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Students as the Unit and Instrument of Analysis for the Assessment of Advising
Author(s) -
Johnson Kathryn M.S.,
Greene Kathleen,
Guttchen Emma,
McLeod Ruth,
Paquin Zachary W.,
Young Megan K.M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.776.8
Subject(s) - academic advising , conversation , focus group , scholarship , psychology , medical education , institution , unit (ring theory) , higher education , pedagogy , mathematics education , sociology , medicine , political science , social science , communication , anthropology , law
Since the 1970's, advising has been one of four areas of faculty evaluation (with teaching, scholarship/professional activity, and service/campus citizenship) at Beloit College, a small residential liberal arts college in the Midwest. Advising can occur in many different ways, but can be considered a form of teaching, and faculty members’ approaches to teaching and advising are closely related. Assessment of faculty advising for the tenure process at the institution is limited, but includes a consensus within the department about the faculty member's ability to engage in conversations with students. Evaluation is primarily determined by the accessibility of the advisor to the students, with less acknowledgment of the content of the conversation or student gains. To understand what students are learning from advising interactions and the effectiveness of advising, four student facilitators were trained and actively participated in the development and implementation of student‐facilitated student and alumni focus groups (8 total groups, 6 student, 2 alumni). Participants (n=51, 40 current students, 11 alumni) assembled in small groups (4–12 participants/group) and student facilitators (2–4 facilitators/group) asked participants a series of questions pertaining to their experiences with advising. Student facilitators recorded and analyzed focus group responses. Comparing responses between current students and alumni provided evidence of similar experiences, with alumni responses providing the advantage of retrospection. Student facilitators identified six themes: 1) students are much more likely to have influential conversations and seek advice from family, friends, and peers, rather than from academic advisors; 2) a good advisor is honest and knows how to “be real”; 3) advisees should be open‐minded and come prepared; 4) pre‐major advising varies from horrible to wonderful; 5) peer mentoring works and students love it; and 6) according to alumni, advising happens everywhere. Based on their analysis, the student facilitators concluded that students recognize that positive, effective, and successful advising involves a two‐way relationship between the advisor and the advisee. Working closely with the student facilitators to analyze and interpret the focus group responses has helped us identify institutional advising strengths and avenues for evaluating and addressing weaknesses. Support or Funding Information This research was supported by the Beloit College Office of the Provost and Dean of the College.