Automatic Advisor Assignments Colleen Morishita, Dynamic Campus Autumn Brackley, College of Western Idaho 7/30/15 Enrollment and Student Services Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Session Rules of etiquette Please turn off you cell phone/pager If you must leave the session early, please do so as discreetly as possible Please avoid side conversation during the session Thank you for your cooperation! Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Introduction Our presentation is a story about how batch processing advisor assignments just did not meet the needs of our institution, staffing, or our advising model. We initiated change for the next thing we want to be, and the next next thing we want to be. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Our Status quo (in 2012) Faculty Advising Model 45 students per full-time faculty 85% of our instructors adjunct status Four professional advisors Growth from 1700 students (2009) to 8500 (2012) Solution: Assign general advisor codes which meant NOTHING Use the Section Header Master Slide for topic transitions. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Observation 1 “Good advising may be the single most underrated characteristic of a successful college experience.” --Richard Light How do generic codes and most students lacking a specific advisor emphasis the importance of Advising Services? The math won out Doubled the staff Assignments were made Use this area to elaborate on each talking point. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

observation 2 How do we assign advisors supporting the faculty model? Relying only on Colleague delivered reports Balance the loads for faculty “Leftovers” went to professional advisors Process started after census and took FOUR weeks in the fall and TWO in the spring Use this area to elaborate on each talking point. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Observation 3 No intentional communication to students about advising (just registration) In the mean time. . . Administration supported moving to a mandatory Advising & Registration Session for new students Two faculty advisory groups meeting to revisit advising model for our college Use this area to elaborate on each talking point. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Please help us automate! Charter written Admissions process considered Communication planning considered Programs, advisor loads, locations considered Support gained from administration Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Automating Advisor Assignment Create custom table and custom form for updating the table Automating the advisor assignment for new students and major changes Communications created for new student and major changes New reports created for tracking advisor assignment Use the Section Header Master Slide for topic transitions. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Create a Custom Table and Form Create a custom table for Advisors by Program (and Counties) W35.Programs.Advisors Custom Table Key County Start Date Academic Program* Advisor ID* End Date (End Date is null for current Advisors) Counties Key when applicable Entered by System when link is created Use this area to elaborate on each talking point. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Custom Form for program Advisor Relationship Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Automating the Assignment of Advisors for New Students and Program Changes: Four options for the automated advisor assignment process All applications with the move to student process as of today’s date Specify a date (or range of dates) of the move to student process Specify a start term associate with current move to student application Reset advisor when student has changed program with in a specified date range Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Custom form for student advisor assignment process Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Reports created by Assignment Process Assignment results in an excel format Exceptions report in text format Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Reports created by Assignment Process (Cont.) Program change results in excel format Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Communications Can be triggered from the advisor assignment form Notifying students of Advisor assignment Can be triggered from the advisor assignment form Used Ellucian delivered @MIO.Mail process Have two separate emails, one for new students, and one for Major Changes. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Custom form for student advisor assignment process Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

The @MIO.Mail Process Two Step Process Find all applications with a move to student date in last 30 days Find STUDENT.ADVISMENT record created in the last 30 days with type of major Search MAILING record for outstanding com codes that were previously assigned Once found, all parameters required for the @MIO.Mail process are assigned. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Emails to students Email to New Students Email to Program change students Dear First name Last name, Congratulations on your acceptance to College of Western Idaho! An important element to student success is meeting regularly with you academic advisor. You advisor is committed to helping you reach your academic goals while attending CWI. Prior to registration, students must attend a new student Orientation, Advising and Registration (OAR) session. Attending the OAR session is your first official interaction with academic advising. As you progress through your degree at CWI, I recommend you meet with your advisor at least once a semester, prior to registration. Your Advisor: Josee Ward Contact email: joseeward@cwidaho.cc I wish you great success in your future. Autumn Brackley, M.A. Director, Advising & New Student Services OAR Information: http://cwidaho.cc/future-students/orientation- advising-registration-oar Dear First Name,   In response to your recent Major Change Form, your advisor assignment has also changed. Your Advisor has been change to Kurtis King. You will find your advisor's contact information by logging in to your myCWI, clicking on Toolkit for Students, and then clicking on My Profile. The CWI advising team recommends you meet with your advisor at least once a semester to ensure you are on track to meet your goals. Best of luck, Autumn Brackley, M.A. Director, Advising & New Student Services Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Advisor assignment Reports Inactive Advisees: Students with active advisement record, but have been inactive in specified term Advisor Advisees: Listing of all advisees by advisor Program Changes No Advisor: Listing of active students with no advisor assigned Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Advisor assignment Report form Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Inactive advisee report Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Advisor Advisee Report Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Program change report Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

No advisor Report Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Results! Advisors assigned when the student is ACCEPTED to the institution Communication Plan! Congrats on your admission; advisor assigned email (5 days) Advisor introduction with “fun facts” (14 days) Postcard with message about academic success opportunities (1x month) Students are reaching out to us! Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Session Summary The batch advisor assignment process was not working for our advising model With some customizations, we automated the advisor assignment process We increased communications to students about advising Created more robust reporting for advising department Results are already being felt, students are reaching out to advisors sooner, and we are excited to see the impact on persistence. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Questions & answers ? Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Thank You! Colleen Morishita colleenmorishita@cwidaho.cc Autumn Brackley autumnbrackley@cwidaho.cc Coeur d’Alene, Idaho