Advising to Make the Grade-FYE Assignments That Benefit Students and Advisors. NACADA Region 4 MIami 2012

1. Advising to Make the Grade
FYE Assignments that Benefit
Students and Advisers
Veronica Giguere
Florida Institute of Technology

2. Advising to Make the Grade
• Bring advising into the first-year seminar
through purposeful assignments that touch on
key student skills while creating a robust advisee
portfolio
• Learn how one university integrates advising
into the first-year seminar curriculum through
time management, midterm grade reflection,
and faculty student interviews

3. Benefit Students and Advisers
• Examine assignments that meet shared goals for
both first-year student advisers and first-year
student seminar instructors
• Receive exercises and examples that you can
modify to suit your own course and department
objectives

4. Florida Institute of Technology
• Private, four-year research institution in
Melbourne, Florida
• ASC 1000 – University Experience (UE)
– Coordinated through Academic Support Center
– Required for FTIC as part of undergraduate core
– One credit, A-F; meets 1 hour over 16 weeks
– Introduction to campus, academic strategies,
university resources, and campus life

5. First-Year Seminar Instruction
• 2010: 590 FTIC enrolled in ASC 1000
– 24 sections taught by alumni, faculty, staff
• 2011: 690 FTIC enrolled in ASC 1000
– 27 sections taught by alumni, faculty, staff
– 12 of these sections taught by advising staff (4)
• 2012: ~700 FTIC expected
– 30 sections taught by alumni, faculty, staff
– 12 of these sections taught by advising staff (4)

6. Shared Goals for First-Year Students
• Reflect upon goals • Work with adviser to
(academic and personal) create and maintain an
• Become acquainted with academic schedule to fit
university procedures, academic and personal
campus resources, and goals
local community • Use campus resources,
• Develop academic skills including faculty and
and strategies to persist staff services, to persist
through the first year and through the first year and
beyond beyond

7. Six Key Assignments
• Who Are You? – Week 1
• 168 Hours – Week 4
• Student Résumé – Week 6
• Midterm Grade Evaluation – Week 9
• Registration Planning Sheet – Week 12
• Faculty Interview – Week 14

8. Who Are You? – Week 1
Shared Objectives
• Familiarity with students’
goals, interests, and personal
motivations
• The “whole story” rather
than simply “name to face”

9. 168 Hours – Week 4
Shared Objectives
• Introduction of time
management strategy
• Awareness of academic and
personal time split
• Familiarity with weekly
format for resource
management

10. Student Résumé – Week 6
Shared Objectives
• Awareness of goals and
objectives beyond first year
• Importance of academic and
service activities to
employment
• Interaction with career
management services and
community opportunities

11. Midterm Grade Evaluation – Week 9
Shared Objectives
• Record and reflect upon
midterm grades
• Practice calculation of grade
point average

12. Registration Planning Sheet – Week 12
Shared Objectives
• Familiarity with choosing
courses for next semester
• Use time management skills
to schedule classes per
personal goals and interests
• Prepare for meeting with
adviser to register for classes

13. Faculty Interview – Week 14
Shared Objectives
• Initiate conversation with
faculty member within
department
• Assist in transition from
advising center to faculty
adviser within department

14. Challenges to the Model
• Sharing information when the adviser is not the
instructor
• Common objectives for different majors
• Uniform grading of assignments
• Paper completion vs. online completion
• Student perception of assignments/activities

15. Improvements & Modifications
• Adviser input modifies assignments
• Specific advising = Detailed assignments
• Electronic assignment completion
– Paperless
– Immediate feedback
– Central repository for assignments

16. Something for Everyone!
• Limited number of exercises with rubric
• Download at: http://my.fit.edu/~vgiguere/
– Presentation slides with notes
– Exercises with grading rubric
– Syllabus & Grading Policies
• Contact Information
– vgiguere@fit.edu
– (321) 674-7115
– Additional social media (“Veronica Giguere”)