| Lesson 12: Student-Centered Advising | ||||||
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Different advisers have different advising philosophies. Those philosophies are personal in nature but greatly influence our work with students. As advisers, it is important to recognize our approach and biases in order to effectively support students. While the following advising philosophies do not encompass all, they do reflect the spirit of advising practiced at World Campus. Since many of our students are adult learners with busy lives, it is important that we treat them like adults while providing excellent customer service.
Developmental Advising
(Please note: While adult learners do not often need developmental advising in the same way as traditional-aged resident instruction students do, it is important to include the concept here.)
“Developmental advising is concerned not only with a specific personal or vocational decision but also with facilitating the student’s rational processes, environmental and interpersonal interactions, behavioral awareness, and problem-solving, decision-making, and evaluating skills” (Crookston, 1994, p. 5).
Encompassed within developmental advising is holistic advising. Holistic advising includes five dimensions of academic advising as described by O’Banion (1994, p. 1) cited in Gordon et al. (2008):
- exploration of life goals,
- exploration of vocational goals,
- program choice,
- course choice, and
- scheduling courses.
“Developmental Academic Advising and Learner-Centered Education” (Hancock, 2004)
Academically Centered Advising
Most of us want to be collaborative advisers most of the time, but we do not have to subscribe to the developmental theory in order to take this approach. That is because there are other views of the content of advising, different from the developmental paradigm, that are equally collaborative in style and, thus, equally opposed to prescriptive advising (Lowenstein, 1999).
“An Alternative to the Developmental Theory of Advising” (Lowenstein, 1999).
Fostering a Productive Adviser–Advisee Relationship in the Online Arena
Crookston (1994) as cited in Gordon et al. (2008) notes the importance of the adviser–advisee relationship expressing that it is a critical element for student growth: “The goal is toward openness, acceptance, trust, sharing of data and collaborative problem-solving, decision-making, and evaluation” (p. 19). The following articles provide strategies for effective online advising as well as advising tips for nontraditional populations.
“Strengthening the Position of Online Academic Advisers” (Hill, 2007)
“Appreciative Advising and the Nontraditional Student” (Redfern, 2008)
Academic Advising and the Business of Online Education
Online and adult higher education is a sector that is experiencing significant growth and also a significant change in how we serve students. Adviser expectations and resources are affected by the realities of a competitive industry. Many in this field and at Penn State use the language of customer service when referring to our relationship with our students. Students often see themselves as customers. Advisers need to temper the customer-based focus with an understanding of our role as educators. Please read these related articles and discuss with your supervisor.
“Students First, Customers Second” (Brown, 2012)
“Students Are ‘Customers,’ but Not in the Classroom” (Thirunarayanan, 2012)”
“The Amazon of Higher Education” (Khan, 2014)
Read all of the above listed articles.
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