To Enhance Retention, Progression,
Graduation, and Career Opportunities
Dorothy Burton Nelson, Ph.D.
Northwestern State University
 Will prepare its students to become
productive members of society and
 Will promote economic development and
improvements in the quality of life of the
citizens in its region.
http://oir.nsula.edu/assets/Mission.pdf
 1.

Student Success
b. Increase the percentage of program
completers at all levels each year.
http://oir.nsula.edu/assets/GRADAct/NwSUGRADActReport201011.pdf
 Narrative
Report:
 In 2010-11, Northwestern's
administration chose to focus
specifically upon three initiatives to
increase program completion at all
levels: enhancement of academic
advising…
http://oir.nsula.edu/assets/GRADAct/NwSUGRADActReport201011.pdf
 Academic



advising enhancement:
The Academic and Career Engagement Program (ACE)
program provides professional development for
academic advisors for all students, coordinates special
advising efforts for incoming freshmen, and develops
advising and career engagement sessions
Good academic advising is at the core of efforts to move
students forward to completion of their degree programs
in a timely fashion…
Early tracking indicates the ACE program will result in
increased academic success leading to a higher
percentage of completers.
http://oir.nsula.edu/assets/GRADAct/NwSUGRADActReport201011.pdf
First Advising Era
 1636:

Harvard: Faculty mentoring
Faculty lived, supped, prayed, and worked with
students who aspired to ministry, medicine, law
(Morison, 1946)
Second Advising Era
 1870-1970:
“Academic Advising as a Defined
and Unexamined Activity” (Frost, 2000)



Introduction of elective courses and program
options
Term “adviser” first associated with new
freshmen (Rudolph, 1962)
Faculty advisers – more emphasis on
undergraduate guidance for curricular decisions
(Rudolph, 1962)
Second Advising Era

Gilman (1886) defined term “adviser” and stated
responsibilities of role:

The adviser’s relation to the student is like that of a
lawyer to his client or of a physician to one who seeks
his counsel. The office is not that of an inspector, nor
of a proctor, nor of a recipient of excuses, nor of a
distant and unapproachable embodiment of the
authority of the faculty. It is the adviser’s business to
listen to difficulties which the student assigned to
him may bring to this notice; to act as his
representative if any collective action is necessary on
the part of the board of instruction; to see that every
part of his course of studies has received the proper
attention (p.565).
Second Advising Era
1930s-1940s: Student-centered philosophy:
 Student

Personnel Point of View (SPPOV)
Encompasses the students as a whole…attention to
the student’s well-rounded development – physically,
socially, emotionally, and spiritually – as well as
intellectually. The student is a responsible participant
not a passive recipient of an imprinted economic,
political, or religious doctrine, or vocation skill.
(American Council on Education, 1949, pp. 17-18)
Second Advising Era
 SPPOV
established the legitimacy of
academic counseling along with personal,
vocational, and job placement counseling in
higher education, which extends to modern
day. (Morrison and Ferrante, 1973)
Third Advising Era
 1970s
– present: “Academic Advising as a
Defined and Examined Activity.” (Frost, 2000)


1977: National Academic Advising Association
(NACADA)
Publication of research articles



Crookston (1972)
O’Banion (1972)
Organizational models of administrative structure
of advising (i.e., Faculty-only, Total Intake)
 Third
Advising Era
Emergence of
 Prescriptive advising
 Developmental advising
 Intrusive advising
 Advising as teaching
Third Advising Era
 2000s:
Focus on Results and Accountability
(Troxel, 2008)




Assessment of advising
Learning outcomes
Academic mapping and tracking progress
Career salience (vocational identity)
Cooperative Institutional Research Program
(CIRP) at the Higher Education Research
Institute at UCLA (Pryor, et al, 2011)

Identified national norms of American freshmen




More liberal in views
Slight positive change in attitudes and behaviors
aligned with academic success
Expressed number one reason for entering college
as being better job prospects
Fewer scholarships and substantive financial aid
Students express number one reason for entering college as
being better job prospects (CIRP, 2011)
Three out of four students entering the university for the
first time have no clear career/occupational goals, and
only 8 percent of declared students have a clear
understanding of their majors (Gordon, 1995).
The advising process serves as the venue for personalizing a
program of study (Glennon & Vowell, 1995).
“All students need career advising, even those who are decided on
an academic major”
(Gordon, 2006, p. 5)
“…helps students understand how their personal interests, abilities,
and values might predict success in the academic and career fields
they are considering and how to form their academic and career
goals accordingly” (Gordon, 2006, p. 12).
Faculty and Staff Advisors should:





Know occupational options associated with major/field in
which they advise
Know typical employers of those occupations
Know skills qualities necessary for employment in those
occupations
Help students seek/connect with early experiences and
part-time employment in field
Know when to refer students




