UNF Faculty Association

Information Item # 2 – Submitted by the Provost's Task Force
on Undergraduate Advising

Task Force for Undergraduate Advising
University of North Florida
Report and Recommendations to
Improve Undergraduate Academic Advising at UNF
September 10, 2009



Background
	Charge
		The Undergraduate Studies Council was asked to assemble a Task Force for Undergraduate Advising (TFUA). The TFUA is charged with developing and recommending a plan for improving undergraduate advising. The task force is expected to organize and review data already gathered on advising, collect additional data as needed, consider a wide range of models for supporting advising, and explore opportunities, innovations, and challenges towards improvement.

	Task Force Membership
		Diane Tanner and Liz Wondell, co-chairs Adams, Bettie; Broderick, Rachel; Edwards, Martin; Goff, David H; Harris, Alan; Jamba, Lisa; Kaye, Deborah; Kemppainen, John; Magyari, Peter; Paulson, Steve; Perry, Martina; Reedy, Karen; Van Schoor, Thomas; Webb, Kristine

	Scope
		TFUA met regularly from April 2008 to August 2009 to review and establish the focus and direction for undergraduate academic advising at UNF. The Task Force completed the following:
		a review of the Academic Advising Council Mission Statement [Appendix A] a review of advising literature and best practices [Appendix B] a review and evaluation of NACADA advising models and other literature assembled by National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) [Appendix C] a review of advising models used by UNF’s peer-aspirant benchmarks [Appendix D] a review of advising web pages at selected other Universities a review of the current advising structure at UNF [Appendix E] a review of existing data pertaining to student satisfaction of UNF’s advising system [Appendix F] development, hosting, and review of three separate focus groups consisting of students, deans, and department chairs [Appendix G] a conference call with a recent recipient of the NACADA "Outstanding Advising Program Award" (Florida State University) a review of data pertaining to work activities performed by UNF’s advisors by college [Appendix H] a review of each College’s advising web pages at UNF a review of recent initiatives in process which impact Academic Advising (Academic Roadmaps and Undergraduate Coordinator Pilot Program)
General Findings
	TFUA devoted extensive discussion to the advantages and disadvantages of advising models and the development of a list of advising attributes that were desirable for UNF. Students need advisors who provide consistent; correct information concerning their specific degree. The evidence we reviewed indicated that the best sources of this information are advisors in the college of the students’ intended majors. A recurring theme of TFUA discussions was the need to educate and encourage students to be active members in not only the advising/career development process, but also their entire UNF educational experience. This underlying theme should be kept in mind while developing and implementing the recommendations. UNF currently follows a Total Intake Model for advising students. In this model, initial advising of all students is conducted in a centralized advising center, ACE. When students meet particular criteria (e.g. completion of 60 semester hours), they are then assigned to professional advisors in a college.

	TFUA recommends continuing its current Total Intake Model advising structure with modifications and enhancements that would enable students to develop faculty connections sooner and feel connected to the College unit earlier in their education. The unranked recommendations include:

	Enhance and develop a transition to college program for new students. Develop a program/policy that encourages students to choose a major at the completion of 30 semester hours and transfer into College advising. Create an exploratory majors advising unit for undecided students and those who are changing majors. Develop a comprehensive central advising resource web page. Develop a comprehensive centralized, advisor training program for advisors in all units. Expand the Undergraduate Coordinator Program and the Summer Faculty Advisor program. Develop a peer advising program. Evaluate the administrative tasks performed by advisors and designate those tasks that do not involve professional advising expertise to other administrative personnel. Implement a fair compensation system for advisors across the advising units using the career ladder system created by AAC, and recognize and reward advisors based on standardized achievements. Develop and implement an assessment plan for each recommendation.
	Colleges are in a better position to stress the importance of the building blocks of major academic programs. They are also able to identify and refer students who are at risk within a particular major earlier, which could help with retention. While a number of institutions employ a faculty hybrid model that assigns advisees to all faculty members, TFUA believes that the role of faculty advisor/mentors should be reserved for those who are truly interested. TFUA thinks that a committee should reexamine the Undergraduate Coordinator Pilot Program to develop equitable incentives to broaden the participation. A mentor program such as this, that supplements the professional advisor roles rather than replacing advisors, will enable students to receive consistent, up-to-date academic program/policy information from professional advisors that may not be prevalent in a dedicated faculty advising model.

	TFUA believes the student body would be served by leaving the authority for advising centers under the College’s. TFUA found that the character of advising in Colleges is tailored to the specific nature of a student’s degree, such as professional degree programs, and to the students pursuing those degrees. Attempting to implement standardized policies by centralizing control over all advising centers would not be in the best interest of all involved.

