According to item 1.a.i of the FLC strategic plan, the Faculty Advising Committee has been
charged with the task to “create clear goals and guidelines for advisors.” The advising
committee guided the conversation by considering the student perspective, asking ‘What
would a student want to bring away from a good advising meeting?’ It is clear that the answer
to this question depends on the student and the reason for the meeting. The basic
assumptions behind this proposal are three-fold: (1) Undeclared students have different
advising needs than students who are declared and progressing in their major, (2) students on
academic probation require more intrusive advising than students in good standing, and (3) all
undergraduate students need access to professional advisors who monitor the details of their
progress towards graduation. The committee hopes that these expectations for advising could
be used as the basis for developing a system of evaluating the quality of advising in the future.
At Fort Lewis College, it is currently the expectation that all tenure-track/tenured faculty advise
undergraduate students. In addition, there are several types of professional academic advisors:
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Professionals with assigned caseloads: Admission & Advising advisors, Student Success
program advisors (PAA, STEM3, select advisors in the Native American Center, Teacher
Education for K-12 and Secondary programs advisors and the Academic Advisor for
students on Financial Aid Probation)
Professionals without assigned caseloads: Native American Center, International
Programs, (other – Pre health advising committee, pre-law advisor)
We propose the following advisor roles and responsibilities.
Advisors for students with declared majors who are in good academic standing
Students declared in a major, and in good standing, primarily need to understand the degree
requirements for their field of study, and create efficient maps to graduation. They require
guidance in developing and navigating their maps. To fully develop students within a discipline
often requires growth outside of the classroom curriculum as well in the form of internships,
undergraduate research programs, professional networking, etc. Faculty are best suited to
apply their knowledge, understanding and experience within the realm of their own individual
disciplines.
In advising declared majors in good standing, faculty advisors are to devote sufficient time to
effectively fulfill these roles:
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help the advisee understand the structure of Fort Lewis College Liberal Arts Core
requirements and the structure of the major or option within the major
help students make career plans that are compatible with their life goals and connect
those plans to courses and co-curricular opportunities within their chosen major, via a
degree plan
have knowledge of and proactively provide referrals for questions about academic
policies (e.g. registration, course and semester withdrawals)
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have knowledge of and proactively provide referrals for campus services as needed
(e.g., learning support, counseling/health center, career services, financial aid, registrar,
academic conflict protocols)
be accessible for advising students in meetings either in groups or individually during
posted office hours, telephone, or e-mail, during fall and winter semesters
develop meaningful advisor/student relationships in which students are listened to and
recognized as individuals with individualized goals
have the ability to help a student interpret a basic webcapp (or successor product)
Because each faculty member is free to meet the above roles in different ways and via different
advising models, faculty are encouraged to develop a statement of personal advising
philosophy and to include the statement and evidence supporting its application in their PAFs.
The role of the professional advisors for declared majors in good standing should be to:
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provide back up when the faculty advisor is legitimately not available, such as during the
summer
monitor the trigger points of progress toward graduation to ensure timely progress
toward a degree
answer detailed GPA questions (e.g. effect on GPA of repeating courses, grades needed
to qualify for Latin Honors)
Advisors for students with declared majors who are not in good academic standing
Probationary students are in need of extra assistance to get them back on course to graduate.
They may need tutoring, counseling, or some other activity that is likely beyond the skill set or
time availability of faculty advisors. They may have selected the wrong major and need
assistance similar to that of an undeclared student in order to find the correct path. While we
recommend that these students continue to see their faculty advisor for guidance within the
major, they should also be required to meet with a professional advisor who will be better
equipped to explore the issues that have led them off track.
