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first generation college students, students who receive financial
aid, and students with disabilities are considered at greater risk
for dropping out, it is imperative that their college experience
is a positive one from the beginning. The Student Success Center
at John A. Logan College serves, primarily, this population. The
Center houses Disability Support Services, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing
Services, the campus tutoring program, and the federal TRIO program.
Even while serving this at-risk population, statistics show retention
and completion rates for the Center are significantly higher than
rates for the college as a whole. Staff in the Student Success Center
employ an advisement technique called Intrusive Advisement which
they believe accounts for these increased retention and completion
rates. It is an easily implemented style which takes into account
the individuality and diversity of the population. The system has
been well received by students, faculty, administrators, and staff,
as its components contribute to the success of other entities within
the college as well.
Intrusive Advisement
Intrusive advisement is based on the philosophy that the counselor
and the student share responsibility for student academic success
or failure (Connell, 2003). It is more than just putting students
in classes. Intrusive advisement reflects the concept that students
are people who matter. It indicates an understanding that students'
well being (or lack thereof) has an effect on their academic outcome.
The intrusive advisor is actively concerned for the welfare of every
student. This requires responsible, pro-active behavior on the part
of the advisor. Students are seen as individuals whose uniqueness
and diversity are taken into consideration from the beginning of
their academic journey until they have graduated or transferred.
Characteristics of Intrusive Advisors:
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They must truly know the college or university.
There are multiple sources of help for students at any school.
If the advisors have a stake in the student's successful retention
and completion, they must be familiar with the services available
that can prevent potential problems or rescue a struggling
student. On any campus these usually include counseling and
referral services, tutoring, transfer or career assistance,
disability support services, student work, student support
services, non-traditional programs, financial aid, minority
programs, and a myriad of other programs. It is not enough
just to know that programs exist; it is necessary to know
what each program does and the population it serves.
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Advisors must not only know the resources of the college,
but know the staff involved in the various programs.
It is up to the advisor to become well-acquainted with other
professionals. Knowing, specifically, to whom a student should
be referred will also increase the student's chances of success.
It is only logical that a student is more likely to follow through
with a referral if he knows who he is looking for rather than
just walking into an unfamiliar department. Unfortunately, in
some departments there are staff who are less personable than
others. Sending a student to a particular staff person with,
perhaps, a "heads up" call in advance can assure a
welcome from the professional of choice rather than a negative
experience. This also gives the staff person some background
so that he or she is prepared at the first meeting. Additionally,
the call in advance may prevent sending the student to the wrong
person or department and, therefore, on a wild goose chase instead
of a successful mission.
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Intrusive advisors should be trained in all relevant
areas (academic and non-academic) that have a direct impact
on the student's well being and success. This is not
to say that advisors need to know as much as the professional
staff in every department of the college, but that they need
to be familiar with how things work. For example, if the student
receives financial aid, there are penalties that could occur
if a student drops a class. Advisors do not need to understand
the entire workings of the financial aid process, but need to
know enough about the process to inform the student of potential
consequences. If advisors do not know the specifics, they need
to make an immediate call to get the necessary information.
It is the intrusive advisors' responsibility to inform the student
rather than just dropping the class and saying nothing. One
thing we know for certain about being human is that, if we don't
know something, we often don't know to ask. The advisors must
be willing to intervene and to inform the student, thus preventing
the failure frequently resulting from "no one told me and
I didn't know to ask."
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Intrusive advisors should be available so that they
can be reached by the student when needed. A student
should be able to drop in to get an answer to a "quick"
question but make appointments if the question or effort involved
requires more than a few minutes. The advisor should be on time
for appointments and spend the time wisely (Railsback, 1998). |
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Intrusive advisors should monitor advisee progress with
and without the student. Regularly reviewing and updating
a curriculum guide should be mandatory. If a student drops or
fails a class, she may not mention it when coming in to sign
up for the next semester. Then, when she thinks her required
courses have been completed, may find another semester is required.
Ideally, the advisor and the advisee should have a plan for
future semesters so that both know what to expect. Students
rarely take the initiative to make such a plan but are very
pleased if a plan is made.
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Intrusive advisors maintain clear boundaries with the
student. They are neither the students' parent nor their
best friend, but a professional whose job it is to foster independence
while teaching the student the advisement process. The advisors
need to show genuine concern for the success of the students.
Personal characteristics should include a positive attitude,
empathy, openness, and honesty. |
Research
Research regarding retention indicates that intrusive advisement
is essential to college retention programs. The college advisor
is often the first person with whom a student has one-on-one contact,
and it is critical that this meeting be a positive experience. Effective
retention programs have come to understand that academic advising
is the very core of successful institutional efforts to educate
and retain students (Tinto 1987). The advisor must be able to meet
a student and immediately make him or her comfortable in order to
create strong connections between the student and the institution.
