Advising in Ontario. Roundtable discussion about the Current State of Advising

Advising in Ontario:
Roundtable discussion about the current state
of practice and our professional associations
NACADA Region 5 Annual Conference
Toronto, ON
April 6, 2016
Tim Fricker

About Tim
Director, Student Success Initiatives, since 2012
 Student Success Advising (SSAs)
 Learning Support Centre (LSC)
 MCACES Resource Centre (for CE Students)
 Transition and orientation programming
 Coordinate campus-wide retention initiatives & research and
assessment activities
Advising in Ontario: Roundtable @NACADA
Region 5
© Tim Fricker, 2016 2

Agenda
1. Association & Partner Introductions (20 mins)
2. Current State: Background Presentation (20 mins)
3. Roundtable Conversations (60 mins)
4. Summary Ideas and Recommendations (20 mins)
Region 5

Region 5

Region 5
Integrated Academic & Professional Advising
Community of Practice
Heather Doyle
heather.doyle@dal.ca
Shea Ellingham
sellingham@mtroyal.ca
Darran Fernandez
darran.fernandez@ubc.ca
Tim Fricker
tim.fricker@mohawkcollege.ca

Integrated Academic & Professional Advising CoP
• The purpose:
– Bring together Canadian advising professionals
– Consider range of roles: academic, career, learning support,
admissions, financial, student life, and student success advising
– Examine roles and scopes of advising (from transactional to
developmental)
• Assumption: core of all roles are focused on student
development and success
Region 5

Why now? (from original CoP proposal)
1. Lack of coordination and understanding on campus
2. Increasing attention on advising
3. No formal national voice for advising
4. Very little Canadian information, research and literature
5. Natural bridge between Academic and Student Affairs
Region 5

Goals for first 2 years
• Formation of community of practice
• Establish leadership roles
• Create communication and awareness plan
• Attendance/programming at up-coming association
meetings/conferences
• Survey all potential members and assess preliminary value of the
community
• Report on the environmental scan and next steps
Region 5

Background Presentations
• Initial Assessment: State of Advising in Canada
– CoP Background & Purpose
• What is happening on our campuses?
– CoP Advising Survey Results
– Institutional Report Analysis
– BCCAT Report
• Summary
– College Quarterly Article
Region 5

What is happening on our campuses?
CACUSS Advising Survey
• Open from September 17 to October 9, 2015.
• Initially, 314 people started the survey
• Only 121 complete surveys
• Not generalizable; not representative
• Loosely identifies trends; foundation for discussion
• Not large enough sample to compare sub-groups
Region 5

CACUSS Advising Survey
• Full details published in current CACUSS Communique
• Webinar will be posted on the CACUSS YouTube page
Region 5

CACUSS Advising Survey Summary
1. Advisors are generalists
2. Placed in both Academic & Student Affairs
3. Very few centralized structures
4. Very few broad campus-wide strategies
5. Supporting first-year students and students at-risk are priorities.
Region 5

CACUSS Advising Survey Summary (cont’d)
6. Program and course selection/schedules are main focus
7. No consistent approach (or standard) for session notes, software
8. E-mail outreach, 1-1 advising, 15-30 min sessions are main
service approach
9. Most caseloads are <500, while the majority are <750
10. Virtually no research in Canada
Region 5

Why is advising important?
The Student Success & Retention Problem
• +++ research in the USA
• Very little research in Canada
• Virtually zero research on academic advising in Canada
– E.g. 4 theses in Library and Archives Canada
– Bens, 1995; Starks, 2008; Stembera, 2007; Armstrong, 2011
Region 5

American Literature
• Positive long-term impact of one-time intrusive advising
interventions on student outcomes, especially for those
students most at-risk (Abelman and Molina, 2000, 2001, 2002)
Region 5

American Literature
• …is the only structured activity, outside of the classroom, that
every student has the chance to participate in (Habley, 1994)
Region 5

American Literature
• O’Banion (2013) argues that “academic advising is the second
most important function in the college” (p.3), outside of
classroom teaching.
Region 5