In advising probationary students with declared majors, faculty are to adhere to the above
faculty advising roles for declared students. In addition they are to:
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refer the student to their assigned professional advisor to coordinate a plan for best
advising the student toward regaining good standing
Professional advisors are to adhere to all the above faculty advising roles for declared students,
as applicable to undeclared students. In addition, professional advisors are to:
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help students understand and deal with the issues that led them to probationary status
help students find and access the support programs that may be required to get back to
good standing
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help students better understand their academic and professional strengths and
limitations as they develop realistic goals and assume responsibility for their education
assist students in considering whether the major they have chosen is aligned with the
students’ interests, realistic abilities, educational, career, and life goals
assess students’ needs, interests, strengths, and weaknesses using approved tools as
appropriate
assist students in understanding the importance of a timely graduation and its
implications for financial aid
monitor and accurately document students’ progress toward returning to good standing
Advisors for undeclared students regardless of academic standing
For undeclared students, the goal of advising should be to guide students into an appropriate
course of study in a timely manner. This includes both helping students identify strengths and
interests to choose a fitting major, and also ensuring adequate student progress toward the
goal of graduation within four years. Undeclared students will receive intensive advising with
the goal of leading students to make informed academic and career choices and then to
develop educational plans to realize those decisions. It is the opinion of the advising committee
that professional advisors are better suited to advise these students. Undeclared student
advisors will have extensive training and supervision to maintain a high level of proficiency in
working with this student group.
Faculty advisors will be open to meeting with undeclared students to help them determine if
that particular field might be an appropriate major for the student, however, undecided
students will not be formally assigned to faculty advisors
Professional advisors are to adhere to all the above faculty advising roles for declared students,
as applicable to undeclared students. In addition, professional advisors are to:
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help students better understand their academic and professional strengths and
limitations as they develop realistic goals and assume responsibility for their education
assist students in choosing majors, minors, and courses that are aligned with the
students’ interests, educational, career, and life goals
assess students’ needs, interests, strengths, and weaknesses using approved tools as
appropriate
assist students in understanding the importance of a timely graduation and its
implications for financial aid
monitor and accurately document students’ progress toward meeting their goals.
Implications
By moving all advising of undeclared students to professional advisors, the workload of the
professional advisors will increase dramatically. Reallocation of certain outreach programs will
need to be discussed. Even with reallocation of duties, one additional 1.0 FTE professional
advisor will be required to effectively handle undeclared and probationary student populations.
See the related Undergraduate Advising Proposal appended to this document for further
details. The Office of Admission and Advising would be able to support 45 undeclared students
in a pilot program with current staffing for academic year 13-14.
Duties of the Admission and Advising professional staff that directly support students in
declared majors will be shifted to academic departments. For example, departments would
handle contacting their own majors about their early alert status (if FLC continues early alert in
some capacity), and would be responsible for contacting seniors to complete applications for
graduation.
Furthermore, professional advisors will no longer provide advising to declared students simply
because they failed to get advising in a timely manner prior to their priority registration date.
Faculty advisors will continue to be responsible for advising all their assigned advisees following
their preferred advising model (office hours, open drop-in times, scheduled appointments,
email, telephone, etc.), regardless of whether or not the department conducts group advising
activities. Note the student is still responsible for following through on attempted contacts by
the faculty. The professional advisors will provide advising during the summer and holidays
when faculty are not expected to be on campus, and professional advisors will be available to
consult throughout the academic year on difficult or confusing situations.
In this model, each department will assign a faculty member as a designated liaison between
the Admission & Advising Office and the academic department. These liaisons would be the
contact point for the advising office regarding seniors needing to apply for graduation, and
transitioning students from undeclared advising into the program of study and advising within
the major. This could allow individual departments discretion in when they take over in a
student’s advising; for instance, some departments may want to advise students as soon as a
student expresses interest in the major, whereas other departments may want to only assume
advising responsibilities once students have completed a low-level prerequisite or entry course.
In addition, not every faculty member would need to be an advisor for majors. Departments
may choose to designate particular faculty members as advisors while giving other service
responsibilities to non-advising faculty. This does not mean that departments will make specific
advisee assignments in Banner. They will only designate which faculty members will and will
not do advising. The Coordinator of Degree Planning Resources will continue to make specific
advisee assignments in Banner. Being a designated advisor would count toward college service
on the faculty member’s PAF. If a department chooses this model, as a rough rule a faculty
member who is a designated advisor would advise approximately 30 majors. Faculty members
who are not designated advisors are expected to demonstrate robust contributions in another
area of college service. A faculty member who is not a designated departmental advisor may
still choose to advise a handful of students if they have an established relationship with those
students. Setting up that advising status would have to be coordinated with the Coordinator of
Degree Planning Resources.
