The document discusses integrating advising into the first-year seminar at Florida Institute of Technology to enhance student skills and adviser engagement. Key assignments include time management, midterm grade evaluations, and faculty interviews, all aimed at fostering academic and personal development for first-year students. Challenges and improvements to the model are also addressed, including the need for shared objectives and the importance of adviser involvement in modifying assignments.

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”)