Solving  the  Academic  Advising  Problem  at  ISU  Brady  Smith  Project  5  

Entering  college  can  be  daunting  or  overwhelming.  Many  college  students  just  starting  out  are  unsure  what  path  of  study  they  will  choose,  and  on  average,  change  their  major  three  times  and  80%  change  at  least  once.    

4/17/2015  

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 Table  of  Contents                              Executive  Summary  …………………………………………………………………………………..2    Introduction  ………………………………………………………………………………………………..2    Findings  ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….3       What  do  the  Students  Know  …………………………………………………………………3       Academic  Advising  Help  From  the  University  ………………………………………3         DegreeWorks  ………………………………………………………………………………4         General  Advisors  ………………………………………………………………………….4         Degree  Advisors  …………………………………………………………………………..4       Comparing  College  to  a  Long  Vacation  ………………………………………………….4    Recommendations  …………………………………………………………………………………….5       Solve  the  Problem  at  the  Root  ………………………………………………………………5       Solve  the  Central  Academic  Advising  Problem  ……………………………………..6    Conclusion  …………………………………………………………………………………………………..6    Works  Cited  ……………………………………………………………………………………………......8                            

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     Executive  Summary       The  academic  advising  at  Idaho  State  University  (ISU)  seems  to  have  numerous  problems.  In  this  paper  I  will  discuss  the  major  problems  students  are  facing  near  graduation  as  well  as  incoming  freshman  with  credits  and  required  classes.  This  document  will  talk  about  the  proposed  solutions  to  these  problems,  some  more  appropriate  than  others.         You  will  find  in  this  paper,  stories  to  help  illustrate  ideas  and  topics,  illustrations  that  reference  certain  topics  during  the  paper,  and  a  conclusion  to  sum  everything  up.      Introduction         My  wife  and  sister-­‐in-­‐law  both  of  them  had  issues  with  class  requirements  and  being  able  to  graduate  this  semester.  They  had  been  up-­‐to-­‐date  with  speaking  with  their  advisors  and  were  all  set  to  graduate.  Well,  when  they  went  to  apply  for  graduation  there  were  conflicts  with  class  requirements  and  credit  requirements.  Thankfully,  ISU  offers  8-­‐week  courses  and  both  are  still  eligible  for  graduation  this  semester.  I  believe  that  students  need  to  be  better  advised  about  all  of  the  requirements  needed  for  graduation.       I  registered  for  ISU  as  an  incoming  freshman  only  3  weeks  prior  to  the  start  of  the  semester.  I  am  a  person  who  enjoys  doing  things  and  getting  things  done  on  my  own,  when  possible,  hence,  I  decided  to  try  and  register  for  classes  and  select  classes  on  my  own.  I  was  able  to  log  into  BengalWeb  and  register  for  classes  without  too  much  trouble.  What  I  had  the  hardest  time  with,  was  knowing  which  classes  I  should  be  taking.  After  pondering  for  some  time  about  which  degree  I  would  like  to  pursue,  I  decided  on  pharmacy.      

My  brother-­‐in-­‐law  was  just  finishing  up  pharmacy  at  the  time  and  I  used  him  as  a  resource  on  which  classes  I  should  be  taking,  and  we  came  up  with  a  rough  draft  of  the  fastest  way  for  me  to  finish  school.  I  registered  for  a  science  class,  an  advanced  chemistry  class,  and  mostly  just  generals.  It  was  a  difficult  semester  and  I  really  struggled  doing  well  on  exams  and  keeping  up  with  the  workload.  I  took  16  credits  of  difficult  classes  that  I  was  not  prepared  for.  Two  of  my  classes  didn’t  count  as  general  credits  and  I  had  to  retake  another.  My  first  semester  of  college  was  pretty  much  a  wash.      

In  hindsight,  there  are  a  ton  of  things  that  I  would  do  differently,  as  well  as  numerous  things  that  ISU  could  have  done  better  at  keeping  me  informed  of  what  classes  I  needed  to  be  taking  that  would  work  for  everything.  That  is  the  reason  for  this  paper,  to  suggest  ways  in  which  ISU  can  make  the  academic  advising  program  better.              

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 Findings    What  Do  the  Students  Know?       I  have  talked  to  a  lot  of  students  and  have  heard  a  lot  of  stories.  Some  things  that  have  been  somewhat  surprising  to  me  is  how  little  the  typical  freshman  (or  even  any  class  level  student  for  that  matter)  knows  about  how  long  it  will  take  them  to  graduate.  I  mean,  they  kind  of  have  an  understanding,  but  not  so  much.  I  am  going  to  use  Baylor’s  story  (name  changed)  to  help  explain  a  common  problem  that  has  occurred  with  the  advising  program  at  ISU.      