	TFUA has attempted to address the weaknesses identified in current advising practices and to identify areas that could benefit from improvement with the recommendations that appear below. One weakness we identified involves personnel issues that exist in many work environments. Wise hiring decisions may mitigate this to some extent, but it will not be possible to eliminate it totally.

Recommendations
Enhancing students experience was TFUA's primary focus while developing the below unranked list of recommendations. Implementation as soon as practical and when funding becomes available is recommended.

1.	Enhance and develop a transition to college program for new students.

	Rationale
	A successful First Year Experience (FYE) program will help students transition from high school to college, increase retention, and promote an allegiance to the University, through mentoring, collaboration with peers, and engagement in a successful learning process. Students at all levels, including FTICs and transfer students, need to “own their own education” and be proactive in deciding on a major, meeting with advisors, and moving toward their career goals. Failure to plan career goals can defer graduation beyond 120 hours and cause retention problems for those who feel as if they will never finish. Research presented by NACADA has shown that continued guidance and making students responsible have proved effective in retaining students and ensuring a positive academic experience.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Continue to require mandatory orientation for FTIC.
	b.	Require all undergraduate transfers to attend mandatory orientation that includes significant career exploration components for undecided majors.
	c.	Develop a required freshman experience seminar/course.
	d.	Develop a culture which integrates and reinforces the need for students to take ownership for their own decisions in exploring academic and career goals, monitoring academic
	e.	Continue to enhance programs for freshman, transfer, and undecided students, such as open houses, career seminars, and other activities by linking to orientations and offering separate events.
	f.	Continue and enhance formal linkages between Career Services and Advising Units.
	g.	Develop a branding theme such as “Own Your Own Education” or “Know Your Roadmap” which complements the current University brand of “No one like you, No place like this.”

2.	Develop a program/policy that encourages students to choose a major at the completion of 30 semester hours and transfer into College advising.

	Rationale
	The literature on advising, practices at other institutions, and comments expressed by UNF students, chairs, and deans strongly suggests that students assigned to College advising units feel more connected to their majors. The earlier connection should increase retention. Making earlier career choices will enable students to proceed with prerequisites earlier to increase the likelihood of graduation within 120 hours.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Encourage students to choose a major or declare themselves as ‘exploratory’ upon the completion of 30 semester hours.
	b.	Transfer students into the respective College advising units that have chosen a major at 30 semester hours, or as soon thereafter, for those who choose ‘exploratory.’
	c.	Develop transition programs that will encourage and welcome students to their major.
	d.	Develop a system in each advising unit so that students can be assigned a designated advisor that carries through a student’s sophomore, junior, and senior years where possible.
	e.	Allow exploratory students to stay in ACE until a major is chosen.
	f.	Require students that have not chosen a major to participate in career exploration opportunities offered through Career Development.
	g.	Provide required counseling to help students that do not qualify for admission to a limited access program to develop a backup plan. The backup plan should be filed with the ACE advising office and be reviewed with the student each semester prior to registering for classes and enforced via a hold on registration. Road maps would play a key role in this initiative.
	h.	Develop a program in each college to evaluate at-risk students.
	i.	Consider funding each advising unit to support a reasonable advisor to student ratio.

3.	Create an exploratory majors advising unit for undecided students and those who are changing majors.

	Rationale
	Students need an opportunity to be exposed to different career options within particular majors to help them decide their major. Advisors in an exploratory advising unit should work with career development in helping students choose majors, and in selecting courses that limit the total course hours. The sooner a student makes a decision, the sooner the student is able to connect with the faculty and peers within the chosen major. Students with earlier commitments to a chosen major will more likely start and complete prerequisites earlier and be more likely to graduate on time compared to those who wait to make a decision.
		Note: UNF’s student population currently does not support this recommendation as a standalone unit. However, as our enrollment increases and with the continued implementation of the Roadmaps initiative, the future development of a standalone unit should be evaluated.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Develop an interview process at the completion of 30 hours to gauge a student’s readiness to select a major.
	b.	Enhance the current career development program by creating additional career exploration activities for first year and ‘exploratory’ students that will work closely with ACE to assist students selecting a major.
	c.	Develop a marketing plan to expose students to career possibilities to include invitations to targeted groups, partnering with SGA, student clubs, the Alumni Association, and faculty to market these events.
	d.	Expand the summer grant program to solicit proposals from faculty to develop and offer career exploration programs/events.
	e.	Partner with the Center for Community-Based Learning in an effort to develop programs that will connect students with alumni and others in the community to offer ‘career day’ programs for students.

