Highlighting Academic Advisors
This episode is focused on how students and faculty can best utilize advisors and the advising department to start the semester.
Show Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANDREW COLETTI: Hello, and welcome to this episode
of The T in Teaching.
This episode is focused on how to best utilize advisors
and the advising department.
In this episode, I interviewed the senior director
of the center for undergraduate advising, Julian White.
Julian White has spent the last 12 years
working in Temple's Center for Undergraduate Advising, 10
of which he has spent as the senior director.
Before becoming the senior director of the Center
for Advising, Julian White worked as an academic advisor
working directly with students developing academic plans
and helping them with personal goals.
Prior to working at Temple, he served as an academic counselor
at Syracuse University, later transitioning
to associate director of graduate preparation programs.
Thank you for listening, and please enjoy.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
With me, I have Julian White.
Thanks for being here, Julian.
JULIAN WHITE: Thank you, Andrew.
It's a pleasure to be here.
ANDREW COLETTI: Yeah, it's great to have you.
And I'm really excited to get your perspective on advising.
I mean, you've worked for Temple for a while,
and I kind of want to start about just broadly defining,
giving an overview of the advising department's
mission and the objectives and how you guys in your department
are able to help both faculty and students
succeed, especially at the start of the semester.
JULIAN WHITE: Sure.
So first, I do want to say again how grateful I
am for this opportunity.
When I'm ever asked to talk about undergraduate advising,
I always start by conceding that if you
were to ask a traditional freshman what made them choose
their particular school, whether it's Temple University or Fox,
I doubt anyone would say academic advising.
And yet when you think about how important it
is to their ability to successfully graduate--
once they've actually done their first year,
you'd be hard pressed to find a single student who didn't, A,
not only use advising, but recognize
how critical and vital a role it plays
in their undergraduate experience.
So I'll start with your question, which
is, So what's our mission?
And it is very much that.
So if you go to our website--
spoiler alert-- it's right there front and center.
And our purpose, our goal, is really
to provide quality academic advising services
that, A, empower students to make informed decisions.
You know, we always tell the students
it's not for us to tell you what to do.
We just want to help you make an informed decision
about your education, your future career, and also
your personal and professional life as a Temple student,
and certainly as a Fox student.
In simplest terms, we simply want
to equip students with the resources and the services that
will help them to graduate on time from this university.
ANDREW COLETTI: Great, thank you.
And just as a side note, it should be worth
saying that this podcast will have the link to Fox's
academic advising page.
So if you do want to go and learn a little bit
more information, as you just said,
that link will be provided.
So let's talk a little bit about the range
of academic and non-academic services
that your department provides.
Specifically, I'd like to, as you put it,
both for exceeding at higher education but also
professional development, can you
talk a little about those services that you guys provide?
JULIAN WHITE: Yeah, sure.
So when I talk about, first, succeeding,
it's important to acknowledge that the average freshman has
had zero or very limited exposure to college.
And so advising, first and foremost,
tries to set them up on the right path
to give them the tools and services that
will get them ready to thrive.
Many folks who aren't familiar with higher ed
aren't aware of this.
But we facilitate orientation.
So as soon as the students are admitted to Temple,
one of the first hand-offs is to undergraduate advising.
We sort of become the first face for the Fox School,
if you were.
And so we take it from there.
In terms of their professional growth,
one of the things that I think distinguishes both advising
and Fox and maybe at Temple is that we always
strive to work collaboratively with the students.
We want to help the students, A, develop
individual plans for academic success,
because we realize that their path is not always
going to reflect what their peers look like.
So we want to find the path that works just for them.
We do want them to understand Temple's policies.
There are a lot of them.
So part of our goal and part of our job
is to help them make sense of the different rules
and regulations and how to follow them appropriately,
how to make use of all the resources.
Oftentimes, students aren't aware of what's out there.
And so our goal is to help not only educate them
on what exists, but to be the touch point
to help them move to that resource that hopefully
get them over any roadblocks.
And then really start to engage in what
I like to call a process of reflection and decision-making
that will hopefully promote their achievement.
It really is a partnership.
And I know that word gets bounced around a lot.
But I do want to think of it as a partnership.
We're working together.
And it's the same with faculty.
So we partner with faculty to promote
their respective majors, obviously,
some of the events and programs that
are happening in their departments.
I mentioned that at the point of the student's admission,
we're that touch point.
I don't think we ever lose that.
So because there are so many services, there are so many--
I mean, if you look at everything
that exists at Temple, it'd be the size of a phone book,
if students even know what that still is today.
But it's very easy to tell the student
to talk to their academic advisor,
because we are the people, the office, the individuals, that
can sort of help them cut through the noise
and get exactly to where they want to go.
So whether it's tutoring, whether it's
wellness resources, whether it's accessibility to a class,
a learning disability, we can help connect them
to all of that, certainly how to find financial resources.
There are very few offices that advising doesn't interact with.
And because we're often the first point of contact
for the students, my hope is that it's easier for them
to reach out to us and find us when they need something.
ANDREW COLETTI: Yeah, that's great.
And I mean, I think you find the range
and what a wide range of services
it really is that you guys provide.