Appendix -- Undergraduate Advising Proposal
Undeclared Student Academic Advising
The role of undeclared student professional staff advisor is to help students choose a major and
to ensure their intentions to graduate in four years. Undeclared student academic advising at
Fort Lewis will be recognized for its focus on students’ academic preparation, career and major
exploration, as well as an emphasis on the importance of four-year graduation plans. Intensive
and deliberate undeclared student academic advising will help students make informed
academic and career choices and then to develop education plans to realize those decisions.
Presently, undeclared student professional staff advisors handle a variety of outreach efforts
included by not limited to: NSAR appointments, Mapworks, Early Alert, Petitioned Seniors,
probationary students, back-up current student advising.
Implications and Rationale
Presently, professional staff advisors handle a variety of outreach efforts including by
not limited to: NSAR appointments, MAP-Works, Early Alert, mid-term down grades,
Petitioned Seniors, probationary students, back-up current student advising. If
undeclared students became an additional priority for Admission and Advising advisors,
inevitably, certain activities and efforts that advisors currently participate in may need
to be revised or reallocated to other offices on campus. The reallocation of those
activities will need to be discussed.
The recommendation is for Admission and Advising professional staff members to take
responsibility for all undeclared majors as well as the probationary students (students
whose cumulative GPA is less than a 2.0). Other outreach activities such as MAP-Works
and early alert would need to be reassigned. Given projected case loads and the
intensiveness of the specified outreach efforts, one additional 1.0 FTE professional
advisor is requested to effectively handle these two populations. The salary costs for
this position is: $35,000 plus benefits. We presently have 4.3 FTE as professional
advisors; however, one of the full-time positions is served with the Native American
Center, so we actually only see about .5 of that position. The full 1.0 FTE allotment for
that position, however, is factored in to the above 4.3 FTE figure.
The rationale for serving these two populations—undeclared majors and probationary
students—is listed below.
Undeclared majors. Gordon (1995) defined “undecided” students as those who were
“unwilling, unable, or unready to make educational and/or vocational decisions”.
Serving undecided students requires specialized skills and training (Steele, 2003), and
professional advisors are particularly well-suited to working with this population, as they
are aware of the broad range of possibilities in a student’s education. Additionally,
professional advisors are trained to approach students holistically, attending to
academic issues in ways that address the myriad developmental, academic, personal,
social, financial, emotional, and cultural factors may affect student academic
performance. Steele examined four decision-making models under the lens of advising
undecided students and provided useful recommendations, including highlighting the
importance of looking beyond just academic concerns, creating advising processes that
are student-centered, acknowledging that undecided students are within a decisionmaking process that will result in change, and perhaps most importantly, the necessity
of a trusting relationship between advisor and advisee.
Unlike faculty advisors whose role is to specialize in a particular academic discipline, an
academic advisor specializes in breadth, and infuses academic success skills into
conversations related to major and career decision-making in developmentally
appropriate ways. In a model of advising that serves undecided students, Admission &
Advising advisors would provide primary advising support, similar to the Freshman
Advising Pilot and Academic Explorers programs executed at Fort Lewis College in years
past. Students would transition to a faculty advisor upon declaring their major. There is
movement towards a policy requiring students to declare a major by 45 credits, and so
this would be the latest date at which students would move from an academic advisor
to a faculty advisor. Each semester, depending on a student’s class and academic
standing, a particular set of goals and strategies for meeting those goals would be
formulated and implemented, making the most of available campus resources in and
outside of Admission & Advising.
Based on feedback from previous Fort Lewis College programs, such as Academic
Explorers and the Freshman Advising pilot, estimating the caseloads for individual
advisors is expected to equate to approximately one student per hour that an advisor
works each week. A full-time (40 hour per week) advisor would therefore adopt a
caseload up to 80 undeclared students. Advisors have and would continue to have many
responsibilities outside of direct service, many of which were not the case at the times
of previous primary advising programs (i.e. Academic Explorers and the Freshman
Advising Pilot), and as a result, this number may be a generous estimate. Recognizing
that the number of undeclared students (Fall 2011, n = 328; Winter 2012, n= 259) may
exceed the capacity of the Admission & Advising advisors, a collaborative model would
be necessary whereby the caseload is shared with other college advisors. One Native
American Center advisor would be able to support a small caseload of Native American
undeclared students. Additionally, Library faculty currently serves as primary advisors
for a sample of undeclared students (n=53, Winter 2012).
