Analysis of the current state of undergraduate advising in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware, projections, and recommendations for improvement.

1. Phil Lehman, Nick Lucas, Matt Medley, Dana Salizzoni
Lerner Advisement
Alfred Lerner College
Undergraduate Advising Project

2. Agenda
• Define problem
• Current state of advising
• Comparisons & benchmark
• Survey results
• Recommendations

3. Definition of the Problem
• To optimize the allocation of resources (people and
space) to improve the advising experience at the
Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics
at the University of Delaware for students and staff.

4. Current State of Enrollment

5. Trajectory
● Growing class size will
emphasize both the need
and the importance of
advisement and career
service resources for
students

6. • Professional advisers located in 102 Purnell (freshman & sophomore)
– Marcia Rollison - Sr. Assistant Dean, Student Services
– Kimberly Wilson - Academic Program Manager
– Mayra Ortiz - Academic Support Coordinator
– Carrie Baldwin - Academic Adviser (UDream)
– Patricia Moore - Academic Adviser & Career Services (UDream)
– Cindy Walkusky - Academic Adviser (UDream)
– Megan Kuck - Academic Adviser
• Jill Pante - Assistant Director of Career Services (located in Lerner 103)
Current State of Advising

7. Faculty Advisers:
● Dr. Jackson Gillespie - ACCT
○ 211 Purnell
○ 281 students
● Diane Wright - MIS
○ 007 Purnell
○ 86 students
● Elizabeth Bayley - ECON
○ 424 Purnell
○ 206 students (300 minor)
● Sandra Fields - BUAD
○ 203 Lerner
○ 471 students
● Tim Detwiler - FINC (works w/
Dr. Stocker)
○ 321 Purnell
○ 464 students
● Dr. Jennifer Gregan Paxton -
IBS
○ 214 Lerner
○ 117 students
● Paul Sestak - HRIM
○ 206 Allison
○ 306 students
● Cindy Walkusky - Sports
Management
○ 102 Purnell
○ 395 students (including
fresh/soph advisees)
Current State of Advising

8. Current State of Advising
• 6 undergraduate students work in advising center
• 5 undergraduate students work in career services

9. Current State of Advising
● Processes involved in adviser workload:
○ Scheduled appointments/walk-ins - 5-30 min
○ Change of major forms - 14.1 min per form
○ Senior check-outs - 3-15 min (767 in 2014 academic year)
○ Credit request form - 7.25 min per form
○ Sophomore audits - 7.5 min per audit (618 in Jan)
○ Transfer student audit - 5 min per audit (202 in Jan)
○ Course substitution form - 4.5 min per form (287 Jan-Feb)
○ UDream appointments - 30-60 min per appointment (15 students per semester
meeting 4-6 times with adviser)
○ Leave of absence form - 15 min (17 since Feb)
○ Excused absence form - 20 min (71 since Feb)
○ Transfer credit evaluation form - 5-10 min (284 Jan-May)

10. Current State of Advising at UD
● Using the average
number of advisees as
320 students
● All seeking advisement
from one faculty adviser

11. Feb 2015 - May 2015

12. Swipe Data Trends

13. Swipe Data Trends

14. E-mail & Telephone Counts
Spring Semester 2015
• February 23 - April 25 data by week

15. Internal
Change of
Major Forms
By Department
● Processed from 2013-2014
● 14 minutes per form
● BUAD change of major forms
takes roughly 78 hours for
one person to do

17. Lerner College vs. University Studies
Lerner College
• 1,189 Freshmen & Sophomores
• Staff of 6 in undergraduate advising center
• Some staff are part time
• 1 graduate worker that works at the
advising center and career services
• 6 student workers in the advising center
• Drop add & registration are the busiest
time
University Studies
• 1,500 students at peak (Freshmen &
Sophomores)
• 700 - 800 new students every year
– 20% of freshmen class
• Staff of 6 (2 full time, 2 at 50%, and 2 at
25%)
• All staff are housed in one building
• 300-325 students for full time advisers
• No graduate workers
• 10 student workers for both programs
• Advising:
– Only walk-ins the first two weeks
– Appointments with advisors with 1
person doing walk-ins
– Registration week only walk-ins

