Developing the Faculty Advisor-Student Connection Beth Higgins University of Southern Maine NACADA 2015 © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

“The role of academic advising depends on the ability of advisors to communicate and build relationships that provide a foundation for meaningful conversations and interactions.” Hughey, 2011

Model of Academic Advising Relational Fit © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

Relational Connection

Connection Defined The energy individuals feel when they are supported and gain strength from a relationship where they are seen, heard, and valued in a non-judgmental way. (Brown, 2010)

A student reflects on connection…. You just know it’s going to be a great relationship, that’s how I would describe it. It just happens, I don’t know how to put it into words. You experience it once and you just know that that’s it and there’s nothing else, and you just have to go with it. You know everywhere. It’s an overwhelming feeling I guess. It’s weird, you can’t put a word to it until you experience it and even then you can’t really describe it.

Research: Faculty-Student Connection  To gain an understanding of the lived social interactions of the academic advising relationship.  Explore how the connectedness experienced by the advisor-advisee influences the student and advisor experience.  Influence, perceptions, experience

Data Collection Interviews 20 Individuals 10 Pairs Documents Promotion and tenure guidelines Accreditation Report Undergraduate catalog Advising training website Faculty and student survey results Observation Reflection Physical environment

Institutional Documentation Themes  Lack of Institutional Priority  Unevenness  Connection © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

Lack of Institutional Priority  Documents note importance  Contradiction

Unevenness  Inequity of advising loads  Service or Teaching  Faculty advising skill-set  Education and assessment

Connection  Students desire faculty connection  Disconnect with faculty  Expectations of connection

Interview Themes  Connection  Supportive Actions  Relational Development © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

Connection  Ease and Likability  Feeling Comfortable  Authenticity

A faculty advisor reflects on ease… “She’s so cognizant and aware of what the structure of the curriculum is, she can navigate for herself but she just at times needs feedback.... so I would characterize it as an easy relationship,... she meets me halfway.”

Knowledge gained through advising creates a sense of likability….  Student: “Being able to have, like, that professional person to bounce things off and also know me and my personal experiences.... I’ve really looked forward to setting up appointments with her and going in... she will share things with me about the work she is doing outside the classroom which is really cool so I see her as more of a rounded person rather than a person who is a professor, an advisor, so it feels like a good, strong professional relationship.”  Faculty: “I know she has lots of interests and she’s very serious now about her degree and her learning. She has always been serious about her learning but I know that is not all she is or wants, so we talk about that stuff too.”

A little on comfort from faculty…  “I am trying to cement that ongoing relationship, professional relationship, with the student so that they have someone to go to.”  “She is comfortable coming in and checking in and I think I’m pretty comfortable with her sort of asking questions.... I am comfortable pushing her to clarify her own ideas about things.”

Comfort from a student…. “I kind of got to talk to her about my experiences there [international exchange] and that was when we really blossomed as a relationship. I wouldn’t consider her my main confidant by any means, but I definitely feel comfortable going to her.”

Authenticity  “He doesn’t put up a front because he doesn’t have to, he is just very real all the time.”  “It feels natural.”

Authenticity builds trust….  Student: “I trust her completely. She has myself and my best interest at heart. This sounds cheesy but I am so grateful that this is the experience I have had. I do trust her completely.”  Faculty: “She has to trust me at some level and I have to trust her to tell me the truth, to be honest about what are her goals and priorities.”

Supportive Actions  Availability and Responsiveness  Confidence in Each Other  Providing Opportunities © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

Availability and Responsiveness….  Student: “I’ve heard a lot of stories about people whose advisors are really hard to get a hold of, ing back, stuff like that. I think that would be so stressful for me. I feel really lucky that she always gets back to me immediately cause that is really important.”  Faculty: “I will meet with him/them as much as they want. I am a resource that if they understand the possibility that it’s a valuable resource, they can take advantage of it.”

Confidence in Each Other  Student: Just being confident in my abilities is important... he has confidence in me, that’s important to me.  Faculty: I’ve gotten to know her and I know what she can do, so she’s not just those test scores.

Providing Opportunities  Faculty: “I have a pretty good sense of what her goals are and give her options along the way.”  Faculty: “Well a big thing is opportunities beyond coursework...opportunities and networking.”  Faculty: “I feel I know her a little bit better. I also helped her get a job at a [professional field] clinic that she just loved. It’s not personal it’s just a stronger professional relationship.”

Relational Development  Acceptance of the Individual  Advancement of the Relationship  Student Growth © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

Intimidation  Faculty: “A lot of students come to [site] with intimidation. This translates into a fear of interacting in a way that would let them discover that we’re human beings.”

Intimidation  Student: “I started out [pause] I was intimidated, but as the meeting progressed, not only did I not have any reason to feel that way, but she had confidence in me... you don’t feel like she’s up here.”

Acceptance of the Individual  Faculty: “I don’t do a good job sort of doing half way stuff. I either get to know them well and they really respond to my treating them as, you know, people rather than students or, you know, we sort of pass in the night.”

Student Growth  Student: “I’ve kind of like metamorphosed through college because there’s this adult. I am one too, still getting there, who sort of has been like a mirror or like a reflecting board, to say ‘you are so very different from a year ago and even though you may not see that you are showing up to class very differently with different energy. You are. Where can we go from here?’ She has been able to reflect some of my own growth back to me.”

Student Growth  Student: “When I first started I wasn’t sure, really nervous about it [advising relationship]. I feel like, as her advisee, I feel a lot more confident. I am a lot more organized and I am a lot more aware of what I need to get done and what I need to be doing to graduate on time. When I first started she had to like spell it out for me and now I’m more like, if I need to figure out a class I can do it by myself.”

Advancement of the Relationship  Faculty: “It takes two to tango. So she’s influenced the development of our relationship as have I. So you know, we’ve both contributed.”  Student: “I would like to think we got a little closer over time as we got to know each other better and got to work with each other more over time.”

Advancement of the Relationship  Faculty: “Because I had been working with her as long as I have, I understood her, I knew her.”  Faculty: “That [self-disclosure] builds trust and shows accountability and shows that vulnerability and sharing of stuff. So they get to know me too.”

Model of Academic Advising Relational Fit © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

The Relational Foundation

Authenticity Just Being You!

Relational Turning Point

Career Related Opportunities  Internships  Teaching Assistantships  Employment Opportunities  Field Related Workshops  Conference Participation  Lab Assistantships  Research Participants  Research Aides © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

Increase Opportunities  FACULTY  Knowledge  Understanding  Confidence in Student  STUDENT  Knowledge  Understanding  Self-Confidence © 2015 by Elizabeth M. Higgins

Student Independence

“The role of academic advising depends on the ability of advisors to communicate and build relationships that provide a foundation for meaningful conversations and interactions.” Hughey, 2011

References  Brown, B. (2010). The gifts of imperfection. Center City, MN: Hazelden.  Higgins, E. M. (2015). The Influence of Advisor-Advisee Relational Fit on the College Academic Advising Experience: A Collective Case Study (Doctoral dissertation). Northeastern University.  Hughey, J. K. (2011). Strategies to enhance interpersonal relations in academic advising. NACADA Journal, 31(2),