Baylor  began  his  college  career  at  Dixie  State  University.  He  was  a  typical  freshman  just  trying  to  get  by.  He  took  the  usual  general  courses,  down  the  slippery  slope  of  a  general  business  major.  He  enjoyed  his  time  at  Dixie  State,  but  after  one  short  year,  decided  to  travel  back  to  his  native  lands  in  the  great  state  of  Idaho.    

 He  began  his  sophomore  year  at  Idaho  State  University,  and  lucky  for  him,  most  of  

his  credits  all  transferred  with  him,  like  a  flock  of  birds  traveling  back  from  a  long  winters  migration.  And  just  like  that,  there  were  a  few  birds  that  straggled  behind  and  didn’t  quite  make  the  trip,  like  some  of  his  credits.  So  here  Baylor  was,  in  a  new  school  trying  to  figure  out  what  he  wanted  to  do  with  his  life.  Baylor  had  a  change  of  heart  and  wanted  to  become  a  Rad  Tech  (Radiology  Technician)  instead  of  a  business  man.  He  sat  down  and  met  with  his  advisors,  and  figured  out  everything  he  needed  to  do  to  accomplish  his  dream.  Soon  enough,  Baylor  was  accepted  into  the  Rad  Tech  program  and  began  focusing  strictly  on  his  desired  degree.  Baylor  continued  to  meet  with  his  advisor  every  year  and  before  long,  he  was  entering  his  final  semester.  This  is  when  things  get  interesting,  like  a  tie  ball  game  heading  into  the  fourth  quarter.  

 Like  a  typical  student,  Baylor  waited  until  a  week  before  graduation  applications  

were  due  to  apply  for  graduation.  The  results  were  processed  shortly  and  he  found  out  that  he  was  not  going  to  be  able  to  graduate  this  semester  because  he  was  lacking  a  communication  101  class!  How  could  this  be  possible?  He  had  talked  with  his  advisor  several  times  and  made  sure  his  ducks  were  in  order  for  graduation.  It  turns  out,  the  communication  class  Baylor  had  taken  at  Dixie  State  didn’t  match  up  with  the  communication  class  here  at  ISU.  The  reason  the  advisor  didn’t  pick  up  on  the  error,  was  because  the  communication  class  at  Dixie  State  is  qualified  to  get  him  into  the  Rad  Tech  program.  This  is  where  one  of  the  major  flaws  in  the  system  is  uncovered.  A  major  argument  could  be  made  against  ISU’s  required  general  courses.  Baylor’s  argument  was  that  if  the  program  of  study  recognizes  a  certain  course  as  being  completed  and  ‘good  enough’  for  the  program,  the  University  should  recognize  it  as  well.  The  University  is  saying,  no  these  are  our  rules  and  we  are  sticking  too  them.  I’m  not  going  to  go  into  many  details  about  the  argument,  but  it  is  essentially  that,  and  that’s  what  is  important  right  now.      Academic  Advising  Help  from  the  University       I  was  able  to  do  a  lot  of  digging  into  what  sorts  of  help  students  are  receiving  from  the  college  in  regards  to  academic  advising.  I  scoured  through  numerous  Idaho  State  