And one-- a couple of things that were standing out
to me in what you said was things like the word
facilitate, collaborate, and partnership, specifically
with students, but also faculty as well.
And I want to start with faculty.
Can you share a few examples or maybe
some ways in which your department is
able to collaborate with faculty members and find success,
whether it is in any one of those ranges of services
that you provide?
JULIAN WHITE: Certainly.
So I mentioned that we are a bit of a touch
point to the student.
Just as important in terms of establishing a connection
are the instructors and the faculty
who teach their courses.
So as much as the students are going
to be getting to know their instructors
and learning the material, we can sort of
be that sort of bridge between what's happening in the class
and how outside of the classroom can maybe
supplement that in some way.
And so what do I mean by that?
So it's the rare Temple or even college student
who at some point doesn't take a course where,
despite their best efforts, it's not going the way they thought,
and they're going to maybe need some help.
That's usually how advising and faculty work hand in hand,
because if it's an academic struggle or a challenge,
the student may reach out to the instructor or the instructor
may see that student struggling and reach out to advising.
And then we get the student the help they need.
More and more, we're seeing that it's not always
the academic challenges.
It's the interpersonal challenges.
It's the getting along with roommates.
It's adjusting with the stress of college.
It's time management.
Again, instructors can sometimes see that,
realize that maybe the student needs a bit of help,
reach out to advising, and we become the bridge
to then connect them to the university resource that
exists to help them.
But there are also some positives there, too.
So we realize that, for many students,
college is all about discovery.
It's about finding their path.
It's about finding the perfect major.
It's about finding that perfect career.
And those are the different ways that we partner with faculty.
We put on lots of events during the academic year, everything
ranging from major minor fairs to different organizational
events.
We have student organizations.
And so we work with the departments
to both connect students to those events,
to connect students with the majors
to help them figure out why does this major make more
sense for me versus another.
And then what are the organizations that
exist, both in the professional realm, on campus,
and how we connect the students to it.
The third one-- and this is actually
one we developed intentionally because
of some of the developmental challenges and really goals
we've set with students.
So we have two courses that are developed out of advising
and taught by undergraduate advisors.
One is our BA 10,001 Freshman Seminar class.
The goal of that class is to help students-- freshmen
transition to college.
But we have a supplement course, our BA 10,002 course, which
is all about major exploration.
And that class really invites the different faculty
from every Fox department to really come in and explain
the different majors to students.
One thing I've always found is that we get some freshmen who
come in, know they're going to be accounting,
and don't then look at anything else.
Or they know they're going to be finance,
or they know they're going to be risk.
What I like about the BA 10,002 course
or what I like about the ability for us to connect with students
and explore other options is that you
don't know what you don't know.
And so you're able to sort of see the range of options
that are available to you.
And hopefully, even if it becomes
a secondary major or even a minor,
your pathways, your trajectory, your future
is now opened in a way because we've
established that kind of bond.
ANDREW COLETTI: Well, thank you.
That was really well said.
And I think you guys serve a really pivotal role,
especially because faculty have so many classes,
so many students.
It's hard for them to-- and this word kept coming up--
was the individual, the individual person,
the individual needs, whether it's
academic goals or their personal goals
or issues that they may be dealing with.
And you're able to reach out, identify
those issues for students and faculty
alike, and kind of provide that service.
So I think that made a lot of sense
about how you guys are able to help faculty.
But you also, obviously, mentioned a lot about students
as well.
And one thing was creating those--
whether again, it's an academic or personal plan
to help a student in the individual,
you talked about some of the strategies
that your department employs to try and help them.
Can you talk a little bit more about how and what
strategies your office tries to use
to help the individual student and get on their level?
JULIAN WHITE: Sure.
So if you know anything about undergraduate advising and Fox,
you realize that we take what's called
a developmental approach.
And what it means is, how we treat
our freshmen is going to be very different than how
we treat a senior.
The biggest difference that it sometimes
takes students a little bit of time to figure out
is that at the freshman/sophomore level,
they're not really assigned a specific academic advisor.
And some of them are shocked by that, because we recognize
really quickly that there are a lot more of them
than there are of us.
But we also know how badly freshmen and sophomores
typically need advising because they're just getting started.
And so what we've done is we've tried to create a model where
because they're not assigned one specific advisor, if they're
a freshman or sophomore-- which at Temple is anyone who's
earned less than 60 credits-- they
can see any member of our freshman/sophomore team.
Now they've got choices.
So instead of going into our appointment system
and only seeing the availability of one advisor,
they may now have the availability of five advisors
that they can see.
And now they have more options to come in and start
doing some of that developmental work that
will see them successfully making progression
through their academic years.
But we often get the response, But then
what if I really like this advisor,
or what if I only want to work with one?
Well, they can do that, too.
So as much as they're not assigned one advisor, when they
go to our appointment system, they'll
see every freshman/sophomore advisor.
And if there's one that they've established a good connection
or a rapport with, they can always
work and seek that specific advisor out.
So we wouldn't stop them from doing that.
When they become a junior, they will then
be assigned their specific advisor
based on their declared major, because if you
look at our foundation, too, you're
going to find that most of our Fox students
are taking the exact same courses
until their junior year.
