The CAFE Espresso: A short read on a robust topic
Advising First-Year Students—Undergraduate and Graduate
By Renee Gutiérrez and Carl Harvey
This year our October Espresso focuses on advising students in their first year of classes. We’ll start with a crucial bit of advice for any student at any rank—”see the individual”—and then move on to specific advice for Longwood’s two different populations of learners: undergraduate and graduate students.
Advising for Any First-Year Student
See the individual. Our own Madeline Schutt, Director of the Accessibility Resources, suggests from her doctoral research that advising students with accommodations works best when they have “an individualized relationship between advisee and adviser that consists of tailoring it to be receptive of students' experiences and being aware that each person has their own lens.” But one might suggest that her advice also goes for any first-year student. We need to see the individual in front of us whose background, life, and intellect we don’t yet know, without trying to categorize them according to our past advisee encounters. Their work schedules, need for accommodations, financial resources, class schedules, adherence to home cultural community norms—it all shapes their singular student experience.
How can we best learn about our advisees? As much as time permits, ask open questions that allow them to share. For example:
- If they mention a success: That’s great news! Tell me more.
- If it's a problem: Can you explain what you mean when you say [you’re worried about grades]?
- Beyond your coursework, what other commitments do you have?
- Help me understand how you think about [time management]?
- Can you give me an example of [what makes it hard to study at home]?
- How have you seen yourself changing since you started at Longwood?
Advising for First-Year Undergraduates
Engagement in Learning. We know that students prefer prescriptions from their advisers: they want a checklist of what to do, or a single directive. But giving them a solution solely from our experience can short-circuit their learning process—and we risk not ‘seeing’ the student. If we ask questions that help them be curious, explore options, and generate their own decisions we can help them move forward in their maturity. We can use questions like:
- Which courses are you doing well in? What are you doing that is working?
- What are you learning in your classes that you can see using after Longwood?
- How might you solve the challenge in your __________ course?
- How have you handled this kind of challenge in the past?
This approach works for our advisees’ academic, personal, and career goals, and integrates well with the Consider Life Design framework of the Post-Graduate Success Initiative, Longwood’s Quality Enhancement Plan. (Click here for a quick TEDx summary).
Engagement on Campus. Research shows that campus peer connections lead to better results for students. It's worth asking advisees where they are involved at Longwood. If they haven't yet found their people, encourage them to find a club or organization—or to strengthen a connection they have with another student in their classes, perhaps to meet and study. They can become a community member at Longwood on a small scale to start.
Advising for First-Year Graduate Students
Mentoring. Kevin A. Janes’s 2021 editorial for advisers suggests that “You are a voice, not the voice.” Advisees get information from many sources at the university to help guide their experience. It might be faculty in course they are taking, or the Graduate and Professional Studies Office. There are many voices contributing to the conversation: helping graduate students to understand the different perspectives from those voices and make coherent decisions based on all the input can be important for their success. Questions you can ask:
- How do you balance school, work, and home life?
- What time of day works best for you to focus on coursework?
- How can you help your support network understand the changes that may be needed to help you be successful in your program?
- How does going back to school change the routines you currently have in place?
Advising for students can sometimes be with whomever is teaching them that semester. If there is a professor in the program in front of them, they may reach out for help with schedules, etc. It is often good to share ideas, but also remind them to confirm with their adviser.
Student to Student Connections. Whether your course is face-to-face, hybrid, or online, how do you build connection among your advisees? Some students may develop those relationships on their own, but you might also deliberately plan to help all students build support networks. Here are a few suggestions to consider:
- Plan an online “advisee gathering” to create a community.
- In their first semester, recommend that they connect with another student in their cohort for support and accountability.
- Suggest they build an online community of their own through apps like Facebook or GroupMe.
By giving your graduate advisees multiple on-ramps to relationships within their program, you can help them feel more connected to the course, the program, and the University, which should help them have an even better experience as they complete their degree.
Further Resources
Anderson, Sarah. K., Shannon Grave, S., Katherine Terras. “The Student Voice: Recommendations for Supporting the Success of Graduate Students with Disabilities in Online Courses.” American Journal of Distance Education, 2022, vol. 38 (1), pages3–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2022.2142027
Grites, Thomas J. “Developmental Advising.” Academic Advising Approaches: Strategies That Teach Students to Make the Most of College, edited by Jayne K. Drake, et al., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2013. ProQuest Ebook, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/longwood/detail.action?docID=1343439.
Janes, Kevin A. “Ten Simple Rules for Being a Faculty Advocate of First-Year Graduate Students.” PLOS Computational Biology, vol. 17, no. 9, 30 Sept. 2021, p. e1009379, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009379.
Reynolds, Maura. “Advising Students Through First-Year Transitions.” Fox, Jenny R., and Holly E. Martin, editors. Academic Advising and the First College Year. National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, U. of South Carolina, 2017, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/longwood/reader.action?docID=5359144.