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 When answering the question of being “too connected” to my students, I think it is important to understand my charge as an adviser, which is surely retention. As an adviser for undecided students, one of my roles is to developmentally assist students make the transition from high school to college. The public university never seems to have enough funds. Students bring in tuition revenue, and out-of-state students bring even more tuition revenue. It is almost absurd to think that we would make ourselves hard to reach when we rely so heavily on them enrolling, staying, and graduating from our university. I create this balance with effective time management.I do supply them with all my contact numbers and e-mail. I also answer e-mails from my house. I think my approach is similar to what Williams and Sandy Rawlins describes in there article “Academic Advising as Friendship” (NACADA Journal, Fall 2005). My approach in just one example of how the adviser-advisee relationship can be strengthened. Accessibility obviously is an important part of developing any relationship. It could be argued with the population I advise that developing this connection is very important to their retention. The line is drawn by the adviser and if it becomes an issue, the adviser needs to clarify his or her role. ~ Keith Rocci, The University of Arizona, March 2, 2007 I'm a bit frightened that this could actually be the opinion of an academic adviser. Frankly, I find it a bit irresponsible to feel overly put upon in having to answer too many e-mails, voice-mails—even instant messages. Perhaps it's due to the population I serve (undeclared) and the type of institution I represent (a public university with a not remarkably high GPA admission standard)—two factors that can beget a particularly needy population. I'd like to think, though, that these factors shouldn't matter in the advising process. I feel that the strength of the connection between adviser and advisee dictates the effectiveness with which each functions in their respective roles.I use technology in a program that we have taken to referring to as “supplemental virtual advising.” I use school e-mail, Blackboard, instant messaging (IM), and Facebook to help me stay connected to, gain access to, and provide access for my caseload. It's been very effective, in that I continually report above-average retention rates, academic success of, and fantastic evaluations from my caseload of over 300. As for the question of too much access, the professional adviser is always in control of this factor. You can set times at which you are available for IM communications and set “away messages” when you are not. Only you can decide whether or not you'll answer e-mail on the weekend, what you will and will not answer in an e-mail, and when it is necessary for the student to come in for a face-to-face appointment. But to think that you could ever provide too much access to students who depend on you for information seems a bit . . . again, irresponsible. I suppose I could have saved myself all this typing by telling you the title of my upcoming NACADA Region 2 presentation that will take place on Friday, March 30 (and yes, this is also a shameless plug), but I felt it important to highlight my opinion for those who cannot attend. The name of the presentation is “Unlimited Access.” I hope to see some of you on the last Friday of the month. Feel free to e-mail or IM me (vcuesposito on AIM)—you can even look for me on Facebook—I'll take the time to talk with you. ~ Art Esposito, Virginia Commonwealth University, University College, March 5, 2007 I'm not sure there's a good answer. I hold daily office hours, accommodating advising by appointment as well as walk-in, e-mails all day long, and e-mails from home over the weekend. About the only time I'm not available is when I'm out of town and leave the laptop behind. Is this helping my advisees? Hard to tell. I get frustrated at times because no matter what my availability, some students seem to wait till the last minute to do something they've long been aware of and then have an expectation that somehow I will bail them out. They are disappointed when they discover that's not the case.Being too connected in my mind is only an issue for the after-hours or weekend situation. I can't stop e-mail from hitting my inbox, but I can control whether or not I respond. I try not to respond outside of working hours/days, but I end up scanning all of them. Real emergencies always get attention. I do not pass out my personal contact information—they have my office number and e-mail, which I can check from anywhere. I try to encourage them to be professional in their contact—in other words, be responsible to plan their advising appointments/events. Bottom line, though—there is no set rule. You do what you “gotta do” to get the job done—comes with the territory. ~ Ken Weaver, School of Computing, Clemson University, March 5, 2007 “Connecting” is what we do—our advisees with both ourselves and with the institution at large. However, I do feel there are limits to the extent to which we attempt to achieve this task.Obviously, the response to the question and choice of modalities is up to the individual, so I can only express my own personal preferences. My door is always open, and I still believe that face-to-face contact is the best advising format. But circumstances do warrant other modes at times. The question is where the limits or boundaries exist. Again, for my own work, I use the telephone and e-mail regularly, but I draw the line there. My advisees do not have my home phone (although I am listed in the local directory), my cell phone, or my home e-mail account. From my side, I see no (non-emergency) need to use text messaging, IM, or Facebook communication modes. My personal time and means of communication are exactly that—personal—and the time I use for students (which is significant) must be shared among all of them, so I do not want to risk allowing overuse or dominance by a few. This happens enough simply by using e-mail. I tip my hat to those who choose to go beyond what I do. ~ Tom Grites, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, March 5, 2007 “Are we too connected to our students” is an interesting
question—but perhaps it's overly cast to create a binary
answer, e.g., “Yes, we're too connected” or “No, we're not
