am a health technology advisor at - University of Victoria · Presentation at National NACADA...
Transcript of am a health technology advisor at - University of Victoria · Presentation at National NACADA...
I am a health & technology advisor at TRU‐OL
TRU Open Learning division, formerly BCOU, moved to TRU in 2007, integration continues
•Provincial mandate to provide open learning opportunities for students and to provide a way to
bring previous education together to complete a credential
•High volume of transfer credit assessment
•Distance delivery, so less contact with typical face to face services.
•Program plan is the road map that students use to complete the credential. Every program
student in our division gets a program plan.
•We typically advise students from “app to cap”
•At OL, the advisor is the student’s one consistent contact throughout the educational career.
I jumped at the chance to speak here today because I am delighted to share how DegreeWorks has
contributed making TRU‐OL advisors better advisors
Two parts
1) Quick review of current best practice advising methods
2) A look at DegreeWorks and how it supports best practice advising
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Advising methods may differ with program delivery method
• Face‐to‐face advising is limited by the number of student appointments available per day, i.e. Time
• Distance advising – contact initiated by student when advising needed, by email and/or phone, Random
Administrators might measure our success by retention or program completion numbers
The End Goal ‐ Student Success and Graduation
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Good advising is KEY to student success
And furthermore, the relationship between advisors and students is FUNDAMENTAL to good advising
THE PEDAGOGY OF ACADEMIC ADVISING
Academic advising, as a teaching and learning process, requires a pedagogy that incorporates the preparation, facilitation, documentation, and assessment of advising interactions. Although the specific methods, strategies, and techniques may vary, the relationship between advisors and students is fundamental and is characterized by mutual respect, trust, and ethical behavior.
From NACADA Concept of Academic Advising (2006)
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Advising Methods
What is good or quality advising?
Quick review of 4 methods which I think represent the evolution of best practice advising
Hint – there’s a quiz later
Pro‐Active
Student‐centered
Teaching/Learning
Appreciative
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Advising Styles – Methodologies
“Pro‐active” advising took developmental advising a step further.
Developmental advising, which was new in 1972, looked beyond just giving information about
requirements to looking at a student’s whole life.
Proactive advising, sometimes called “intrusive advising.”
• Give information
• Develop a relationship with a student
• “Proactively” reach out to students to
o Deliberate intervention increases student motivation
o Increase student engagement by show interest in and being involved with students
o Increase the probability of student success
o Educate students on all academic & career options
o Finally, to approach students before a situation develops
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Advising Styles – Methodologies
Student‐centered
Focus is on coaching the student beyond the basics
Establish and sustain a relationship with each advisee
Inspire, motivate, and guide Identify learning and development goals and plans Assess progress If needed, adjust learning, development, academic, career goals and plans
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Advising Styles – Methodologies
Advising Learning
Presentation at National NACADA Conference by Cathleen Smith and Janine Allen. 10/5 (2012).
Learning‐centered that is learning is part of advising.
• The focus is on what the student needs to learn in order to succeed
• Help students learn to think and utilize resources independently
Five Domains of Quality Advising
Content (the practical)
1. Integration with academic, career and life goals
2. Where to go for Help (what campus or institutional recourses available)
3. Information degree & institution policiesPedagogy (methods and philosophy)
4. Individuation considers student’s individual character, interests, skills (i.e. choose best course types for particular student)
5. Shared Responsibility encourage and teach student’s to assume responsibility for their education and success
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Advising Styles – Methodologies
Appreciative Advising
Another level to advising: Appreciate the student as an individual and treat as a friend or colleague.
The 6 Phases
• Disarm: Make a positive first impression, build rapport, and safe, welcoming space.
• Discover: Ask positive open‐ended questions that help learn about students' strengths, skills, and abilities.
• Dream: Inquire about students' hopes and dreams for their futures.
• Design: Co‐create a plan for making their dreams a reality.
• Deliver: The student delivers and the adviser encourages and supports.
• Don’t Settle: Advisers and students need to set expectations high
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Advising Methods
To summarize, each of these methods defines quality advising as not only providing
1) basic information but they also emphasize,
2) the importance of developing a relationship with the student.
