Academic Advising for Employability Contribution to Fresh Thinking on Personal Tutoring and Academic Advising: Towards New Models of Practice

Supporting academics to support student employability HEA Strategic Enhancement Project: Student Employability Stream (£10K funding) Institution-wide group to develop guidance and resources to support academic advising for employability (‘non-vocational’ programmes) The Group: Faculty Academic Leads: Christine Rogers & Alison Fisher (MHS), Andrew Balmer (Humanities), Louise Walker (EPS), Keith Brennan (FLS) Project Developer: Lily Freeman (MGIP & BA Econ Politics graduate) TLSO: Louise Walmsley, Geoff Carter (wider AA Toolkit development), Patricia Clift-Martin (My Manchester & My Student Projects) Directorate Student Life: Paul Redmond (Director), Tammy Goldfeld (Head of Careers), Andrew Whitmore (Head of Information, support & guidance) Student, Alumni Representatives: numerous Employer network: numerous

Advising Taught Students Policy Updates and expands upon the Academic Advisor role agreed in 2008 (Personalisation of learning) – for UG and PG taught Policy will be supported by an online ‘toolkit’ developed by TLSO The role: Reviewing assessments & achievements & giving guidance Pastoral support – gateway to appropriate services Preparation for life after graduation – reflect on skills; develop experiences; highlight resources; writing references Clinical training requirements Keep a record of discussions at each meeting and agree actions

Highlighting ‘Employability’ Roles From “Principles of the Advising Role”: Support the academic, personal & professional development of students, assisting them to develop skills for employment, entrepreneurship and global citizenship in a structured process that is clearly articulated Be based on meetings and other contact between a student and advisor which are scheduled at regular points Advisors are not expected to be the only port of contact, nor be experts in all areas, but should provide guidance, advice and signposting

Role of the University Support Advisors and Senior Advisors Provide easily accessible information; guidance and training Recognise performance in advising

Research Conducted an audit on existing careers provision in the university focus groups with current students interviews with academic advisors and 1 focus group focus group & interviews with recent Alumni Every faculty has been represented

Common themes-Academics Most want to help students, but do not feel qualified to offer careers advice Although they realise students do need to think about careers, some academic advisors don’t think university should be about ‘churning out a workforce’. Academics are keen to help students think about skills they have acquired Many are not aware of university strategy or policy Some do not believe it is part of their role to support employability ‘I feel personally we gear our education too strongly towards what employers want to see’

Common themes - students Very mixed feelings on employability activities they have to do in the curriculum General lack of awareness about the careers service They would like more guidance from their academic advisors regarding future plans Many don’t know what to do because they want to move away from their degree subject Assumption that they will get a graduate level job after graduating. Thinking about future is scary, and many do spend a lot of time thinking about future plans, without any progress Some found it helpful, especially those who have placement years, others found it a waste of time. Thik about future plans a lot, even if they can’t decide anything and it doesn’t et hem any closer to knowing what they want to do However, this seems to be more from students that have a good relationship with their AA. Many who don’t would think AAs don’t hav time to talk about it or would find it weird because the AA does not know them. Seems to be a lack of knowledge about differen specialist information the careers service can give you. Also a belief to go there you have to know what you want to do

Common themes - alumni University is a business; cares about their employment stats They wish they’d started thinking about careers earlier They appreciated the value of employability activities more since leaving Choosing what they want to do is one of the most difficult decisions they have had to make up to this point When I challenged one person on this they said ‘some people care, individuals do but the university as a whole just sees you as a statistic’ Many said they did meed to start looking for jobs earluer, as as soon as thy leave uni they are unemployed. Many said it would have been really helpful if someone had told them they should start thinking about it and had been pro active Many would like to stiull be in touch with their academic advisors

Published Research: Employability & Student Engagement What predicts ‘engagement’ in career-enhancing behaviours? Having a ‘goal’ – identifying a career goal: can be broad (graduate job) or specific (HR management) Being High in ‘Career Self-efficacy’ – I believe I can do the things I know I need to do Being ‘conscientious’ – a personality characteristic associated with doing what is expected, and showing self discipline

Conclusions Even if staff are not engaged with university strategy, they are genuinely motivated to help their students out However, many academics don’t feel confident offering advice on student’s future plans Many students often are daunted by thinking about careers, so tend to put off being pro active These conclusions have influenced our philosophy…

Principles Academic advisers are not recruiters or careers consultants. Academic advising should make use of and not seek to reproduce the infrastructure around employability and the wealth of resources available to students via existing internal and external sources. Academic advisers should draw on their knowledge of their discipline and their advisees to support students. Employability is just one element of academic advising and so has to be developed within existing constraints on time, expertise, and so on.

Principles Supporting students with employability should be as practical as possible. Supporting students should be about helping them to reflect and to recognise the importance of working to develop their confidence in their employability. The model must be flexible so that it can be adapted across disciplines and used with students who are more or less confident and engaged. The model should be complementary to the My Future Framework.

Approach To help shape how academic advisers support their students to progress in developing their academic skills, confidence, employability & wellbeing. To provide academic advisers with simple, practical materials to help their students to progress. To provide a framework for advising that both advisors and advisees understand and value

Discuss Prioritise Working Together Review progress. Explore thoughts & feelings. Provide support. Identify options. Agree actions. Set deadlines. Identify sources of support & back-ups.

Discuss Prioritise Implement Reflect Agree actions. Set deadlines. Identify sources of support & back-ups. Review progress. Explore thoughts & feelings. Provide support. Identify options. Working Together Student’s Responsibility Identify steps & barriers. Make a precise plan. Do it. Review actions. Recognise impacts. Archive for future use.

Supporting Materials Discuss Prioritise

Supporting Materials Implement Reflect

Crucial Features Cyclical, embeds reflection, emphasises development and progress, and is concerned with student’s experience of employability. Supported by practical materials that are simple and quick to complete. Clearly demarcates responsibility so that: Academic advisers are responsible for helping the student to progress by encouraging them through discussions, encouraging them to set priorities, and checking-up on progress since the last meeting. Students understand that they are responsible for taking action, finding sources of information and support, and building up a set of reflections that can be used in future contexts.

Embedding the toolkit within the broader support network Implementation of the model – currently piecemeal – fully integrated in some Schools with Academic Adviser training Supported by central ‘Teaching and Learning Support Office’ website resource - Academic Adviser Toolkit Linked to ‘My Students’ Dashboard for Academic Advisers Training included in our ‘New Academics Programme’

Contributors to Model University of Manchester Colleagues: Dr Alison Fisher, Dr Andy Balmer, Dr Louise Walker, Professor Keith Brennan, Dr Paul Redmond, Lily Freeman