4.	Develop a comprehensive central advising resource web page.

	Rationale
	Undecided students need a resource that provides them with a list of all possible majors, as well as links to further information and requirements for each major. There is a great deal of inconsistency in the information provided and the format in which it is presented on the individual College’s web pages. While the ‘One Stop’ website appears to provide announcements and academic policy information, information on majors that can help students make decisions is needed. A list of all majors at the University with links to career information on each and related College academic information would enhance each student’s experience in selecting a major. This web page could also be a recruitment tool for new students.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Establish a working group made up of Academic Advising Council members to develop standardized content for College advising web pages and a central advising webpage with FAQs, links to resources on College websites such as major information, student clubs, career information, etc.
	b.	Create a script that will send a periodic notice to students with a link that generates an online, self-service In-Progress Advisement Report showing a student’s progress in his or her academic roadmap.

5.	Develop a comprehensive centralized, advisor training program for advisors in all units.

	Rationale
	Coordination is needed for training, monitoring minimum standards, and communicating advising information to other parties on campus including Academic Affairs. Students need advisors who provide consistent and accurate information.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Create a non-supervisory administrative position to implement an advisor training program and provide recruitment, hiring, and training of all advisors. The person hired for this position will:
		Have supervisory/evaluative roles only over new hires during their training period Develop an advisor training program in conjunction with the AAC that includes generic advising applications (Banner, general education and UNF academic policies) Hire and train all new advisors and maintain a pool of qualified applicants and peer advisors Create a comprehensive advising training manual Administer the Undergraduate Coordinator Program, including training and recruitment Administer the Summer Faculty Advisor program, including training and recruitment Chair the Advising Steering Committee and AAC. Bylaws for AAC will have to reviewed and changed prior to implementation. Work with the advising steering committee regarding campus wide advising issues Create and promote professional development opportunities for all advisors Develop and control a peer advising program for placement in all advising units Create a consistent means of disseminating advising information to Academic Affairs and among advising units
6.	Expand the Undergraduate Coordinator Program and the Summer Faculty Advisor program.

	Rationale
	Research has shown that creating stronger campus connections helps retain students, especially if those connections are with faculty. Faculty interaction with students can have a positive impact on their graduation, retention, and academic performance. Faculty can help students understand the nature of a particular career choice and help students select elective courses which complement the major.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Create a committee to
		Develop a procedure to recognize student service as part of the annual faculty evaluation process Recommend to United Faculty of Florida union to put P&T criteria in line with faculty annual evaluation process Develop a fair reward system for volunteer participants as it relates to the student-to-coordinator ratio
	b.	Create opportunities for new hires and current faculty to become participants in the Undergraduate Coordinator program and Summer Faculty Advisor program.

7.	Develop a peer advising program.

	Rationale
	Peer advisers have firsthand knowledge of the issues and concerns that college students face on a daily basis and have experience dealing with the challenges related to the selection of classes and time management. Peer advising provides a mechanism for advisees to engage in a meaningful relationship with a person on campus. Peer advisors give leadership opportunities to students and will take some of the load away from regular advisors by taking care of the frequently asked questions. Peer advisors are less costly than professional advisors.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Develop a task force to create a peer advising program to include the input from Undergraduate Coordinators and professional advisors.
	b.	Create a peer advising manual.
	c.	Coordination of hiring and training should fall under the control of the administrative position addressed in recommendation #5.

8.	Evaluate the administrative tasks performed by advisors and designate those tasks that do not involve professional advising expertise to other administrative personnel.

	Rationale
	Administrative tasks utilize a sizeable amount of resources for all units, with different administrative tasks assigned to advisors from the College Administrators. Advisors are hired to work with students and administrative work takes time that could be spent helping students have a better educational experience.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Define advisor’s duties and review the established advisor qualities, making improvements as needed.
	b.	Assign administrative tasks to lower-level administrative clerks instead of advisors.
	c.	Establish and continue to monitor reasonable advisor-to-students ratios and standardize such throughout all advising units. A target of 300 students to each full-time professional advisor will allow advisors to provide a more personalized experience for students.

9.	Implement a fair compensation system for advisors across the advising units using the career ladder system created by the Salary Equity Subcommittee of AAC, and recognize and reward advisors based on standardized achievements.

	Rationale
	Salaries paid to advisors differ among units. This situation sometimes creates turnover in particular advising units as advisors seek positions in other units. New salary lines allocated to colleges require College administrators to choose between funding new lines for advisors versus faculty positions. Administrators often choose to add new faculty positions instead of adding new advising lines because of the impact on FTE and other performance measures.

	Implementation recommendations
	a.	Implement the salary level plan developed by AAC.
	b.	Provide budgeted advisor lines to Colleges separately from funding for faculty lines.
	c.	Charge the Advising Steering Committee with creating standardized bylaws for advising units for annual evaluation measures and allocation of merit pay, and respective corrective measures for weaknesses identified.

10.	Develop and implement an assessment plan for each recommendation.