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 University  websites  as  well  as  talking  with  my  academic  advisor  about  all  of  the  options  that  students  have.  I  was  actually  surprised  at  how  much  help  is  out  there,  and  if  students  just  knew  where  to  look,  dancing  through  college  would  be  a  breeze.      -­‐  DegreeWorks       I  would  like  to  start  out  with  my  personal  favorite  advising  tool,  DegreeWorks.  Straight  from  the  Ellucian  Degree  Works  website,  DegreeWorks  is,  “a  comprehensive  academic  advising,  transfer  articulation,  and  degree  audit  solution  that  aligns  students,  advisors,  and  institutions  to  a  common  goal:  helping  students  graduate  on  time.”  (Ellucian)  DegreeWorks  is  now  up  and  running  for  all  students  at  the  University  and  it  is  an  excellent  tracking  device  for  students.  Many  problems  would  be  solved  if  students  paid  close  attention  to  this  tool.  I  found,  though,  that  many  students  don’t  check  Degree  Works  often  and,  more  than  I  anticipated,  don’t  even  know  that  Degree  Works  existed.  For  those  who  are  not  sure  where  DegreeWorks  is  located,  it  is  right  next  to  the  Moodle  icon  if  you  were  to  get  into  Moodle  from  BengalWeb.    -­‐  General  Advisors       This  is  an  area  that  I  think  needs  improved  dramatically.  General  Advisors,  or  Central  Academic  Advising,  offers  freshman  and  undecided  sophomores’  guidance  and  degree  advice.  Most  students  that  I  talked  to,  have  never  really  talked  to  any  general  advisor  and  the  few  that  had  talked  with  them,  explained  their  experience  as  not  very  helpful.  I  was  able  to  them  and  it  seems  the  problem  lies  with  both  the  students  as  well  as  them.  I  explain  later  a  few  solutions  to  this  problem.    -­‐  Degree  Advisors       Students  are  required  to  talk  with  their  degree  advisor  at  least  once  a  year  and  are  recommended  to  do  so  every  semester.  Degree  Advisors  seemed  very  helpful  and  knowledgeable  about  the  programs  and  setting  students  up  on  appropriate  class  schedules.  There  are,  however,  certain  cases  that  Degree  Advisors  make  mistakes,  like  in  the  story  about  Baylor.  Advisors  meet  with  tons  of  students  daily  and  are  extremely  busy,  it  is  possible  for  them  to  make  mistakes,  this  still  doesn’t  excuse  them,  but  I  will  explain  in  the  recommendations  how  to  solve  this  problem.      Comparing  College  to  a  Long  Vacation         In  my  findings,  I  learned  that  college,  if  done  correctly,  is  like  planning  for  and  going  on  a  wonderful  trip.  If  we  can  teach  students  this  one  concept,  it  will  cure  most  of  the  academic  advising  problems  college  seems  to  come  with.  The  idea  is  simple,  and  it  is  essentially  this.         Imagine  you  are  going  on  an  expensive  and  luxurious  vacation,  what  sort  of  things  do  you  have  to  plan  for?  Where  are  you  going?  What  are  you  going  to  do  there?  Who  can  you  talk  with  to  make  the  experience  the  most  enjoyable  and  easy  to  accomplish?  What  sort  

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 of  things  do  you  need  to  bring  with  you?  I’m  sure  there  are  numerous  other  questions  you  could  ask  yourself,  but  these  are  the  most  important  questions  to  you.  Every  one  of  the  answers  to  these  questions,  except  one,  is  almost  entirely  up  to  the  person  going  on  the  vacation.  There  are,  however,  better  answers  for  who  you  can  talk  with  to  make  the  experience  better.      

You  can  talk  with  a  travel  advisor,  they  can  answer  most  of  your  questions,  and  it  would  also  be  wise  to  talk  with  someone  who  has  recently  gone  on  the  trip.  I  emphasize  recently  because  many  things  have  probably  changed  if  you  talk  with  someone  who  did  the  same  vacation  many  years  ago.  Knowing  what  to  take  on  the  trip  would  also  be  answered  by  a  travel  advisor  or  someone  who  recently  did  the  trip.    

 College  is  very  similar  to  taking  a  long  (and  expensive)  vacation.  Students  need  to  

plan  out  what  they  want  to  do  and  have  things  prepared  for  when  they  are  ready  to  take  the  plunge  and  jump  right  into  the  classes.  Students  need  to  realize  that  it  is  vital  for  their  success  to  talk  with  advisors,  and  other  people  who  have  recently  finished  their  desired  program  of  study,  to  make  sure  they  are  taking  the  correct  classes.          Recommendations    Solve  the  Problem  at  the  Root       I  found  that  almost  all  of  the  problems  that  occurred  with  students’  schedules  and  not  having  all  of  the  required  classes  to  graduate,  or  having  to  stay  in  school  longer  than  expected,  start  from  even  before  college  begins.  Too  many  college  students  are  coming  into  college  unprepared  and  oblivious  to  what  they  need  to  be  doing.  College  is  a  major  transformation  from  high  school  and  students  are  unprepared  for  it.      

To  solve  this  we  need  to  give  high  school  students  a  roadmap  of  what  college  is  and  explain  it  to  them  in  a  way  that  they  can  understand.  I  think  it  would  be  appropriate  to  use  my  vacation  example  to  them  and  relate  college  to  things  that  they  understand.  This  way  they  will  know  who  they  need  to  talk  to  and  get  important  information  that  is  vital  for  them  to  graduate  on  time  and  with  all  of  the  necessary  classes.       Another  good  solution  is  to  encourage  students  not  to  decide  on  a  major  until  after  the  first  or  second  year  of  college.  Encourage  students  to  take  as  many  general  classes  as  they  can  so  that  they  will  qualify  for  any  major  degree.  My  biggest  mistake  was  jumping  right  into  what  I  thought  my  major  would  be  and  losing  out  on  lots  of  time  and  money.  Students  can  still  get  just  as  far  ahead  if  they  are  taking  only  generals.  Along  this  note  as  well,  students  should  be  required  to  take  a  short  online  course  before  they  even  begin  their  freshman  year.  I  know  that  ISU  already  requires  that  students  take  a  short  Fundamentals  of  Advising  and  Registration,  but  student’s  need  more  than  this.  They  need  a  course  that  will  help  them  get  the  gist  of  how  college  works  and  advising  and  all  those  necessary  things.        