3) And the importance of teaching the student to learn
Pro‐Active
Student‐centered
Teaching/Learning
Appreciative
Finally, we have evolved to the NACADA Concept of Academic Advising:
“the relationship between advisors and students is fundamental and is characterized by mutual respect, trust, and ethical behavior”
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Time for the quiz. (Click)
One fill in the blank question. (Click)
If you’ve been astute (Click)
you should get this easily (Click)
ALL Quality advising takes (Click) __________
There’s a Bonus Question (Click)
How do we get more time? (Click)
Use technology
• take away the basics of advising• leave more time for quality
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DegreeWorks: what is it?
At TRU‐OL advisors use technology in the form of DGWks to help with the basics
1) An Integrated electronic program planning tool by Ellucian
Although TRU‐OL uses DegreeWorks, ANY student planning tool which works interactively with an institution’s student information database works (others are DARS degree audit reporting system, IDA interactive degree audit, Online Degree Audit, Advisor)
2) DGWks handles the “basics”
• Maps requirements for each program
• Degree and program requirements are scribed according to Senate policies and approved program information, so the rules are applied consistently for all students
• Updates daily from Banner in overnight process
• Or by refreshing and processing new, so an up‐to‐date program plan can be viewed on demand
• Students can see progress and remaining requirements
• Easy to audit for graduation
3) DGWks gives time for quality advising
• time‐saver – no typing, re‐typing or handwriting; fewer human errors, no searching for papers or files
• accurate program information – always up‐to‐date
• catch mistakes or give better advice BEFORE the graduation audit
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Paper‐based program plan
• Maps out requirements
• Paper can be lost
• Continuity between LL advising and UL faculty advising is difficult
• Time consuming
• Transfer credit origination unclear
• Duplicate courses harder to identify
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Filemaker
This system was used for over a decade at TRU‐OL. I actually loved it. It clearly maps
program requirements, but
• System is independent from student record system (in our case Banner)
• Progress mapped when advisor updates plan but need to be prompted by student
• Human error
• Consistency issues
• Time consuming
• Credits on the program plan but sometimes not added in Banner
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DegreeWorks – what the student sees 1
Top is Legend or Key
Student Info
Counts down
Degree Block – breaks it down to sections called blocks, usually 5(BSc)
General Ed Block
Note
• Green Checks
• Blue in progress
• Still needed
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DegreeWorks – what the student sees 2
Bachelor of Arts Criminology
• UL required courses
• Electives
• Transfer credit shows
• Courses not used
• Courses not eligible for use
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DegreeWorks – what the student sees 3
Bachelor of Health Science
• Exceptions or changes to rules
• Advisor Notes
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DegreeWorks – what the advisor sees 1
• This is where the advisors personalize an individual student program plan
• This is similar to the screen students will see in the online version
Of note:
• Process new
• Refresh
• Notes
• Exceptions
• pdf’s
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DegreeWorks – what the advisor sees 2
Side tabs
• History
• What If
• Look Ahead
• Financial Aid
Planner (on top)
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DegreeWorks – behind the scenes
• What is scribing?
• Language used to create specific requirements for each program
• Ellucian can do initial scribing for current academic year
• Not difficult for institution to then scribe previous academic years if there were program changes
• Scribing can be done in Word and then cut and pasted into DegreeWorks Scribe
• Usually every program has five scribe “Blocks” which correspond to the sections in the degree block
1) Degree block
2) Major or concentration block
3) Lower level requirements block
4) Upper level requirements block
5) Electives block
Sample Degree Block
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Sample Upper Level Requirements block
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1) Get buy‐in from Registrar’s Office and IT
• ensures that transfer credit assessments and policies are applied fairly to all students
• decrease in escalated issues related to program plan
• IT support is crucial
2) Build the business case
• Constrained resources for hiring new advisors
• But student expectations for service are very high, esp with texting generation
Make the link between quality advising and retention and completion rates.
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At TRU‐OL, the DegreeWorks tool takes away the basics and allows advisors
1) to give immediate and accurate advice when students phone or send emails
2) to proactively email students to remind them of deadlines and other time‐sensitive
institutional information and finally,
3) to have the time needed to develop relationships with students
All of which promotes student engagement in their education and leads to their success
The use of DegreeWorks by TRU‐OL advisors has led kudos emails, thank you phone calls and sometimes even flowers when students graduate
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