This one-on-one relationship between advisor and student is essential
in retaining students. Interpersonal relationships and sustained
contact are important factors in advising success and students'
satisfaction with advising (Winston et al., 1984). The advisement
session must go beyond scheduling and registration to be meaningful.
Intrusive advisors must take time to teach students how to be advised.
This experience will be helpful to students in many other aspects
of their education.
Student Outcomes
Because intrusively advised students are able to gain knowledge
about their institution and about the world of higher education,
they are able to discover more opportunities available to them.
These students learn an important foundation on which they are able
to build once they leave the community college and enter a university.
The intrusive advisor takes time to teach important concepts like
degree options, course requirements, pre-requisites, and graduation
requirements. In addition to these, the advisor shares information
about support services, campus activities and college resources.
Knowing this information, the student is able to ask relevant questions
and make informed decisions about the college experience.
In addition to being more informed, intrusively advised students
feels more connected to their institution because of the relationship
with their advisors. This relationship is one which focuses on the
positive abilities of the student. According to Crookston (1972),
intrusive advisement focuses on the potentialities of the student,
instead of focusing on his or her limitations, as is the case in
the registration and scheduling style of advisement. Intrusive advisement
relationships focus on identifying and accomplishing life goals,
acquiring skills and attitudes that promote intellectual and personal
growth, and sharing concerns for each other and for the academic
community (Crookston, 1972). The intrusive advisor understands retention
and success are not only impacted by academic preparedness but also
by students' personal and social issues.
Student Success Center Outcomes
The Student Success Center at John A. Logan is composed of four
programs, all of which work with at-risk students. Currently the
center has four academic advisors who have practiced intrusive advisement
for approximately four years, and the results are quite positive.
The Center currently monitors the retention, graduation, academic
standing and grade-point averages of the students who are intrusively
advised. The following table shows the Center's results in these
areas for the past three academic years:
Student Success Center
John A. Logan College
Student Outcomes
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2000 - 2001
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2001 - 2002
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2002 - 2003
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| Retention* |
87%
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81%
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78%
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| Graduation** |
60%
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53%
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55%
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| Good
Academic Standing *** |
88%
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87%
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87%
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Average
GPA
(based on 5.0 scale)
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3.730
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3.814
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3.732
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*Measured from fall to subsequent fall semester.
**Defined as graduating within 150% time of normal degree completion.
***Defined as having a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
The results shown above far exceed the campus averages for retention
and graduation. The following graph compares the Student Success
Center results with John A. Logan College students at-large, who
are not intrusively advised.
Retention and Graduation
Rates
Student Success Center and John A. Logan College
2001-2002 and 2002-2003
Intrusive advisement is an easily implemented comprehensive system
that helps institutions increase retention and graduation rates.
When the advisor and student jointly share responsibility for the
student's success, and the individuality and diversity of each student
is taken into account, the chances of a successful college experience
increase. National research supports the use of intrusive advisement
in campus retention programs. Actual data from the John A. Logan
College Student Success Center supports this philosophy as well.
References
Connell, Daniel. (2003, January 10). Academic intrusion vs.
intervention. SAEOPP 2003 Retention and Graduation Strategies
Training Workshop. Las Vegas, NV.
Crookston, B. B. (1972). A developmental view of academic advising
as teaching. Journal of College Student Personnel, 13, 12-17.
Railsback, Gary. (1998). Improving academic advising at the community
college. ERIC Digest. (ERIC Documentation Reproduction Service
No. ED320647). Retrieved January 10, 2003, from http://www.
ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed320647.html
Tinto, Vincent. (1987). Increasing student retention. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Winston, R. B., Jr., Grites, T.J., Miller, T.K., & Ender, S.C.,
(1984). Improving academic advising. In R. B. Winston, Jr., T. K.
Miller, S.C. Ender, & T. J. Grites (Eds.), Developmental
academic advising: Addressing students' educational, career, and
personal needs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cheryl Thomas is the director of the Student Success Center
at John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL. She has served as director
since 1997. Cheryl received her bachelor's degree from the University
of Illinois, Urbana, IL, and her master's degree from Southern Illinois
University, Carbondale, IL. She can be reached at cherylthomas@jalc.edu.
Jane Minton is an academic advisor/counselor/term faculty member
at John A. Logan College. She has a bachelor's degree in Business
Administration from the University of Maryland, a bachelor's degree
in Psychology from McKendree College, Lebanon, IL, and a master's
degree in Gerontology from the University of South Florida, Tampa,
FL. She can be reached at janeminton@jalc.edu.
Cheryl and Jane have been presenting programs on intrusive advisement
for over a year. Both feel very strongly about the impact of advisement
on the success or failure of college students.
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