18. Lerner College vs. Arts & Sciences
Lerner College
• 3,016 students
• 14 majors & 9 minors
• Strict program for majors
• 8 faculty advisers
• 1 graduate worker
• 11 student workers between the
advising center and career
services
• Students fill out their senior
checkout sheet and it is
reviewed by two people
• UDREAM - student support
program
College of Arts & Sciences
• 7,000 students
• 6 academic coordinators located in Mitchell Hall
– Each coordinator is assigned to departments depending on size of
department
– Responsible for senior checkout (partially), transfer credit eval form,
course sub form, change of major forms, updating undergraduate and
graduate academic catalogs for their departments
• 23 departments and 8 programs that offer majors (over 50 different majors)
• Students are assigned to faculty advisers in their individual departments at
NSO
• 7 or 8 student workers
• 4 graduate workers who facilitate the senior checkout process
• NUCLEUS - student support program
– 2 employees
– 800 students
– Located in Brown Lab

19. Bench Mark
University of Delaware
● 3016 students
● 4 undergraduate advisers
● 8 faculty advisers
● 1 career service professional with
graduate & undergraduate
student help
Drexel University
● 2800-3000 students
● 7 advisers, 1 associate director,
1 director, 1 program coordinator
● 3 full-time career services
professionals
● No faculty advisers
● One central location for advising
and career services

20. Bench Mark
● Mandatory senior seminar:
○ Explain process to clear for graduation
○ Works in conjunction with career services
● Students responsible for making sure they have all courses
○ They apply for graduation and they are checked out by adviser
● No sophomore audits, no required advising
● Course subs not very time consuming because they can be done by a
single adviser in only a few steps
● Biggest use of time = transfer credit evaluations and external transfers

21. Survey Results - Voice of Customer

22. Survey Results - Voice of Customer

23. Survey Analysis - Voice of Customer
51%37%

24. “Wish List” State of Advising
● Hire two more full time professional advisers
● Hire four more faculty advisers
○ Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Economics
● Hire three more full time career service professionals
● Combine advising center and career services in one central location in
Lerner

25. Realistic State & Recommendations
● Hire two more full time professional advisers
● Hire one faculty adviser for Business Administration students
○ Marketing, Management, & OM majors
• Hire two more full time career service professionals
• Combine advising center and career services in one central location in
Lerner

26. Utilization of Resources/Cost Savings
• The saving that could be achieved by combining the Undergraduate
Advising Center and the Career Services Center in Lerner:
– Some advisers work part-time in both the undergraduate advising
center and Career Services
– Combine resources → student/graduate workers, printers, etc.
• Only need one student worker at the reception desk as opposed
to one at the advising center and one at the career center
• Student, graduate, and part-time workers can be cross trained

27. Utilization of Resources/Cost Savings
• To create more space in Lerner career services center
– Utilize existing underused office space
– Remove cubicles in the career services
• Creates a larger wait area
• The advising center would now be able to use the conference room in
Lerner 102 for meetings and group tutoring
• We would only need 6-8 students workers opposed to the 11 total students
currently working in advisement center and career services

28. Takeaways
• Time management
• Clear communication
• Team work
• Utilizing resources to perform research
• The complications of creating a survey - getting approved & getting
responses
• The impact of using visuals as opposed to words and numbers

29. • Marcia Rollison
• Kim Wilson
• Dr. Christine Kydd
• Jill Pante
• Sandra Fields
• Diane Wright
• Tim Detwiler
• Cindy Walkusky
• Professor Thompson
Special Thanks to...
• Dr. Jackson Gillespie
• Dr. Jennifer Gregan Paxton
• Cynthia Shenkle
• Adrian McCleary
• Carrie Baldwin
• Patricia Moore
• Sheri Shaw - Drexel
University

30. Questions?