2009 – 2010/01
PROPOSED MANDATE
FOR
UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
TITLE: Mandate on policies regarding the Academic Advising Notes system in MySJU
OBJECTIVE: To consider the formulation of a policy regarding information in the Academic Advising
Notes systems used for student advising history in MySJU.
REASONS FOR PROPOSED MANDATE:
The Academic Advising Notes feature in MySJU was developed a number of years ago under the
direction of the HSB advising center. Since that time it has been used by a number of faculty and
administrators in HSB to record information about advising interactions with students, parents, etc.
Recently, CA&S administrators and some faculty, have, with HSB’s consent, started to use the system for
their advising work as well. The system provides numerous opportunities for helping faculty and
academic administrators in both colleges (and, one would expect, in UC and graduate programs as well)
with their advising work. The use of such a system by faculty and staff engaged in advising throughout
both colleges seems desirable. It would help reduce the use of paper copies of forms, notes, etc for
advising purposes. It would speed up the availability of advising information when a student changes
majors, changes advisors, etc., since the new advisor would have access to the records as soon as they are
listed in MySJU. It could help chairs, program directors and the associate deans in dealing with student
requests by providing access to relevant information.
In 2009, several meetings were held at which representatives of IT, HSB, CA&S, Registrars and
other relevant offices discussed possible enhancements to the system. One issue that surfaced was the
question of how access to the information in these advising notes should be controlled. Currently, the
following people have access to the information in the body of the advising note(s):
1. the person who wrote the note, regardless of their relationship to the student
2. the current academic advisor of the student the note is written about
3. the associate deans for both CA&S and HSB
4. the Registrar and Associate Registrar
During these discussions, it was suggested that other personnel may have a need to know the
content of advising notes. Such personnel could include:
1. the chair or program director of the student’s major or minor
2. the chair or director of a major the student is considering declaring/changing into
3. personnel from the Office of Student Success
4. personnel from areas such as the Office for Students with Disabilities, etc.
Another issue that surfaced in these conversations was what, if any, guidance should be provided to
faculty, staff and administrators about the nature of the information that should of should not be included
in the advising notes. It seems that some types of information, such as that a student is dealing with a
substance abuse problem, has been diagnosed with a mental illness, has personal or family problems, may
not be appropriate for inclusion in such notes due to confidentiality issues. Further, it may be that
requirements or limitations set by such things as the Americans with Disabilities Act need to be
considered.
This mandate requests that AP&P study and make recommendations regarding the following:
1. Should access to the information in the electronic advising notes system be extended beyond the
current limits? If so, who else should be given access to view the information in notes written by
others? If access is broadened, what body or office should have future authority in determining if
further increases or limitations in access should be made?
2. Should a policy or guidelines regarding what sort of information should or should not be included
in these advising notes be formulated? If so, what body or office (if any) would be responsible for
ensuring that information about such a policy is routinely communicated to all relevant users?
What body or office (if any) would be responsible for oversight of the compliance with such a
policy or set of guidelines?
3. Would a mechanism for creating “confidential” notes, the content of which could only be seen by
the author of the note and those “further up the chain” be useful to add to the system? If so, what
sort of recommendations could be made as to the who would have access to confidential notes.
4. Does FERPA and our policy relating to it require that we treat these notes as part of a student’s
academic record? If so, does this mean that these notes must be made available to students on
demand?
5. Currently there is no mechanism for the author of a note to modify or delete the note once it is
submitted. Should such an option be provided? If so, should such changes be tracked in the
database? Should modification or deletion of an advising note require approval? If so, by whom?
6. Would it be useful to provide access and training in the use of the electronic advising notes system
for faculty, staff and administrators working with adult students in the College of Professional
and Liberal Studies and/or in graduate programs?
RECOMMENDED FOR STUDY BY WHICH BODY?
__X__ Faculty Senate: Academic Policies and Procedures Committee
_____ Faculty Senate: Faculty Policies and Procedures Committee
_____ College Council:
College of Arts and Sciences
_____ College Council:
Haub School of Business
_____ Standing Committee on Student Affairs, Full-time Undergraduate
_____ Standing Committee on Student Affairs, Part-time Undergraduate/Graduate
_____ Administrative/Staff Council
Signature:
____Michael P. McCann________
Date:________________
Please forward to the Vice President of Academic Affairs who serves as Chair of the University Council,
along with complete documentation to substantiate the need for the proposed mandate.