Available Courses

• Managing the Student Services Process

  

   

  PAPSA Management Training Institute
  

  Module 3. Managing the Student Services Process
  

  Topic: Student Advising
  

  Student Advising Concepts
  

  Career schools understand the importance of providing students with a strong support network that addresses various aspects of the challenges they face as students. In expanding and refining the student services functions, advising programs should address the areas that the school identifies as most significant for student success.
  

  Many schools have incorporated an advising program to focus on new students who are most vulnerable to dropping out. The design of this program usually involves the following features.
  

  • Staff members are assigned a small number of incoming students to meet and maintain contact with for a specified period of time which is usually the first quarter, semester or module.
    

  • Students have this main point-of-contact to get questions clarified, to offer encouragement, to introduce them to others students, and to provide direction and guidance as they get familiar with the school.
    

  • Staff advisors are encouraged to seek their advisees out, meet with them as often as possible, write notes of encouragement, try to identify concerns early, involve other staff members with any issues that create potential problems, and be an active solution seeker.
    

  • Some schools involve all staff members. Others rotate the responsibility. Some only involve instructors. Some offer additional compensation.
    

  • Advisors should have clear role descriptions so that they know what issues to delve into with students and what concerns to refer elsewhere. 

  They should be familiar with the various resources available to students both within the school and outside.
  

  • Some schools offer training for advisees for consistency and program effectiveness.
    

  • Some students will be more dependent on the advisor than others. Nevertheless, the advisor should seek to establish a good rapport with each advisee.
    

  • The most effective advisor programs provide time and materials for the advisors to fulfill their responsibilities.
    

  • Confidentiality is a major requirement. Student situations and concerns should never be topics of idle conversation.
    

  • It is important that student advisors understand that their role is one of an advisor not as counselor. Student advisors should be careful to document their conversations with students and closely follow the situation through to its successful outcome.

  • The school director should be the main receiving source of any unique circumstances that deep concern.

  Another advising concept involves establishing a support position to concentrate
  

  on all students. This advisor gets deeper into academic and attendance
  

  monitoring. Students are referred to the advisor by instructors as soon as they
  

  recognize a potential problem.
  

  Another advising concept involves hiring a qualified counselor. This is not a
  

  common practice in career schools. The actual counseling of students,
  

  particularly on personal issues, is usually referred to an outside agency. It is
  

  important that all staff members know the resources available to students so that
  

  they can encourage students and not ignore an issue because they aren’t aware
  

  of the help available. 

  Getting involved in students’ personal problems can be risky and yet we know that many of our students need some attention and help. They need to know that while the school may not have qualified staff to help them, referrals are available and the staff does care.
  

  The student services department should maintain a list of counseling resources. In addition, any other lists that can help students solve potential problems should be available including car pool lists, housing lists, various agency lists, day care lists, etc. All lists should be current and easily available. 

  There are several factors to consider when establishing an advising program.
  

  Considerations:
  

  • The current workload and expectations of staff members
    

  • The manageable number of advisees
    

  • The grouping of advisees with a mentor (i.e., by curriculum, age)
    

  • The method of evaluating the effectiveness of the program
    

  • The funds that will be devoted to the program
    

  Peer Advising Programs
  

  Students supporting students is powerful! There are numerous ways to organize and conduct a peer advising program.
  

  Considerations:
  

  • The objectives of the program need to be clearly determined. Some programs might be strictly limited to offer tutoring assistance. Other programs resemble the staff advising program. There are a number of factors to address.
    

  • Some programs involve student support teams that are designed to be points-of-contact for all students, not just new students. Instructors recommend students who have completed at least half of their program of studies. All programs have a few support team members whose names, pictures and contact information are posted. Students are encouraged to contact a support team member with any questions or concerns that they prefer to address with a fellow student, at least initially. The team members are encouraged to participate in orientation and campus activities. Instructors and other staff members may request that a team member contact a student or vise versa. The student support team members might meet occasionally and a staff advisor is recommended. 

  • Identification and selection of students to serve as peer advisors must be clearly determined.
    

  • Role descriptions must be specific and reviewed carefully with the peer advisors.
    

  • Training should be organized for peer advisors so that the parameters are clearly communicated.
    

  • Incentives for the peer advisors may be considered. Students appreciate the recognition in the form of a letter to include in their employment portfolios. Other tokens of appreciation for their efforts may include school promotional items like jackets, lab coats, book bags or gift certificates. 

  Both staff and peer advising programs can be high maintenance, but they can have very positive impacts on student success. With the short time that many students are actually enrolled and the demands on everyone’s time, the

  commitment must be strong, the administrative support can not falter and the purpose must be reinforced with results.
  

  Academic Advising Programs
  

  Peer advising efforts do not replace the need for instructors to support student success, achievement and retention. Instructors should not only provide lessons which create the opportunity for the students to achieve outcomes but also develop activities which support student persistence. These activities are called academic advising or tutoring. 

  Considerations:
  

  <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Academic advising and tutoring may be voluntary. This may be done through office hour appointments or academic support sessions may be made available for drop-in and last-minute requests.
  

  <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Instructors should monitor student progress weekly and may also choose to assign students to mandatory advising or tutoring. These sessions are designed to directly provide students with the skills and study habits needed to succeed in the course.
  

  <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->In both instances, students should sign an advisory form indicating that they received academic support that can be kept in their file for future reference.
  

  <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->To provide a successful academic advising program, school personnel should establish a strong method of communicating the names of students who needed assistance who may be in jeopardy of failing class. Communication to the student services coordinator, education director and department chairperson is key to ensuring the success of the advising program.
  

  <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Each school should look carefully at the needs of students to determine what kind of program would be most effective in their school.
  

  Personal Advising Programs
  

  Students who experience problems in school are often experiencing problems outside of school that prevent them from studying completing their assignments. Some schools retain a student services advisor or counselor to assist in these issues and provide referrals for students whose problems exceed their ability to provide adequate service such as abuse and homelessness. Schools that offer the most successful student service programs have a combination of both academic and personal advising programs to assist students in all areas that impact persistence.
  

  Considerations:
  

  <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Individuals selected for personal advising must be well trained in the areas of confidentiality, FERPA, and crisis management.
  

  <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Personal advisors must have an outlet to communicate a crisis situation to the school administration to insure school safety and security.

   

  <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->A careful selection of a personal advisor is key to a successful program. Personal advisors should serve as COACH not COUNSELOR, especially if they are not licensed to provide counseling.
  

  
  

• Managing the Education Process

  

  This module is designed to acquaint aspiring school directors, as well as school directors with less than 3 years experience, with the basic concepts and fundamentals of managing the education functions in career schools. Participants will focus on structuring effective management processes while supervising people, strategizing for success, handling conflicts and making good decisions.