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 “Distance advising is a challenge for me.
Not just far-flung distance learners, but local
advisees two blocks away. I find electronic
correspondence doesn't save time (for
me) – it takes me more time and effort to
write effective e-mails. The color spectrum
of the type of 'e-talking' is reduced. Fewer
shades and hues are available than
face-to-face, so I better make sure I choose
my 'colors' carefully.But it helps students, and I'm trying some things. E-mail has features that let you filter e-mails that contain key words (such as 'graduation') into a hot list. It also lets me prepare 'drafts' of frequently used stock answers that I can plug into my responses. Wes Lipschultz also gave me the idea of routing advisees or prospects to my Web-advising site, which could take the student through a series of questions and linkages in preparation for our first meeting or e-mail.” ~ Phil Ladwig, Wichita State University, March 6 “Very carefully. Example: I recently contacted by e-mail a former student athlete who left the university with about 30 semester hours. He is in another country, and while I am fairly confident that he is the person I intended to contact, I am not able yet to determine with 100% certainty that he is the person at the other end of the e-mail. I would like to hear from others how they deal with this issue.”~ Don Barker, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, March 6 “I advise 450 degree seeking business undergraduates who are adult learners at a distance with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. I am the first full-time professional adviser in this position. I prefer phone conversations for advising students but also use e-mail and at times, postal mail. I have been in this position 7 months, focusing my energy to build systems to manage what I do, in addition to learning the complex content of advising and of course, the actual advising of the students. I have developed some 'stationery' in Eudora, that explain various topics and procedures, which can easily be sent or cut/pasted as needed to respond to a given student in e-mail or regular mail. I'd like to network with other distance advisers.”~ Patty Zugenbuehler, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, March 6 “For a number of years at our campus we have conducted telephone interviews by appointment for new first-semester students from out of state who have managed to take our placement tests. We call the students to set up an appointment asking them to reserve 30 minutes for the call. Prior to the call we send a packet of materials for the student including their test profiles, general education information, etc. The goal of the call is to help the student to feel welcome to the university, to have a contact person whom they can call or e-mail for further information, to explain the test profile and major requirements, and to develop a schedule of classes for the fall semester. Enough time is allotted for questions and student concerns. The students are encouraged to stop in to the office once they arrive on campus to finally have a face-to-face meeting. The call is followed up by a mailed copy of the student's schedule and any other information that the student may have requested. While this type of contact is not as desirable as the face-to-face contact, it serves the purpose, and alleviates student anxiety about scheduling at the last minute. I have had many students stop in the first few days of the semester to say 'Hi, I spoke with you on the phone. I just wanted to stop in to finally meet you.' Sometimes the students will follow up by e-mail. Some of my closest student/adviser relationships have started with a phone interview.”~ Elsie M. Boucek, Penn State McKeesport, March 6 “As an adviser for Penn State's Distance
Education/World Campus, much of our
contact is at a distance. We have five
advisers each assigned to phone duty so
there is an adviser 'on-call' Monday thru
Friday 8AM-5PM. Needless to say, the
phone rings off the hook. We also have
constant email for inquiries, degree
evaluations, policies and procedures, and
resources. We also have walk-in times
available Monday thru Friday 8-5 as well.
Degree students are provided a student ID
after they take their first course, and
currently, we are working on a student portal
and peer mentoring group for students so
students feel more connected to the
university. Any input on mentor training is
helpful and for those of you who would like
more contact with distance education
advisers, you can subscribe to NACADA's
Distance Education listserv at
www.nacada.ksu.edu.”~ Kim Furst, Penn State Distance Education/World Campus, March 8 The Mentor is published by Penn State's Division of Undergraduate Studies Available online at www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/ Privacy and Legal Statements | Copyright | © The Pennsylvania State University | All rights reserved | |