connected enough.”Another way to reframe the question, to ask about technology as an agent of transformation, could be “How does contemporary technology reshape or recast our connections to students?” For example, consider practices outside of higher education: The Web site of political candidates, e.g., Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, are all applying and experimenting with lessons learned from social networking realms. These second-generation social networking sites (political candidate home pages) are among the resources we could use to evaluate how contemporary technology can be used appropriately, creatively, and productively in higher education advising. ~ Dr. Mark Polishook, Montclair State University, March 5, 2007 It's Not A New DebateThere is little doubt college students are well equipped to use all types of technology. They comfortably use technology and tend to gravitate to all forms of technology media with ease. If we choose to offer advising at every possible option from e-mail, IMs, home phone numbers, etc., with a roster of several hundred plus advisees, we need to think carefully about the quality of advising being offered 24/7. Do we risk adviser burn-out? Students must be taught, as part of the advising process, personal responsibility for making informed decisions about the advising curricula. John Dewey (1932) described in How We Think attitudes necessary for correct thinking: open-minded, wholehearted, and responsible. An advising curriculum needs to incorporate those attitudes into a problem-based, critical-thinking advising curriculum. The danger of becoming all things to all students becomes problematic because it fails to foster personal responsibility, open-mindedness, and wholeheartedness. Technology cannot be a substitute for human contact, nor should technology be ignored because it is a robust tool supporting the academic advising curriculum. It does not have to be an either-or choice, but a careful blend of both. In the 1970s, debates swarmed throughout teacher education programs about whether television in every classroom would eliminate the need for teachers. In the 1980s, another debate surfaced whether computers would eliminate teachers. While cyberschools exist in the early twenty-first century, the question continues to be asked—does technology eliminate teachers? The answer is clear: no technology completely eliminates the teacher-student relationship. The technology supports the teaching-learning process. Technology tools will only support the academic advising curriculum. The line needs to be drawn in carefully defining students' personal responsibility so technology tools do not become overused and students assume a more open-minded, wholehearted, and responsible academic advising experience. ~ Barbara K. Wade, Ph.D., Penn State, March 5, 2007 I think the underlying question should be, “How can we provide the best academic advising and counseling services to our students?” In the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University, our general answer is to supply a great deal of information on paper, by e-mail, and through meetings, but to focus one-on-one contact on in-office meetings (both by appointment and drop in). We often speak of “teachable moments,” but here I want to speak on behalf of “convertible moments”—the many times students appear with what they think are quick technical questions, only to find themselves in a substantive academic counseling session made possible by a few well-placed strategic questions from their academic counselor. Such convertible moments, by their nature, are almost entirely limited to in-person encounters.~ David Potter, Syracuse University, March 5, 2007 When analyzing this question one could ask themselves if the culture of the school warrants academic advisers to be too connected to their students. If students are at-risk and retention strategies are critical to their success and the school's as well, then being too connected could save a student from failing out of school. Being in tune with students' academic needs is vital to their success, but when an academic adviser is too involved in the personal life of that student in hopes to be able to find a balance for success, then yes, there is the possibilities of being too close to students where professionalism is being compromised. In college, there should not be hand-holding and babying of students, but if the culture warrants this due to being conscientious of retention and graduation rates, then we can see that being too connected is the way of life for an academic adviser to aid in students' matriculation.Academic advisers need to concentrate on the strategies for success while allowing students to take ownership of their progression. I believe that academic advisers should provide all elements needed for a student to succeed (tutoring options, workshops, etc.) but I do not believe that they should become the second mother to students who want to fix every and any academic problem because then there could be blurred lines that can be viewed as fraternization when too much access is provided to contact their academic adviser whenever they choose. ~ Michelle T. Hill, Gibbs College, March 6, 2007 I have been reading the responses to the question and the question I have is: are the advisers only advisers or faculty members also? I know some institutions have professional advisers in an advising center.I am a faculty member/adviser and I seem to be “on” a lot of the time due to the fact I end up with some of my advisees in class. They will stop to chat or follow me back to my office or even walk me to my car. I have a Blackboard shell for advising only, and they do have access to my home e-mail but not my home phone, but they could find it in the phone book easily enough. I send out notes of congratulations when I see something in the local paper or the campuswide news. I send reminders when it is time for advising and registration. I believe I have a good enough relationship with my advisees that I can turn them away if they show up unannounced and I am preparing for class, or I can invite them in for a chat if I am not busy. At our institution, we need each and every one of our students and as someone else pointed out, I do what needs to be done. Besides that, I really enjoy it. ~ Marie C. Andreoli, M.A., Keystone College, March 19, 2007 Not AT ALL! “Instant message advising” has really helped me stay on top of everything my students (over 1,000) need/want routinely. I am thrilled to provide the knowledge and information that they need in order to have a successful college experience. Often, it isn't purely about academics—and students appreciate that. I don't believe in “too connected” as students will determine what is enough for them in their own time. They will be done with their adviser long before their adviser is done with them! After all, don't we all have words of wisdom for everyone?~ Kara E. Lattimer, Virginia Tech, March 19, 2007 I am a professional adviser. I am not their mother. To merge my personal and professional lives is not healthy for me, and it only serves to enable students who, for whatever reason, do not take personal responsibility. I am available to students for many hours throughout the work week, but I draw the line when I drive into my driveway. I have had students follow me after work to my car asking questions, and I did not run over them. I have had students follow my grocery cart around Kroger's asking questions, and I did not smash tomatoes in their faces. I have had students see me uptown with my grandsons and ask questions, yet I did not sic the three-year-old on their shins. Amazing restraint I have, don't you think? About once a year, a clever student finds my listing in the phone book and calls me at home with an advising question at night or on a weekend. My reply is always with a truly incredulous tone of voice, “Oh, my! You have accidentally called me at home. I'd love to talk to you when I am working. My work number is ____. Have a nice evening/weekend.” They apologize profusely. It works every time. Students know when they are stepping over the boundaries and are simply seeing if we will put up with it.~ Phyllis Mendenhall, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, March 22, 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 | |