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   Solve  the  Central  Academic  Advising  Problem           Students  seem  to  think  that  the  central  academic  advisors  are  no  help  at  all  and  sometimes  are  more  confused  after  speaking  with  them.  These  are  supposed  to  be  your  travel  agents  and  advisors  and  are  supposed  to  make  sure  you  have  everything  in  order  to  finish  the  trip  successfully  and  have  a  great  experience.  After  speaking  with  general  academic  advising,  I  have  a  better  understanding  of  why  students  are  often  times  leaving  confused  or  feel  like  they  didn’t  get  all  of  the  help  they  needed.  It  seems  as  if  students  are  going  to  the  advisors  looking  for  all  the  answers.  The  advisors  are  there  to  give  the  students  advice  and  council,  not  to  completely  plan  out  the  students’  entire  plan.  Advisors  will  generally  give  students  information  that  they  already  know,  but  are  probably  not  doing.  They  will  give  them  a  list,  or  book,  that  has  all  the  information  about  what  classes  are  required  for  each  major  and  let  the  students  do  what  they  want  with  it.  It  would  be  more  beneficial  if  the  students  already  had  a  major  in  mind  and  was  just  confused  about  where  to  look  up  the  required  material  for  that  specific  major.         I  do  not  have  an  excellent  solution  to  this  problem.  One  solution,  my  best  solution,  would  be  to  have  the  academic  advisors  spend  more  time  with  each  student  and  find  out  which  course  of  study  they  are  leaning  most  towards  and  just  give  them  a  list  or  book  that  has  all  of  the  business  majors  in  it,  or  medical  majors,  and  just  split  the  book/list  to  more  specific  categories  to  not  overwhelm  the  student.  The  biggest  downside  to  this  is  when  someone  goes  from  a  business  major  to  medical.  They  would  just  have  to  get  a  different  book/list  of  all  of  those  majors  and  required  courses.        

Another  solution  would  be  to  have  the  advisor  do  a  walk-­‐thru  of  the  entire  registering  process,  from  finding  the  classes  to  actually  registering.  However,  I  feel  like  this  process  is  not  necessary  if  the  student  actually  reads  and  does  what  he/she  is  supposed  to  with  the  whole  short  advising  session  they  are  required  to  take  before  they  begin  classes.          Conclusion       I  found  that  in  most  cases,  both  students  and  advisors  are  at  fault.  College  students  need  to  realize  that  not  everything  is  going  to  be  spoon-­‐fed  to  them,  and  they  are  ultimately  responsible  for  their  lives  and  how  their  college  turns  out.  Advisors,  though,  need  to  realize  that  college  is  a  major  change  to  students  and  most  students  have  no  idea  what  is  going  on  and  are  too  scared  to  ask  questions  because  they  don’t  want  to  look  stupid  for  not  understanding  something.      The  university  certainly  has  enough  help  out  there  if  students  would  just  be  proactive  in  looking  for  it.  That  is  also  half  the  problem,  if  students  aren’t  proactive  the  advisors  are  not  being  proactive  and  students  are  getting  frustrated  and  upset  that  their  classes  aren’t  working  out  or  they  are  having  to  stay  in  college  longer  than  expected.  In  order  for  this  

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 issue  to  be  solved,  high  schools  will  have  to  jump  in  and  lay  out  the  roadmap  for  students  before  entering  college.  I  also  think  a  short  online  course  should  be  given  to  every  student  before  they  even  start  their  first  semester  of  college  that  helps  them  choose  a  major  as  well  as  understanding  all  of  the  aspects  of  registration,  online  classes,  regular  classes,  and  just  college  in  general.    

                   

                                                           

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 Works  Cited  

 "Ellucian Degree Worksâ„¢." Ellucian. Ellucian Company LLC, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. http://www.isu.edu/advising/ Ramos, Yuritzy. "College Students Tend to Change Majors When They Find the One They Really Love - Borderzine." Borderzine. N.p., 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.