American Literature
• Qualified endorsement: “[whether] the effects… are direct or
indirect is unclear… [but] whatever the causal connections,
low-quality advising may be better than no advising at all, and
sooner is probably better than later” (Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005,
pp. 404-405).
Region 5

A new emphasis: A central feature in student success strategies
Region 5

Institutional Reports
• 6 institutions
• All publicly available reports
– Guelph (2002), Malaspina (now Vancouver Island University) (2002),
Carleton (2009), Saskatchewan (2010), Ryerson (2011), and Manitoba
(2013)
• Similar themes
Region 5

• Advising is “a set of complex services currently lacks clear
identity and coordination” (Malaspina, 2002, p. 10)
• “There are different approaches employed in each faculty…
[and] while there are individuals in every department who
provide advising support there is little consistency in role titles,
grades and % dedicated to advising work” (Ryerson, 2011, p. 1)
Region 5

• “Students are often unclear where to seek the help they need,
or where there is even assistance available. Amongst advisors
the ‘hand-off’ and communication between units is unclear
and inconsistent; students report that they receive
misinformation and miscommunication. In addition, our
technology and processes have often been as much a
hindrance as help” (Manitoba, 2013, p. 1).
Region 5

Summary Themes &
Recommendations:
1. defining mission and goals
2. clarifying roles and
responsibilities
3. campus-wide coordination
4. new working groups
5. professional development
6. technology solutions
Region 5

Future Directions & Research
1. Definition & Roles
– Confusion about the ‘hand-off’
2. Professional Development
– Greater student diversity
– Need for scholar-practitioners
3. Evidence-Based Decision Making
– CAS Standards & Learning outcomes
4. Technology Usage
– Gap between staff and students
5. Research
– More is needed!
Region 5

Back to the CACUSS Advising Survey
Q27: Most important functions of the Community
1. Design and deliver programs and resources that promote
professional and personal development of our members.
2. Share knowledge relevant for community.
3. Support professional networking and connections
4. Create knowledge to benefit the practice
5. Identify trends and key initiatives that could become new
organizational priorities
Region 5

Facilitated Roundtable Discussion
Format (15min x 4)
• 1 mins – Introduce topic
• 9 mins – Discussion &
Recommendations
• 5 mins – Report back
Summarize & vote on
recommendations
Topics
1. Networking
2. Communications & Information
Sharing
3. Professional Development
4. Evidence, Assessment &
Research
Region 5

Roundtable – Networking
“Support professional networking and connections”
At your tables, discuss:
• What types of networking opportunities are you looking for?
1. Brainstorm your ideas.
2. Identify the top one or two.
3. Write a formal suggestion or recommendation for the professional
association.
Region 5

Roundtable – Communications & Info Sharing
“Share knowledge relevant for community.”
• What information should your professional association
make available to you? (and in what format; how often?)
association.
Region 5

Roundtable – Professional Development
“Design and deliver programs and resources that promote
professional and personal development of our members.”
• What types of PD are you looking for? (and in what
format; online, local, regional?)
association.
Region 5

Roundtable – Evidence, Assessment, Research
“Create knowledge to benefit the practice”
“Identify trends and key initiatives that could become new organizational
priorities”
• How can our professional associations support this
work? (for you to do research, for you to publish
research, for the association to publish research?)
3. Write a formal suggestion or recommendation for the professional association.
Region 5

Roundtable – Summary Discussion
• Everyone should have a sheet of 3 stickers
• Each sticker is a vote
• You can vote for one per topic, or place all on a single
recommendation.
• Go!
Region 5

Next Conference Opportunities
Resources, Networking & PD
• CACUSS, Winnipeg, June 19-22, 2016
• NACADA, Summer Institutes
– June: Reno, Nevada
– July: Norfolk, Virginia
• NACADA, Atlanta, October 5-8, 2016
Region 5

Thank you!
Tim Fricker
Director, Student Success Initiatives
Mohawk College
Phone: 905-575-2059
Email: tim.fricker@mohawkcollege.ca
Twitter: @TimFricker
LinkedIn: ca.linkedin.com/in/timfricker
Region 5

Advising in Ontario. Roundtable discussion about the Current State of Advising

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