Arriving at the Summit Mandatory Advising and Registration

Arriving at the Summit Mandatory Advising and Registration Holds at Different Level Perspectives NACADA 2013 Annual Conference Salt Lake City, Utah UNIVERSITY of HAWAIʻI MĀNOA Session C 11

Introduction to UHM and Intrusive Advising Joseph Menor, Jr. , Med Department of Biology

Overview of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) • Founded: 1907 • Location: Mānoa Valley (Oʻahu) • Demographics • 20, 426 students • • • 14, 655 undergraduate • 5, 771 graduate and professional Hawaiʻi (in-state) students: 71% Out-of-state students: 21. 1% International students: 6. 8% Male/Female ratio: 45: 55

Mandatory Advising at UHM • Mandated by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs • Effective Fall 2008 • Required for UHM freshmen/sophomores • Required for their first two years (first four semesters) • Not required for transfer students • Each college/school/department sets guideline

Overview of Mandatory Advising Practices • Two perspectives • College-level • Mānoa Advising Center (MAC) • Departmental-level • Department of Biology • Challenges and solutions • Innovative alternatives

Advising Approaches • • Proactive (intrusive) academic advising Advising Outreach Prescriptive academic advising Developmental academic advising

Mānoa Advising Center (MAC) History Rayna Tagalicod, MEd Mānoa Advising Center

MAC Advising • College-level advising • Serves exploratory and select pre-major students • Mission is to help students declare their major • MAC does not graduate any students

MAC Staffing • Fall 2008 • 4, 500 students • Director • 2 full-time Academic Advisors • Fall 2013 • 2, 100 students • Director • 3 full-time Academic Advisors • 7 Peer Advisors (each working 11 hours per week)

MAC Mandatory Advising History • Fall 2008 • First semester of mandatory advising • First semester of MAC’s existence • Emails sent regarding new policy and options • Initial student response: • Uninformed, confused, upset, resistant, panicked • Registration holds • Initial threat of holds • Lack of compliance made holds necessary

MAC Mandatory Advising Model • Practical • Unable to meet with all students individually • Created other options • Established collaborations across campus • Developmental • Meet the needs of a wide range of students

MAC Mandatory Advising Model • Collaborative • Establish a new office and build partnerships • Cross-campus function • Philosophical • Know choices to make informed decisions • Encourage student responsibility

MAC Options for Mandatory Advising Matt Eng, MEd Mānoa Advising Center

GPA Qualification and Groups Term Admitted Fall Spring 2013 2012 Group ≥ 2. 0 Group B C D A < 2. 0 Group E

Notification • Email with options sent during the 5 th week of the semester • Multiple options exist, but only one is necessary for completion • Website of options • Options vary by group

Group Admit Term(s) Cumulative GPA A B C D FA 13 SP 13 FA 12 SP 12 E N/A ≥ 2. 0 < 2. 0 Declaration of a Major X X Direct Referral X X Supplemental Advising Offices X X Online: What Can I Do With This Major? Assignment X X Nursing Informational Session X X Advising appointment with a MPA at MAC X X Workshop: Major Exploration X X Sophomore Experience Individual Session X X X Online: Sophomore Experience Assignment X X X Advising appointment with an Advisor at MAC X X Group E: Assignment X Group E: Online Final Chance Assignment X

Documentation

Registration Holds • Placed during the 10 th week • Early completers exempt from the hold • Hold lifted after student documents the completion of an option

Biology Options for Mandatory Advising Stephanie Kraft-Terry, Ph. D Department of Biology

Biology Students • 1, 300 undergraduates • Marine Biology • Biology • Soon to add: • Microbiology • Molecular Cell Biology • Botany • Ethnobotany

Biology Advising Office • Previously • 1 full-time staff advisor • Currently • Faculty Advisor (Coordinator) • 2 full-time staff advisors • Peer advisors • 2013 – 2014 • 4 students, 40 hours per week • 2012 – 2013 • 3 students, 20 hours per week • 2011 – 2012 • 1 student, 10 hours per week

Beginning Mandatory Advising Enforcement (Holds) • Started with incoming freshmen • No holds were placed • Required to complete or change major • Current Mandatory Advising population: ≈ 700 • Freshmen • Sophomores • Incoming transfers (specific to Biology)

Mandatory Advising • Group advising • In-person • Online (Blackboard Collaborate) • Workshops (sophomores only) • Researching Graduate School Workshop • Researching Medical School Workshop • One-on-one advising • Online appointment scheduler

Mandatory Advising Awareness • New Student Orientation • Walk-in advising at the start of the semester • Emails • Begin 4 th week of the semester • Sent repeatedly to all students who have not completed

Holds • Placed on students who have not completed Mandatory Advising • Fall 2013 – November 1 st • Spring 2013 – April 1 st

Curriculum Freshman Sophomore Transfer Next semester courses X Summer school (if necessary) X Introduction to STAR X Discussion of future plans X X Career/graduate school exploration X Assess STAR navigation X Final academic plan X X

What Students Are Saying… • “I think you should require all biology students to have mandatory advising every semester it really helps the student to stay on track and to have a path to follow. ” • “I really feel that mandatory advising is incredibly helpful to anyone wishing to graduate within the four years with confidence. I will definitely be signing up for more mandatory and possibly voluntary advising in the future so I can graduate with all my required courses. ” • “… glad that the advising is mandatory so I can stay on track with my four-year plan along with addressing personal questions based on the major. Thank you!” • “Thank you for having mandatory advising, or else I would probably be behind in my classes. ” IRB Exempt - CHS: 21536

Challenges and Solutions Megan Terawaki, MEd Mānoa Advising Center

Awareness of Mandatory Advising • Challenge • Student forget about the mandatory advising requirement • Solution • Multiple reminders in different formats

Options for Students • Challenge • Students have varying needs and wants • Solution • Offer a variety of options • In-person • Group sessions • Online (beware of technical difficulties)

Timeliness • Challenge • Students forget about mandatory advising until the last minute • Student numbers may be overwhelming • Solution • Email prompts • Options available at different times • Increase your number of peer advisors

Student-to-Advisor Ratio • Challenge • Large student-to-advisor ratio • Solution • Partner with other campus offices • Students may meet with potential major advisors • Options • Group sessions • Online

Using Holds • Challenge • Students fail to complete mandatory advising on time • Solution • Use holds as a prompt for action • Send reminder emails when holds are placed

Completing the Same Option • Challenge • Students complete the same option across multiple semesters • Solution • Encourage students to utilize other options

Discussion • Does your office have mandatory advising? • If so, how does it work? • If not, has your office considered implementing it? What challenges have you encountered? • (or refer to your worksheet)

Mahalo nui loa! Mānoa Advising Center – macadv@hawaii. edu Biology – bioadvis@hawaii. edu Session C 11