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Capella University's Team Advising Plan
Christine Keith and Ted
Maday
Learner Services
Capella University
Posted November 6,
2001 Student
Affairs Online, 2 (Fall)
Today, the trend toward increased access to higher
education continues. Adults are returning to school by the millions
(Harris & Brooks, 1998). Many adult
students wish to pursue new career directions and need to enhance
their educational preparation. Others are not geographically near the
source of education they need or desire. Technology has given higher
education the ability of reaching thousands of learners unable to
participate before. For-profit universities, such as Capella
University, offering accredited degree programs have been successful
in attracting large numbers of adult learners who are not well served
by the traditional college or university.
Since colleges and universities were first
established in the United States, academic advising has been provided
for students. Over time, the advising role has become more defined,
with many different models for providing this vital service being
utilized. As more and more students access higher education, and as
new methods of delivering education via the Internet are developed,
the role of the advisor needs to be examined.
Advisors are very significant people in the
learner's graduate education. Learners usually turn first to their
advisor with questions about coursework, university policy,
requirements, and career planning. Although the advisor's
responsibility is primarily academic, many advisers come to know
their learners and develop a relationship that becomes one of being a
role model or an inspirer. Advisors must be willing to talk to
learners about personal, career, and educational goals, and about
academic progress and problems (Railsback &
Colby, 1988).
Does research exist that describes the most
efficient learner-to-advisor ratio? Efficiency in the case of
advising is difficult to define. A good target ratio for full-time
advisors is 300:1 and a target ratio for faculty with instructional
loads is 20:1 (www.nacada.ksu.edu).
The efficiency of advising depends more on the needs of the learners
being served.
What is the impact of advising for online
learners? For online learners, the more ways the learners have of
getting connected to the university and the advisor, the better.
Tools such as email, listservs, chat rooms, websites, and bulletin
boards all enhance the relationship of advisor and learner. As online
education continues to gain prominence, more resources may become
available for learners. Advisors will assume a much broader role as
teacher and communicator of information and ideas. Many view academic
advising in two roles-advising as teaching...advising as service.
The structure of advising differs from one
institution to the next. Habley (1983)
determined that organizational patterns exist and that certain
structures are more apt to be found at similar types of institutions.
In a decentralized organization structure, advising services are
provided by faculty or staff in their academic departments. A
centralized organizational structure consists of an administrative
unit, usually an advising center with a director and staff located in
one spot. The more common model is the shared organizational
structure in which faculty or staff work cooperatively with the
administrative unit.
Which organizational structure is suitable for
online learning? Curry (1997) tackled this
question in his study of academic advising practices in distance
education programs. Curry concluded that program size is a factor in
the selection of a certain model. However, there is no best
organizational model for distance programs. An organizational model
should be chosen that helps the university meet and accomplish its
goals. No matter, the model selected, all staff who participate in
advising must be of a similar philosophy, one that not only addresses
the advisor's role but the learner's role as well. The ultimate goal
of advising is to meet the needs of learners effectively and
efficiently.
Changes reshaping higher education will impact
advising practices. Higher education institutions will continue to
experience declining resources, making additional staff particularly
in the advising office unlikely. Enrollments at both the
undergraduate and graduate level are expected to increase. As a
direct result, advisors will advise larger numbers of learners with
reduced resources. The challenge is to provide high-quality advising
services with limited staff and resources.
To meet the information needs of the learners,
well-designed and easily accessible Web sites with answers to
frequently asked questions (FAQ) and accurate information should be
available. These Web sites could also link learners to an email
address where any clarification of information or further questions
may be answered. Group advising may also be a successful tool in
providing introductory information to groups of learners at one time
at a significant cost savings to the institution. Team advising
reduces individuals advising loads. Team advising is also more
cost-effective because of the requirement for fewer staff.
At Capella University, an on-line institution
serving over 4,000 undergraduate and graduate learners, full-time
academic advisors are a recent addition to the staff. Learner
Services began hiring full-time, on-site on-line Master's advisors in
September 2000, and the hiring of Doctoral advisors began
approximately nine months later. Currently, each advisor works with a
specific school or schools and is assigned new and ongoing advisees.
Advisors also facilitate or co-facilitate introductory courses for
most of the programs. As advising and teaching loads have increased
over the past year, the department has begun exploring alternatives
to the advising model approach currently used. Experience has shown
that learners in the early stages of their programs require more time
and attention than learners in later stages, but the current method
of assigning advisees does not take this into consideration. There
are also potential disruptions in service if someone leaves, or if a
learner's advisor is out of the office due to illness or vacation.
These are just a few of the factors that have caused Learner Services
at Capella University to begin exploring the Team Advising Model.
Lisa Wheeler, Vice-President of Learner Services at Capella
University, (personal communication, September 14, 2001) has
identified the following advantages of a Team Advising Model.
- Ability to distribute more evenly the workload associated with
the needs of new learners/continuing learners.
- Enhanced accessibility of advisors to respond to
learners.
- Greater flexibility in staffing introductory courses.
- Less disruption for learners when an advisor leaves.
- Increased efficiencies through less duplication of
effort.
A proactive approach to change in academic
advising will help avoid situations in which advisors merely react to
change or, worse yet, in which crisis management rather than
thoughtful planning and programming prevails (Teitelbaum,
1994). Academic advisors are in a unique position to suggest
change. Because of their daily interactions with learners, advisors
are often the first to be aware of issues or concerns that cause
problems for learners in having their educational goals met. This
provides an opportunity for advisors to recommend change to benefit
learners and the institution itself. Capella University is moving
forward, making appropriate change.
References
Curry, R. F. (1997).
Academic advising in distance education. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation. School of Education: College of William and Mary.
Habley, W. R. (1983).
Organizational structures for academic advising: Models and
implications. Journal of College Student Personnel, 24,
535-539.
Harris, M. B., &
Brooks, L. J. (1998, Summer). Challenges for older students in higher
education. Journal of Research and Development in Education,
31(4), 226-235.
Railsback, G., &
Colby, A. (1988). Improving academic advising in the community
college. Los Angeles, CA: ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior Colleges.
(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 320647).
Teitelbaum,
H. (1994). Changing the campus environment. NACADA Journal,
14(1), 32-37.
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