Planning, Conducting, & Presenting
an Academic Advising Self-Study
Shannon Dobranski, Ph.D.
NACADA 2014
Overview
•
•
•
•
What is a self-study?
When or where would a self-study be useful?
Who might help?
What are some strategies for completing the
study?
• How might one promote and use the selfstudy?
So what is a self study?
A self study is not an assessment
Assessment: the
continuous process of
gathering information to
determine and improve Assessment
progress toward specific
outcomes (AikenWisniewski et al., 2010
Robbins & Zarges, 2012
Troxel, 2008)
A self study is not an evaluation
Evaluation: the
process by which
individuals, teams, or
practices are judged
often with the use of
specific ratings
(Robbins 2009, 2012)
Evaluation
But. . .
A self study may anticipate an assessment
process or evaluation.
“Start with the end in mind.”
Aiken-Wisniewski et al., 2010
For the self study, focus on PDOs
• Concentrate on process/delivery outcomes
(PDOs)
• Save student learning outcomes (SLOs) for a
future assessment
A self study is . . .
• A formal report grounded in strategic and
consistent consistent data-gathering
• An opportunity to identify common practice
among disparate or remote professionals
• A non-evaluative “snapshot” of professional
practice
Why might a self study be useful?
•
•
•
•
To educate administrators
To appeal for funds or resources
To connect practice to vision/mission
To reveal practice in a satellite or hybrid
advising model
Biolo
gy
ID
ARCH
CS
ALIS
PUBP
ECO
N
Ivan
Allen
Colle
ge of
Liber
al
Arts
LMC
Colle
ge of
Engin
eerin
g
ISyE
AE
Center for
Academic
Success/O
UE
College
of
Computi
ng
CM
CEE
Physi
cs
Math
College
of
Architec
ture
Che
mistr
y
Colle
ge of
Scien
ces
EAS
ME/
NRE
CHBE
Scheller
College
of
Business
Administ
ration
INTA
HTS
Decentralized Advising
at Georgia Tech
Biology
Chemistry,
Biochemistry
EAS
College of
Sciences
CEE
ID
Math,
Applied
Math
Physics,
Applied
Physics
ECE
ME/NRE
College of
Engineering
College of
Architecture
ISyE
CHBE
ARCH
AE
Center for
Academic
Success/OUE
CS
College of
Computing
Scheller College of
Business
Administration
ECON
CM
ALIS, GEML,
IAML
INTA
Ivan Allen
College of
Liberal Arts
PUBP
HTS
LMC
Reflection 1
• What questions might a self study answer for
your home institution?
Preparation
• Establish clear objectives
• Seek guidance
• Select participants
Where would I start?
• Establish objectives for your study:
– To gather data about different advising practices
– To learn more about the student experience
– To discover resource inequities in different
advising units
– To identify best practices
Whom might I consult on campus?
•
•
•
•
Institutional Research
Office of Assessment
Larger on-campus advising network
Any unit that has completed a self study
Whom might I consult off
campus?
• NACADA
– Clearinghouse
– Assessment Institute
• Webinars
– Innovative Educators
– Academic Impressions
• Professionals at other schools
• Completed self studies
Tip from experience!
• Make the study a team effort
– Identify stakeholders
– Cultivate buy-in
– Share the labor
– Make each other accountable
• Get consistent help from students or staff
– Transcription and data entry
Reflection 2
• Identify two campus partners you might
consult to help plan the self study.
• What stakeholders might participate in your
self study team?
Execution
• Gather statistical information through
surveys
• Gather detailed and anecdotal information
through interviews
• Organize and categorize
• Summarize parts and whole
Execution: Survey
• Vet your survey with assessment or
institutional research team
• Test the survey on actual advisors
• Don’t reinvent the wheel: use automated
survey generators like Survey Monkey,
SurveyGizmo, Qualtrics
Tip from Experience!
• Consider the best audience for different
types of questions
• Consider separate surveys
– Comprehensive to capture everybody’s
experience
– Selective for authoritative information
Reflection 3
• Will your survey be selective or
comprehensive?
• Will you need more than one survey for
multiple audiences?
Execution: Interview
• Schedule appointments early
• Send an email with an overview or agenda
and a request for any specific materials
• Meet advisors in their work space
• Take pictures
• Stick to a standardized script, ask follow up
questions as warranted
Tips from Experience!
• Consider starting with face-to-face interviews
and then moving on to statistical data
• Summarize interview findings and follow up
immediately
• Look for “low-hanging fruit” that can be
addressed with immediate action
Reflection 4
How might you select and categorize
information for a face-to-face interview?
Student Experience
Advisor Experience
Orientation
Hiring
Registration
Training
At-risk performance
Assessment Processes
Change of Academic Standing
Professional Development
Execution: Organize Information
• Keep materials organized as you go
• Enter hand-written information into
spreadsheet or database
Analysis
• Identifying trends
– How do practices align/differ?
• Following up
• Determining needs
– What are best practices?
– Why doesn’t everybody engage in best practices:
awareness or resources?
Delivery
• Draft the report
– Consider the audience
– Keep it lean
• Revise the report
– See it again with fresh (and different!) eyes
• Include visual aids and personal testimony
• Present information intentionally
• Include appendices with details
Promotion
• Present information to different stakeholders
• Spread the word
• Anticipate next steps
Audience
Format
Provost, Dean, VP
Report, executive
summary
Advisors
Report, town hall
Institute Research
Report, meeting
Students
Report, meeting
Reflection 5
For the stakeholders you identified in reflection
2, determine a format and occasion for
presenting the study.
References
Aiken-Wisneiwski, S. (Ed)., (2010). Guide to Assessment in Academic Advising
(second edition). [Monograph No. 23]. Manhattan, KS: The National Academic
Advising Association.
Robbins, R. (2009). Evaluation and assessment of career advising. In Hughey, K.
Burton Nelson, D., Damminger, J. and McCalla-Wriggins, B., (Eds) Handbook of Career
Advising (chapter 12). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Robbins, R. & Zarges, K.M. (2011). Assessment of Academic Advising: A Summary of
the Process. Retrieved from NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources
Web Site: www.nacada.ksu.
Troxel, W.G. (2008). Assessing the effectiveness of the advising program. In V.N.
Gordon, W.R. Habley, and T.J. Grites, Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook
(2nd edition) (pp. 286-295). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Contact Me!
Shannon Dobranski
Director, Center for Academic Success
Georgia Tech
shannon.dobranski@gatech.edu