Introducing the Academic Advising Model The principles underpinning the design of the model The model Why use the model Applying the model Using supporting documentation

Principles: Personalisation and developing independence and confidence Academic advising should make use of and not seek to reproduce the infrastructure around student support (including employability) and the wealth of resources available to students via existing internal and external sources Academic advisers personalise academic and pastoral support (the caring face of a large institution – with electronic resources – websites don’t care) Academic advisers should draw on their knowledge of their discipline, their own skills and of their advisees to offer support Model should embed principles of developing independence & self- confidence within a supportive environment

Principles: Supporting student employability 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 confidence in their employability Flexible so that it can be used with students who are more or less confident and engaged The model should be complementary to the My Future-Next Steps model (5 key themes: Communicating & Influencing/Exploration & Stretch/Building Connections/Enthusiasm, Drive & Persistence/Recognising & reflecting on skills)

Academic Advising Model Discuss Prioritise Review progress, explore thoughts and feelings & provide support. Agree priority & set deadlines. Discuss Sheet Student Action Sheet Implement Reflect Review achievements, consider your approach & reflect on progress. Make a precise plan & Do it!

Why use this model for Academic Advising? It can be applied to all students, regardless of the stage in their university career It is devised to develop independence and confidence in a supportive environment It empowers the academic and student to work together to identify a an individual student’s challenges, aims and priorities It uses the skills and experience of academics to ask questions, to prioritise to meet aims and to work collaboratively to achieve goals It places importance on reflection and learning from actions Supporting documentation allows recording and monitoring of the process

Applying the Model The process outlined in the model can be applied to three key domains of student life: Academic progress Wellbeing and personal development (developing self confidence) Employability and future focus

Supporting Documentation & Guides Academic Advisors & students should make use of the Discussion, Prioritising, Implementation and Reflection sheets Example documents are provided to show how the process might work Recording the priorities and actions by saving the files for individual students will aid discussion and allow monitoring of achievements over time Academic Advisor & Student forms and ‘Making the Most of the Model’ documents are available on the TLSO ‘academic advising’ webpages