an excuse such as I have a meeting in another room. Although these moments have become more rare as time as progressed, I do not see my colleagues having this issue. Therefore, there must be something I can do better, and I hope to uncover this secret one day.