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Session 1323

Nature of College Advisor in the Twenty-first Century

James M. Gregory, Raymond Desrosiers, Lloyd Heinze, Don Bagert, John Rivera

Texas Tech University

Abstract

Advising is an important task for success of college students, especially students with professional majors, such as engineering. In addition to meeting the breadth of a college education, students in a professional major must also complete depth of study in math and science and the application of this knowledge in professional development. The requirements are strict and the sequencing of courses is critical for both academic success and efficiency in graduating by the desired date.

Advisors are more than schedulers of classes. The selection and scheduling of classes should be efficient so both the student and the advisor can focus on issues critical to the academic success of the student. In a global sense, advisors provide the service of career development ranging in process from selection of major to professional development and management of a system of life-long learning.

This paper identifies the duties of a modern advisor and discusses the advising process with the aid of web-based tools to increase both the efficiency and quality of advisement. Applications of this technology in the College of Engineering at Texas Tech University have been very successful. Students appreciate the quickness of the process and the ability to consider and plan all activities--not just the courses. Advisors are also happy with the shift away from scheduling and toward professional and personal issues that promote long-term academic and professional success.

College Advisers: Opportunity and Need for Change

Good college advisors are typically overworked, under appreciated, and under rewarded. Yet, accrediting agencies for professional programs often demands quality advisement. Accreditation agencies sometimes even deny or limit accreditation if the student to advisor ratio becomes too high. Thus, quality advisement opportunities must be provided to college students.

With old technology, the student to advisor ratio is probably a good measure of advisement opportunity and quality. Certainly, the time needed with each student is high;

“Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2001, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Desrosiers, R., & Rivera, J., & Gregory, J., & Baggert, D., & Heinze, L. (2001, June), Nature Of College Advisor In The Twenty First Century Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9594