A Delicate Balance: Academic
Advising in the Age of Customer
Service
Presenters: Michael Tyler & Kathryn Kvam
Walden University
Walden University
• US-based, on-line, for-profit university
• Primarily doctoral-level student population
• Strong emphasis on business and education
programs
• Students are mostly working professionals in
their 40’s & 50’s
• 50,000+ student body; 10% international
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What expectations come to mind for you
when you think of good ‘customer
service’?
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What concerns or ‘extra responsibilities’ come
to mind when you think of customer service as it
applies to your Advising Department?
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Current Trends in Higher Education
• Accreditation and accountability are becoming increasingly scrutinized,
and both are under heightened attention by governments and educational
authorities
– “Though the accrediting of colleges by private bodies is a largely American phenomenon
(in Europe academic institutions tend to be inspected and certified by the state) the
system continues to drive the global market. As more schools reach across borders to
attract top-flight students and faculty, having a U.S. accreditation is considered
essential… Accreditation now isn’t as transparent as the public wants…People want
more information about institutional performance.” (New York Times, 2011)
• Funding and eligibility for student aid are being tied not only to student
enrollment, but also to student performance and retention rates
– The majority of US States “have a funding formula in place that allocates some amount
of funding based on performance indicators such as course completion, time to degree,
transfer rates, (etc.)” (NCSL, 2015)
– “During the next few years, performance-based funding will grow incrementally, and
eventually 100 percent of base funding will be tied to course completion and other
performance indicators.” (NCSL, 2010)
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Current Trends (continued)
•
•
On-line courses and programs are attracting an ever-increasing amount of students
– “The number of students who enroll in at least one online course has increased 250% from 1.6 million
in 2002 to over 5.6 million in 2009…(it is) estimated that by 2015 over 8 million students will be
taking college courses online.” (Gravel, 2012)
– ‘Brick-and-mortar’ institutions, if not offering full programs on-line, are increasingly offering courses
or other completion opportunities to their students virtually
The “traditional student” is becoming a thing of the past.
– “One of the most cited trends shaping higher education is the changing demographics of the student
body – for example, racial, economic, gender, age, and ability levels. We are currently experiencing
how the diversity of the student body is creating new advising challenges. It is important for advisors
to do more than simply embrace their diversity. We must respect each student’s humanity, selfidentity, and self-expression. “ (Fries-Britt, NACADA 2008)
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Where does Customer Service come in?
• Retention, retention, retention!
– Retention rates are being used more to evaluate
the reputation of universities as well as
influencing funding eligibility for financial aid, etc.
• “Retention is a by-product of student satisfaction; the customer service model
focuses on meeting student needs with responsive services and support. A
consistent, user-friendly environment is promoted by caring, personal contacts with
students.” (Spicuzza, 1992)
• “Academic advising is the only structured activity on the campus in which all
students have the opportunity for ongoing, one-to-one interaction with a concerned
representative of the institution.” (Abelman, et al. 2007)
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What are universities doing?
• Centralized, professional advising
departments are being employed
• Retention offices and/or retention teams are
being set up at most universities
• Student needs/wants are becoming a central
focus
• Greater transparency is being embraced to
help build trust and accountability
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Walden University – Where We Were
• Front-line (core) and specialist advisors
– front-line handled general questions related to registration, policies,
and support services
– Specialist handled more complicated questions related to faculty
concerns, academic progress, personal challenges, etc.
• Regardless of advisor level, most were not program-specific and,
instead, advised students of all programs
• Advisors did not have a specific cohort of advisees
• International students were not separated from the domestic
population.
• Phone or e-mail interactions only during ‘normal’ business hours
• Utilizing an e-mail in-box for all student communication
• Various other support services, including: VA Office, Library, Writing
Center, Research Support, Residencies, Student Affairs
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Walden University – Where We Are Now
• Advisors are program experts with a cohort of students and handle all
level of questions related to program, faculty, or support services.
• Available via phone, email, Skype, by reserved appointment, or through
service requests
– Looking to pilot additional social media and SMS (text messaging) interaction
– Expanding hours of availability
• Embracing centralized Student Engagement Software/platforms to
improve efficiency and tracking capabilities, providing visibility into
students’ interaction with advising and other departments
• Specific team of advisors focused on the international student experience
• Expanded support services: VA expanded to Military Services, Research
Support expanded to Center for Research Quality, Residencies offered
virtually and visa capability offered for international students, Student
Affairs has grown
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What are we doing?
• On-boarding all new students
• First-term wellness checks
• On-going attendance, participation, and
registration outreaches
• Academic performance reviews
• Specific, targeted outreaches for various ‘atrisk’ populations
• Time to degree completion
• Natural disaster outreaches
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Retention Risk Outreach
• Contact a population of students who display an identified “at
risk for attrition” trigger. This can include:
– High number of Leaves of Absence
– Multiple F grades
– Frequent absences from class
• This outreach is done two weeks prior to a term start
• The list of students contacted changes with each round.
