Category: Research

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So I really feel like I have been on a quest for precisely the type of information I just found.

Transformations in academic advising as a profession

For the first time, I have found a recent piece of literature that connects directly to the goals of my innovation plan. Let me see if I can explain this connection and my excitement at finding it.  

I struggle to accurately explain why an innovation involving blended learning (Horn & Staker, 2017) could revolutionize advising. An advising innovation will impact students and advisors at my institution for all reasons cited in this body of work.

My innovation plan seeks to create more time and comfortable space within advising appointments for meaningful interactions (Troxel et al., 2021). Until we find an effective way to get the course registration and degree plan requirements out of the way, advising will continually miss potentially life-altering opportunities. 

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My action research study will utilize a quantitative design to narrowly focus on any correlation between study agency over accurate course registration and a blended learning advising module on the same topic. 

• Variable one:
  • A blended learning advising module covering how and where to find degree plan requirements, degree progression plans, course registration procedures, and other registration-related tasks such as holds, balances, or action items needed for course registrations. 
• Variable two: 
  • Student agency, as evidenced by the ability to outline course plans accurately and effectively before the advising session for the upcoming registration period. 

Methods:

• Student pre-advising Likert and Likert-like questions regarding upcoming course registration, advising module information, and overall perceptions of readiness for next semester’s course registration
• Advisor post-advising Likert and Likert-like questions regarding the accuracy of course selections made by the student, the quality of questions students ask during advising sessions and the advisor’s perceptions of the student’s preparedness for course registration. Advisors will rank the accuracy of registration plans and relevance to the student’s degree program. Finally, advisors will rate the overall advising interaction and depth of conversation. 

References

Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2017). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. John Wiley & Sons.

Troxel, W. M., Bridgen, S., Hutt, C., & Sullivan‐Vance, K. A. (2021). Transformations in academic advising as a profession. New Directions for Higher Education, 2021(195–196), 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20406