I Want to Help People: The CatchPhrase of the Indecisive Student
Zackary Underwood, Academic Advisor,
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Allison Jones, Career Counselor,
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Undecided students are…
• “Unwilling, unable or unready to make
educational or vocational decisions” (Gordon,
2007, p. X)
Gordon, V. (2007). The undecided college student : An academic and career advising
challenge. Springfield, Ill: Charles C Thomas.
Describe this student
What did you find?
• Is there a difference in your mind between
undecided and indecisive?
• Do these students look the same or different
across different institutions?
At UNCW
• University of North Carolina Wilmington is
located in Wilmington, North Carolina
• Masters Comprehensive University on the
coast of North Carolina
• Undecided and indecisive are a common
occurrence
• In 2014, we had 15% of incoming freshmen
enter as undecided. (The most popular major)
Curran, T. (2014). UNCW Enrollment Profile 2014: Prepared for Division of
Student Affairs. Unpublished internal document. University of North
Carolina Wilmington.
I want to help people
• This is a phrase that career counselors and
academic advisors hear all the time regarding
people’s majors
• Mock Conversation
• Where does this come from?
How can get students to make a
decision?
• Major Decision Process
– “Some choice is good, but…choices available to us
contributes to bad decisions, to anxiety, stress,
and dissatisfaction—even to clinical depression”
(Schwartz, 2004, p. 3).
– A process to focus on introspection and work
towards a final commitment
Decide your life now!
UNCW’s
Major
Decision
Process
How can this help students?
• Advantages include:
– Cyclical Nature of Process
– Pushing the student to make small decisions
– Constant Introspection/Reflection
– Opportunities to work with resources across
campus
– Can work with any major or career
– Can lead to a multitude of outcomes
– Multiple options under each heading
What are the influences
for indecision?
• Talk with a partner and offer suggestions
• College students increasingly believed that
their lives are being controlled by outside
forces” even though they may not realize what
areas are influencing them (Twenge, 2006, p.
139)
Twenge, J. (2006). Generation me: why today's young Americans are more
confident, assertive, entitled--and more miserable than ever before. New York:
Free Press.
One influence is online interactions
• When you have a question about something,
what do you do?
– Siri: “Where is the closest bookstore?”
– Google it: “Where can I get the best burrito in
Minneapolis?”
– Ask your friends online: “What is good
optometrist in Minneapolis?”
– We ask for help on a daily basis.
Online environments and helping
• Individuals offer help to others online every
day
– Answering people’s questions via discussion
boards or social networks
– I need help with this homework. Do you have the
link to the PDF? (Khan Academy example)
– Even asking more private question
anonymously…what is the best fraternity at
UNCW? (Yik-Yak)
Television and helping
• Netflix and college
• What types of shows encourage helping?
• Holland emphasizes that stereotypes of
careers can guide students towards particular
careers. (Gordon, 2007)
Gordon, V. (2007). The undecided college student : An academic and career advising
challenge. Springfield, Ill: Charles C Thomas.
Video of Helping
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B69rNEtpcSu
YRUk1TmxqaDQ2X0k/view?usp=sharing
Hypothesis
• The mass media shapes the individual who
observes the media (Strinati, 2004).
• Observation of helping people plays an important
role towards children’s development (Taylor,
Peplau, & Sears, 2003).
• Television shows constantly connect the viewer to
universal ideals such as helping others, and it
creates a larger collective of individuals who talk
about these narratives on a daily basis (Strinati,
2004)
Strinati, D. (2004). An introduction to theories of popular culture. London New York: Routledge.
Taylor, S., Peplau, L. & Sears, D. (2003). Social psychology. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
The Major Decision Process & Helping
• Understand the influences
• If they say they want to help, have them
explain why or define the term
• Walk them through a process such as the
Major Decision Process to offer a reflective
practice towards a decision