Advisors partner with students for advising process
Advisors recognize issues, attitudes and behaviors which
warrant referrals
 Indecisiveness
 Lack of progress (frequent withdrawals, inferior grades)
 Avoidance, depression
 Low self-efficacy, outcomes expectancy, decision
certainty
Advisors know campus resources
Advisors track and follow-up
 Readiness
to declare/decide?
 Level of decidedness?
The capability of an individual to make
appropriate career choices taking into account
the complexity of family, social, economic, and
organizational factors that influence career
development
Capability – Individual student factors
Complexity – Factors outside the student
Sampson, Reardon, Peterson & Lenz, (2004)
How are career choices influenced by the way a student
thinks and feels?
How does the world around the
student influence his or her
career choices?
•Family
•Friends
•Economy
•Society
•Employment opportunities
Complexity
(high)
Low Readiness
High Support
Moderate Readiness
Moderate-low support
needed
Capability
(low)
(high)
Moderate Readiness
Moderate-low support
needed
High Readiness
Little support needed
(low)
Decided Individuals
Very decided
Somewhat decided
Unstable decided
Undecided Individuals
Tentatively undecided
Developmentally undecided
Seriously undecided
Chronically indecisive
Gordon, (1998)
Seriously
Undecided
Chronically
Indecisive
Gordon, (1998)
Tentatively
Undecided
Developmentally
Undecided
Somewhat
Decided
Unstable
Decided
Very
Decided
Gordon’s (2006) 3-I Process:
Inquire
Inform
Integrate
“The inquire phase involves identifying students’ academic and
career concerns, clarifying their needs, and making
appropriate responses to help them move to the informationcollecting phase.”
Gordon, (2006, p. 47)
“Interview Guide” (Amundson, 2003).
Five parts:
1. Elicit the idea/belief/problem presented by the student
2. Gather confirming and disputing evidence
3. Seek information about concept development
4. Determine the social supports
5. Determine the positive and negative consequences of
making the decision
Elicit the “Idea/Belief” presented by the
student:



“Tell me about what you’d like to explore or possibly
change about your academic plan.”
“What concerns do you have about your career plans?”
“Explain your primary academic or career goals and/or
concerns.”
Gather confirming and disputing evidence:




“What qualities or characteristics do you possess that
will help you succeed in your major? “What qualities or
characteristics should you develop that would help you
succeed in your major?”
“What would make you a good
?”
“Can you identify any reasons that you should not
pursue the
field?”
“Explain any doubts about going into this field.”
Seek information about concept development:





“When did you first become aware of an attraction to
this field?”
“How long have you considered this field?”
“What were the most attractive features to you?”
“When did you begin doubting your decision?”
“What caused you to begin doubting your decision?”
Determine the social supports:



“Have you discussed your concerns or ideas with
anyone?”
“How did your parents/friends/spouse (key person)
respond to your thoughts?”
“What kind of support do you need to make a
career/academic change or to support your current
decision?”
Determine both positive and negative impact of
the decision:




“What do you see as the positives of declaring or
changing your major at this point in time?”
”Explain the benefits of changing right now versus
waiting.”
“What are the consequences you’ll face with making
this decision?”
“Can you manage those consequences?”
“Is there anything you can do to minimize the
consequences?”
Often conducted by career services






StengthsQuest
Holland’s Self Directed Search
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
SIGI3
Discover
Informal discussion
“Three areas where students need to gather career information are (1)
their personal attributes, such as their likes and dislikes; (2)
educational information, such as how academic decisions (e.g.,
major, coursework) relate to possible career directions and the
acquisition of marketable skills; and (3) the type of occupational
information that is pertinent to their academic situation and career
goals.”
Gordon, (2006, p. 63)

Advisor’s expertise and experiences

DISCOVER
http://www.act.org/discover/

Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/

O*NET
http://www.onetonline.org/

SIGI3
http://sigi3.org/

Workers in the field
Discuss assessment results with students
 Align results with occupational options
 Write questions for gathering additional
information
 Scrutinize structure of the curriculum
 Discuss skills inherent in general education and
major courses pertinent to employability

“In the integrate phase, advisors and students determine what
additional assistance is needed to help students organize and make
meaningful connections between the information sources they
have collected. The term integrate is used in this context to mean
coordinating or blending all the student knows into a functioning
or unified whole.”
Gordon, (2006, p. 63)
Specify suitable occupation(s)
 Write career goal(s)
 Develop an academic map/plan to achieve
goal(s)
 Develop a timeline for checking progress
 Adjust career goal or academic plan if indicated

Case of James
James, a third semester sophomore, entered college as a business major.
His father, grandparents and uncles are all involved in a family business
and he entered college with the assumption he would continue the
tradition. His father, especially, is looking forward to having James take
on responsibility in the business, and hope that one day James will be in
a good position to take over.
As James took the required courses for business, however, he did not feel
his academic strengths and interests were aligned with the content of
those courses. He did not do well in his math or accounting courses, and,
although he received a B in his first economics course, he did not enjoy
it. Now, as he progresses through his sophomore year, he is having real
doubts about his choice of a business major.
James has been active in student government since his freshman year and
was elected chair of several committees for his fraternity. Leadership
roles seem to come natural to James. He finds political science and
history courses to be his best subjects, and he does well in English
composition. He has also been involved in soliciting and writing
advertisements for the yearbook. James’ interests span so many areas
that he is having difficulty identifying all the alternative majors that
might be possible for him.
James is concerned about going home to talk to his father about the doubts
he has about continuing as a business major, but he feels sure that he
needs to change directions.

What questions could you ask James to help
clarify or conceptualize his situation?

Based on the information provided, what can you
say about James’ readiness to make a decision?

What strengths/talents does James possess that
you would consider paramount in the decisionmaking process?

What referrals might you consider that would
help James move forward in his career and
academic decisions?
Why
should you?
Not about the institution’s retention and
graduation rates
Not about the Grad Act and university funding
Not about the process of career advising
About touching the life of each individual you
advise
About being a part of the rich and meaningful
experiences associated with each person’s
career journey
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Ergon Communications
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Personnel, volume 13, pp. 12-17.
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