Advising

When I arrived at Florida Southern College, I successfully completing the Advising Matters: Excellence in Academic Advising, one of the many professional development initiatives offered by the school. in Spring 2017, I was asked to serve as the formal advisor to several students during my first academic year. Since I had experienced advising students at Spring Hill College, I gladly took up the advising role right away. I met with each advisee once or twice each semester and communicated with them about upcoming classes during our department group advising.

During my first few years at Florida Southern College, I heavily relied on my colleagues to answer any questions I had regarding advising students. At first, I received some comments indicating that I should become more knowledgable about the honor's program. Below are some of the responses to the question, "What do you find to be the most frustrating or dissatisfying aspect of academic advising?" 

To learn more about the honor’s program, I attended a Q&A session for faculty on 9/26/18. Over the next few years, many of my advisees ended up joining the honor’s program and it became routine to check the those requirements alongside the major requirements. I became more confident in my knowledge of how the honor’s program works, and I no longer received comments like the ones above. 

Other advisees have mentioned some rewards to our advising meetings. Below are some of the responses to the question "What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of academic advising?"

Below are my student evaluations of each question concerning advising. The question is rated from 1 - 7, with 7 being strongly agree, 4 being neutral, and 1 being strongly disagree. 

There is a clear increase in scores across the first three years. This may be an indication of my increased knowledge of our academics programs in other majors. In the last year, however, some of the scores decrease. Unfortunately, some of my advisees do not respond when I reach out about student advising meetings. Perhaps these are the students who rated me lower in the questions that concern availability, relaying accurate information, and willingness to help. It’s also worth noting the non-response bias associated with the ’21-’22 academic year. 

It is paramount in a student's college years to have a network of support that consists not only of their peers, but also faculty and staff. Research has shown that such a network increases the chances of success (see for example, Relationship-Rich Education by P. Felten and L. Lambert). My role as an advisor is therefore an important one. I have been impressed by the number of great students I interact with, mentor, and advise. It is always rewarding to be a part of their academic journey.