The Importance of Advising
West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU) participated in NSSE in 2008 and 2010 as a Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) consortium member. Through consortium participation, PASSHE institutions appended questions on advising and course availability to the NSSE survey. Although WCU student responses in 2008 were mostly positive, the dean of undergraduate studies identified one area of concern—students did not feel they received high quality advising. In response, advising became a major priority for the institution and the University Academic Advising Committee (UAAC) was charged with creating an improvement plan. The plan included a new classification of “internal transfer” to designate students who wish to change majors and those with undeclared majors, and the dedication of two advisors with comprehensive knowledge of all departmental requirements to this group. Orientation sessions for new first-year students, and a handout that describes the responsibilities of students and advisors, helped to clarify students’ understanding of the advising process. To further emphasize the importance of advising as teaching, the institution negotiated with the faculty union to include advising as part of the statement of expectations for faculty performance.
In spring 2011, the UAAC at WCU administered two additional internal assessments, student satisfaction and individual departmental surveys. The UAAC is studying the results, along with data gathered from all other sources, on specific advising needs, topics discussed in advising sessions, accessibility and availability of advisors, and satisfaction with the advising experience. The UAAC also examined the relationship between frequency and extent of advising and student satisfaction with the advising process across departments to develop a series of best practices. Rather than training workshops, faculty-advising liaisons from each department, about half of whom are department chairs, participate in “shared best practices” sessions. The meetings occur once a semester and provide an opportunity to exchange strategies and experiences. Since implementing these initiatives, WCU’s scores on advising-related items from its NSSE 2010 administration have shown improvement.