Probationary students. Presently, Admission and Advising advisors serve at-risk students
who are identified through an Early Alert system and through MAP-Works, a web-based
system utilizing profile and survey data to identify potentially at-risk students. However,
with the upcoming changes to Academic Standards in Fall 2012, students with a less
than 2.0 cumulative GPA will be considered probationary students and will first need to
meet with a professional advisor before meeting with their faculty advisor. It is
projected that the number of probationary students will be between 200-300 students,
each needing at least a one hour appointment with a professional advisor. As described
briefly above, professional academic advisors are well-suited to helping students
identify and address academic success issues through thorough examination of factors
that have led students into academic distress, and encouraging and assisting the
formation of short-term and long-term goals for success.
Intrusive advising is a high involvement form of advising where students and advisors
meet on a regular basis, often enter into contractual agreements, and whose purpose is
to assist students in creating and maintaining academic success strategies (Vader Schee,
2007). This form of advising has been shown in the literature to be effective in
supporting student success by, for example, raising semester GPA, and increasing other
factors of academic success, such as utilization of support services including tutoring
and counseling, meeting with professors, and increasing success skills such as time
management. Intrusive advising is an ideal approach to probationary students, and
professional advisors are in the best situation on campus to provide this type of
intervention; given that they have demonstrated no less than one semester (and up to
four semesters, under new probationary model) of poor academic performance, this
population of students is certainly an ideal group to focus institutional energy upon with
hopes of increasing semester and cumulative GPA, and with hopes of retaining and
graduating more students who might otherwise and eventually become academically
suspended or dismissed.
Student and Professional Advisor Expectations
Academic advising is a collaborative educational process; students and their advisors are
partners in helping students transition to college and choosing an appropriate major field of
study. The partnership requires participation and involvement of both the advisor and the
student and will span up to the first 45 credits at Fort Lewis. By 45 credits, students will choose
a major, and once students have chosen a major, they will be assigned a faculty advisor in their
field of study. In this partnership both the undeclared student advisor and advisee will have
specific responsibilities.
Students will:
 Value the role of the academic advising process in the college experience
 Demonstrate the characteristics of a prepared advisee
 With the guidance of an academic advisor, make effective decisions concerning their
degree and career goals
 Develop an educational plan for successfully achieving their goals; select courses each
semester to progress toward fulfilling that educational plan
 Know the general education requirements and appreciate the liberal arts values
reflected in the liberal arts core
 Use campus resources and services to assist them in achieving their academic, personal,
and career goals.
 Follow through when referred to appropriate campus resources
 Be able to read accurately and effectively use the course catalog, departmental
information, and WebOpus resources in their educational planning
 Graduate in a timely manner based on the individual educational plan
Academic Advisor Responsibilities -- What Students Can Expect:
 Help students better understand their academic and professional strengths and
limitations
 Discuss academic and career options
 Effectively communicate the curriculum and graduation requirements
 Encourage and guide students as they define and develop realistic goals
 Encourage and support students as they make academic progress according to their
educational plans
 Provide students with information about strategies for using the available resources and
services on campus
 Assist students in understanding the importance of a timely graduation
 Monitor and accurately document students’ progress toward meeting their goals
 Be accessible for advising students in meetings either in groups or individually during
posted office hours, telephone, e-mail, or web access.
 Assist students in gaining decision making skills and skills in assuming responsibility for
their educational plans and achievements
 Maintain confidentiality
 Assist students in working closely with their professors and refer students to
appropriate resources, as needed
Demonstrating Students’ Learning Outcomes:
In order for students to measure and document their academic progress, they will develop a
portfolio of the advising work. This portfolio will consist of a variety of documents including:
 Personality inventory results (Strong, Myers-Briggs, etc.)
 Reflections on possible academic major fields of study
 Educational plans; four-year maps to graduation for possible majors
 Academic schedules and grades--by semester
 Annual financial aid allocations to ensure compliance with financial aid policies
 Documentation of campus resource usage (FWP, Algebra Alcove, etc.)
 Papers and academic assignments, as appropriate