Advising Meets Technology: Challenges and Benefits

by Jill Lingard

This is the second article in a two-part series.  Part one was published in our September 2011 issue.

At the August 29^th UAC meeting, Dr. Bernard Mair, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies, asked advisors to think about how they can provide more of their services to students remotely.

  

When strategizing about moving advising processes online, some advisors worry that the human connection they work so hard to establish with their students will be lost in cyberspace.  Activities like scheduling appointments and checking students into advising offices are certainly necessary, but fall fairly low on the ‘meaningful human connection’ spectrum.  If these kinds of logistical functions are automated, the hope is that it will free up staff time to devote to the more critical parts of the advisor/student relationship building process.

Are there university processes we all regularly participate in that could go online and, by doing so, give us more time to focus on our core advising missions?   Drop forms went online not too long ago and the sky didn’t fall, and of course we didn’t stop advising students about the implications of dropping courses.  The act of physically signing something like a minor application is insignificant and needlessly time consuming when you take into account the hundreds of students who bring us these forms.  Discussing the value of a minor with students is key.  Might there be more time to do that if we could submit approvals for minors online? 

Advisors of fully online undergraduate degree programs (business, fire and emergency sciences, applied physiology and kinesiology, health education, and sport management) have already developed ways to advise their students remotely out of necessity.   Regular phone and email contact is common, and some advisors are beginning to experiment with advising through online discussion boards and Skype.  A hybrid of advising formats, including in-person and online contact, is often employed based on students’ needs.

Owen Beatty

“We ask our students to attend our own face-to-face orientation that follows UF’s Transfer Preview sessions,” explains Owen Beatty, HHP’s Associate Director for Online Programs.  “During our orientation, I emphasize that I’m their singular point of contact from the first day of classes to graduation.  For students who cannot attend in person, we schedule a phone orientation and work through the same presentation together.”

Because distance education attracts a greater number of students with full-time jobs and family obligations, understanding what competes with school for their attention is crucial to the advising process.  “I ask my students questions like Do you work full-time? and When do you plan to access your courses?” explains Beatty.   “With a better understanding of their unique situations, I can tailor an academic plan which will fit best with their lives.”  

The Online Student Center on Sakai

Another online advising strategy developed by WCBA’s Online Business Program has been to repurpose UF’s electronic course management system to serve a student services function.  Residing in Sakai, the Online Stu­dent Center streamlines communication with current students by pulling together a wide array of information that they need into one location where they already congregate to access course web sites and online lectures.  Students can ac­cess an online orientation presentation, registration information, date/time/location details for exams at each statewide test site, required textbooks, course syllabi, and term-by-term scheduling recommendations.  Advisors are currently working to add a career development component to the site.  Any college or program could choose to use Sakai to support their academic advising mission.  If you would like to take a closer look at the Online Student Center to see how it functions, email Kari Ward at kari.ward@warrington.ufl.edu and she’ll set you up with access to the site.

The need to advise students remotely will soon extend beyond just those degree programs which are fully online right now.   The Office of Admissions hopes to enroll its first cohort of approximately 500-800 Innovation Academy (IA) students in Spring 2013, with the goal of eventually growing the program to 2,000 students annually.  Since IA students will be engaged in pursuits away from the UF campus each fall, advisors across campus will need to develop ways to interact with them while they’re away.  

As we consider the appropriateness, feasibility, and methods for interacting with students remotely across a variety of advising functions, the developmental and accessibility needs of our students must remain at the core of what we do.  Is your college or department providing online academic advising successfully?  Please feel free to comment below on what you’re currently doing or post questions/concerns about moving in this direction.  Given Dr. Mair’s charge to us in August, we anticipate the intersection of advising and technology will be among the featured topics at our spring advising workshop.  The dialogue we begin here may shape this continued campus conversation.