Timeline - Advising Working Group

Timeline

The timeline below describes key activities of the Working Group and related activities of the Advising Initiative.

Convened an Advising Working Group, authorized by Executive Sponsor, Dr. Anthony Wutoh, to discuss challenges and opportunities for advising at Howard University

Members included:
- Dr. Kenneth A. Anderson, Office of Undergraduate Studies, Functional Lead
- Ms. Christina Harper, Office of the Chief Administrative Office
- Mr. Nana Gyesie - Office of Undergraduate Studies
- Ms. Hope Borders - Office of Undergraduate Studies
- Ms. Kea Jones - College of Arts & Sciences
- Mr. Saleem Sullivan - College of Arts & Sciences
- Dr. Ivory Berry - College of Engineering & Architecture
- Dr. Bradley Green - College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences
- Mrs. Crystal Donaldson - Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts
- Ms. Mikeisha Best - Cathy Hughes School of Communications
- Dr. Veronica Thomas - School of Education
- Dr. Rajni Goel - School of Business
Collected practices that were already in place across various schools and colleges to inform a University-wide advising model
Developed a Framing Document that compared the Working Group’s brainstorming sessions with the Boyer Commission’s Recommendations
Discussed the following questions within the Working Group to inform the framing document

How are advising assignments determined in the Schools and Colleges (professional versus faculty advisors)?
What are some typical and atypical tasks that an advisor might be asked to complete in your School/College?
How should we determine and clearly articulate roles, responsibilities, and expectations of an advisor? Digital Handbook/Training Manual/Training Schedule?
How should the roles differ between faculty and professional advisors?
What is a manageable student-to-advisor ratio?
What is a good structure for incentives or providing tiers/promotion opportunities for professional advisors (e.g. Advisor I-IV/Senior Advisor etc?)
What are the professional development needs of professional and faculty advisors?

Provided recommendations to President Vinson, Provost Wutoh, and Cabinet

Recommendations included:

Reducing caseloads to better reflect national averages at Research Universities (Aligned with the Boyer Commission’s recommendations, goal is to achieve 250:1 Student-to-Advisor ratio. Also recommended 25:1 ratio for faculty advisors).
Developing a University-wide advising model to enhance the student experience, improve training (especially cross-training across related disciplines), and enhance data collection and use.
Accelerating BisonHub integration and enhancements
Revising and regularly monitoring policies and practices

Received funding for additional advising staff
Worked in partnership with the Office of Human Resources to revise the Office of Undergraduate Studies' organizational structure to provide better and more integrated service offerings.
The Office of Undergraduate Studies joined a national Advising Administration Community of Practice to share advising strategies with other Universities
Began recruiting new advising leads and advisors to better support advising across the University
Began developing the HERD Student Success Model to guide the developmental journey of all undergraduate students
Proposed 7 academic and career advising clusters to offer programming and create learning communities
Began developed advising campaigns that every undergraduate student should experience at Howard University

Introduced The HERD Student Success Model
Hired 4 Assistant Directors and 14 advisors in late February/early March
Collecting feedback on The HERD Student Success Model (from Undergraduate Academic Advising Council, students, and other stakeholders)
Reconvening the Advising Working Group for review of feedback and final adoption
Developing a training plan to support The HERD Student Success Model

Implement The HERD Student Success Model (ensuring alignment with the new strategic plan)