And that's when it starts to shift and evolve
based on their declared major.
And it's at that point that they really then want
to work with someone to make sure
that they're taking the courses in their proper sequence,
but also starting to pad out their coursework
with experiences that we know are
going to enrich both their resume down the road,
but also their experience, like going abroad,
like finding an internship.
And that's where their declared major advisor
that they get their junior year will help them.
And then, of course, the important thing is graduate.
So it's not just that we sort of help them figure out
their specific major, but those junior/senior advisors are also
responsible for clearing the students for their degree.
So we kind of before they enter their senior year,
we work with the students to develop what's
called a graduation audit.
And that audit helps them plot out their last two semesters
and makes sure that they're ready to graduate.
ANDREW COLETTI: Well, that--
I think the developmental approach that you guys take
makes a lot of sense, both based on where students
are at in their time and graduating freshman
and sophomore, but also along their majors.
I think that makes a ton of sense,
and it really lets our students--
because I remember my time in undergraduate.
And especially as a freshman, running
into the advising office on the last day
that I could to change classes or think about what
I would take for next semester.
And I remember how busy it was, even for them.
But they were just able to help me
and how gracious I was they were able to offer that service.
So I think it's great, especially for the younger
students, the freshmen and sophomores like you said,
to have that opportunity to go in, see whoever they can,
and get the help that they need one way or the other,
and then hammer down on whoever is right for them later
and specialized down their career path.
And I think that speaks a little bit
to how hectic the start of the semester gets.
And nobody knows that better than advisors.
So as this podcast is going to be dropping,
it's going to be the start of the semester.
I'm sure you feel it.
I'm sure the students and faculty feel it as well.
Finally, I just want to end on kind of,
What do you want to say?
Open mic, Julian.
What do you want to say to students and faculty members
as the semester gets started, as we're all
a little nervous about how everything's
going to get going.
What do they need to know, and what should they
be looking to your department for as the semester gets
started?
JULIAN WHITE: Sure.
So first, I'm glad you pointed out the craziness, because it's
not always like that.
And I think part of why you see that craziness
is because oftentimes, it's hard to get students to recognize
and realize that when you start to plan,
you don't have to find yourself having to scramble and see us.
So you talked about the first couple
of weeks of the semester.
That's typically the busiest time for us,
which means it's the worst time to try
to sit down with an advisor and try
to build a four-year plan, which we want everyone to do.
The first week of classes, it's all
about getting you into your fall classes by that point.
So what's my takeaway?
So from an advising standpoint, plan ahead.
One of my best quotes I should say
is that "planning is sort of bringing
the future into the present so that you can do something
about it today."
ANDREW COLETTI: That's awesome.
JULIAN WHITE: I like that because I cannot say enough
about how many emails I get from students after they've missed
a deadline or they've failed a class or a class is closed,
and there's not much we can do at that point.
But if we could turn back the clock,
if you could bring that future reality,
anticipate it, and plan around it right now,
that's where we can be most successful.
So, for me, it's about forget the first couple of weeks.
The reason why I'm glad this podcast is dropping when
it is, is that I would say before the end
of the first month, try to schedule an appointment
with your academic advisor.
And there's two ways to do that.
We try to make it as easy as possible.
Andrew mentioned that this podcast
will be linked to our website.
If you go to our website, you'll see
how you meet with an advisor, and it'll
take you to our website, where you'll
be able to book an appointment with an advisor.
That's the best approach.
But we realize that college students, like most people,
tend to operate in the moment.
And so if you just happen to be walking by our office,
we have what's called same-day advising.
You don't have to book an appointment.
You don't have to go through our appointment system.
You can just walk in and say, Hey,
can I see the same-day advisor?
Now, it's first come, first serve.
So the earlier you come in, the more likely
you'll be able to see someone.
But we do try to take away some of the pressure of always
planning ahead because you realize not every college
student will be at that point.
So you can come in and see us.
We're open Monday through Friday 9:00 to 5:00.
You can see the same-day advisor.
The last thing I'll point out, too,
is we often hear that when they go to the appointment system,
all the appointments are booked.
We are popular.
It does fill very fast.
The other and last takeaway I will say
is that if you're looking for an appointment, if you want
to schedule a time to meet with your assigned advisor
or if you're a freshman/sophomore,
you want to see the availability of freshman and sophomore
advisors, the best time to check is Wednesday at 5:00 PM.
Every Wednesday at 5:00, advisors post appointments
for the following week.
So you're going to have the best options Wednesdays at 5:00.
ANDREW COLETTI: I like that.
That's a little insider secret.
There you go.
Julian, thanks so much.
I know this is a busy time of the year for you
as the semester gets started.
But I really think this information
is really important for both students and faculty to have.
And hopefully, they've been proactive.
Hopefully, they've already started to make their plan.
But if they haven't already, as you were kind of hinting at,
there's no time like the present.
So I want to say thank you again for joining us
on this episode of the podcast, and thanks for sharing
your experience, Julian.
JULIAN WHITE: Thank you, Andrew.
This was great.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
