 |
|
|
| 
|
 All of the research I've seen suggests a caseload of about 350 students is best, but the number depends on the job description for the advisers. In our case the advising is very proactive—professional staff (advisers) are contacting students as they find issues in their progress, faculty contact our office if a student enrolled in their class is not attending, and so on. Several members of the advising staff also have additional responsibilities (such as academic review for study abroad students and programs).From experience I can say the large caseload forces me, as the director, into allowing a large amount of compensatory time for all the professional advisers. Frankly speaking, the advisers cannot keep up with the demands on their time in advising students in a regular work week. When the additional job requirements are added in, there are not enough hours in the day—or work week—to accommodate all the students as well as effectively handle their other responsibilities. I believe any director of advising should carry a caseload if for no other reason it forces the director to actively keep up on advising issues while maintaining an understanding of the current crop of students and what the individual advisers are contending with each day. However, I also believe the caseload for any adviser should be one that is manageable; otherwise it is the student who is hurt in the advising process. Sadly, this indicates the large caseloads are at best a bad idea (and quite possibly unethical), because the student cannot get the best available support from the institution. ~ Keith W. Branham, Ed.D., Western Illinois University, February 12, 2007 I am an adviser at a small school in Northeastern PA. My advising load is approximately thirty-five to forty students who are in the Criminal Justice program. It may not seem like many, but last semester my load was increased to approximately fifty-five due to maternity leave and a sabbatical.What I am trying to explain is that I am also a faculty member teaching a four-course load, so advising can get tricky. My regular office hours increase greatly when advising time rolls around, and there just does not seem to be enough hours in the week. Since I am also involved in committee work and am currently pursuing a Ph.D., I am not sure the advisees are getting my full attention. I love advising, but it is difficult when one is a also a full-time faculty member. Also, for various reasons, not every faculty member shares equally in the advising load. While I may have thirty-five, someone else may have seven. Not much equity in that. ~ Marie Andreoli, M.A., Keystone College, February 15, 2007 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 | |