• Regardless of actual contact with students, the outreach
attempt has been shown to help retain students
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Retention Risk Outreach - Impact
Number of Contacts
Students who display an “at risk” trigger
Students included
in Outreach
Attrition Rate of
Population
0
3187
32.5%
1
3013
28.9%
2
581
23.1%
• These are the results of the RRO outreach in 2013 with our
undergraduate population.
• All the students included in this (including the students not
contacted) displayed the same variety of “at risk” triggers.
• With each contact attempt we saw a decrease in the overall
attrition rate for that specific segment of the population.
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What are we doing? (continued)
•
•
•
•
User-friendly student portal
On-line catalog/handbook
Quick Answers webpage
Appointment Scheduling System (Advising,
Writing Center, Career Services)
• 24/7 Student Support Team (available via phone,
e-mail, or live chat)
• Technology platform upgrades to compliment
emerging trends
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Customer Service in Advising
• Advisors are empowered to resolve student issues/appeals
• Advisors are able to process student registration directly
and assist with concentration changes
• Providing students with options as available
• Serving as a core resource for students on many
topics/issues to minimize misdirection or inaccurate
information being provided
• Cohort model promotes an on-going relationship
• Honoring a 24 business hour Service-Level Agreement (SLA)
• Feedback is requested from students at the end of every
course and in a yearly Student Satisfaction Survey
• Advisors are evaluated/reviewed more on qualitative
aspects rather than quantitative
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Keeping the ‘Academic’ in Academic Advising
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•
•
•
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Maintain standard of professionalism
Buying vs. earning a degree
Code of Conduct
Academic Advising Standards/Syllabus
Strong support from and collaboration directly
with faculty and program leadership
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Academic Advising Standards
Available at http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/academicadvising/about/advisingstandards
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Perspectives on the Customer Service Mindset
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•
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•
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“With respect to academic integrity, the customer service model…obscures student roles and
responsibilities.” (Wueste & Fishman)
“Maybe times have changed. Maybe students are so used to our consumer-driven society that they have
an inaccurate sense of entitlement. They believe the customer is always right…Maybe the academic and
business sides of education have become so blurred that my title of assistant professor has actually been
changed to “academic liaison”, and I am only supposed to teach students what they want to know and
nothing more” (Hall)
“Yes, students should consider themselves to be the consumers of products and services provided by
colleges and universities…No, students are not my customers when they are in my classroom.
Consumerism stops at my classroom door. When I teach an on-line course, consumerism stops when
students log into my electronic classroom. When they enter my classroom I expect them to earn, not buy,
their grades.” (Thirunarayanan)
“Some of our students…approach their classes as if they can be passive recipients of knowledge transfer.
But in doing so, they are behaving too much like customers…They believe they can simply pay their tuition
and be handed an A-grade education, much like a customer can hand over cash and receive Grade A eggs
from the grocer.” (Armstrong)
“When students, faculty, and administrators use the student-as-customer metaphor, they…assume that if
students are customers, then students set the agenda and determine the product. But what company asks
customers to write its business plan? (Students) are buying the chance to be exposed to and learn from the
expertise of their instructors, not the opportunity to tell their teachers what to teach or how to grade.
When students complain that an instructor grades harder or assigns more reading than the students like,
they are complaining that the university is providing exactly what it promised (an expert who determines
class content and grades).” (Burke)
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Questions/comments?
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Sources/Resources
Guttenplan, D.D. “Accrediting Business Schools – by Whose Rules?”, The New York Times (2011)
Perez-Pena, Richard. “Trying to Find a Measure for How Well Colleges Do”, The New York Times (2012)
NCSL.org. “Performance-Based Funding for Higher Education”, 1/13/2015 (www.ncsl.org/research/education/performance-funding.aspx)
NCSL.org. “Improving College Completion: Action Steps for Legislators”, 11/2010 (www.ncsl.org/research/education/improving-college-completionaction-steps-for-le.aspx)
Fries-Britt, Sharon. “Advising Through a Wave of Change”, NACADA Journal, Vol. 28 (1), Spring 2008
Gravel, Carol A. “Student-Advisor Interaction in Undergraduate Online Degree Programs: A Factor in Student Retention”, NACADA Journal, Vol. 32 (2),
Fall 2012
Spicuzza, Frank J. “A Customer Service Approach to Advising: Theory and Application”, NACADA Journal, Vol. 12 (2), Fall 1992
Abelman, Robert; Dalessandro, Amy; Janstova, Patricie; Snyder-Suhy, Sharon. “Institutional Vision at Proprietary Schools: Advising for Profit”, NACADA
Journal, Vol. 27 (2), Fall 2007
Wueste, Daniel E. “The customer isn’t always right: Limitations of ‘customer service’ approaches to education or why Higher Ed is not Burger King”
International Journal for Educational Integrity, Vol. 6. No. 1 July 2010, pp. 3/12
Hall, Brian P. “Educating Our ‘Customers’” Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/30/2011
Thirunarayanan, M.O. “Students are ‘Customers’, But Not in the Classroom” Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/6/2012
Armstrong, Michael J. “Students Behave Too Much Like Customers” Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/28/2010
Burke, Clara. “Are Students ‘Customers’? Let’s Hope Not.” Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/20/2014
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