Advising center management software is among the newest entrants into the institutional technology market. The University of Louisville has used advising center management to increase the transparency of advising notes at the university and to increase communication between the advising centers and individual academic units. This article examines the implementation of this software at the university and discusses software selection, implementation, and usage, along with assessment and evaluation uses of the software. Finally, this article offers suggested practices for other institutions considering a similar process.
Although various technologies have long been integrated into the classroom, the adoption of technology in advising is relatively new. Budget cuts, increased mobility and diversity of the student population, and relative ease of access provide compelling reasons to explore the uses of technology in advising.
As new technologies develop, advising centers must constantly explore new ways to deliver advising services (Sotto, 2000). Advising center management software is among the newest software to enter the institutional technology market. Many institutions have endeavored to develop in-house management systems using such tools as Microsoft Access or other database applications, which are cumbersome in terms of scalability and generally do not interface with official student data systems.
This article examines the implementation of advising center management software at the University of Louisville and explores various advising practices across the university's eight undergraduate units. Software selection, implementation, and usage are discussed, along with assessment and evaluation uses of the software. Finally, suggested practices for other institutions considering embarking on a similar path are offered.
Institutional History
The University of Louisville is a metropolitan research university in Kentucky's largest city and serves approximately 15,125 undergraduate students. Academic advising most closely follows a satellite model (Habley, 1987), with primary responsibility for academic advising centered within each of the eight undergraduate academic units present on campus. All units offer advising by professional staff. In particular academic units, however, a split model (Habley, 1987) is also present, with certain major fields operating under assigned faculty advisers and other majors remaining within the purview of the professional advising center.
While the campus ultimately represents a decentralized environment, the university's provost chartered the Office of Undergraduate Advising Practice in an effort to promote consistent and quality advising practices across the institution. Among other initiatives, this office is responsible for the assimilation and integration of new technologies into academic advising at the university, including development of Web-based resources, assessment tools, and advising center management software.
Implementation
Prior to selecting and implementing software solutions, officials must consider and evaluate current campus advising practices. Collins (2001) cautioned that successful institutions apply only carefully selected technologies. When technology is “grasped as an easy solution, without deep understanding of how it links to a clear and coherent concept,” it acts as a liability to the institution (Collins, 2001, p. 159). The Office of Undergraduate Advising Practice convened a committee of advisers to review current and desired technologies in advising at the University of Louisville and in the larger higher education community. This committee ultimately determined that advising center management software would advance academic advising at the institution.
A key consideration at the university was the size and complexity of the advising center or centers. The decentralized satellite advising model of the campus required software that was flexible and scalable to the needs of various academic units. Gordon (1992) noted that students in a satellite advising environment may experience a difficult transition when transferring across academic units or departments to one in which services and processes may differ. Consequently, a major component of the advising center management software was the ability to provide instant accessibility to advising notes from all academic units across campus to enhance information flow. In addition, robust reporting tools were critical for maximizing the usefulness of the software in evaluating advising services—both strengths and related deficiencies—and follow-up assessment efforts.
After a thorough review of various options, AdvisorTrac advising center management software developed by Red Rock Software was selected for implementation. Red Rock Software also expressed a willingness to work with the university to customize the software to suit the needs of the institution.
The university made a tangible commitment to the successful implementation of the software by creating a full-time program coordinator position dedicated primarily to the implementation and integration process. Although the decision regarding the specific software package was made prior to creating the program coordinator position, no further action was taken until this individual joined the Office of Undergraduate Advising Practice staff.
Information Technology
From a technical perspective, initial installation of the AdvisorTrac software is essentially identical across all institutions regardless of the advising center arrangement. Development of a productive working relationship between the information technology function and the advising function is crucial to the initial installation. Integration of information technology and academic advising cannot succeed in isolation (Kramer, 1996).
The AdvisorTrac software and database must reside on a dedicated server. At the University of Louisville, the server is housed in the information technology area to provide an enhanced level of data security. The AdvisorTrac program coordinator worked with information technology staff to physically install the software. Following the initial installation, further intervention on the actual server is minimal, as all interaction with the software and configuration of the program are handled via an Internet-based interface.
Generally, advising center management software will allow creation of users and passwords within the software or will facilitate a connection to campus authentication systems using the lightweight data authentication protocol (LDAP). The latter provides stronger security, as it ensures that the user is a valid campus user, the password meets campus security requirements, and that the password is updated on a regular basis (in accordance with campus policies). LDAP is also a convenient option, as it requires advisers and students to remember one less password. Information technology staff can provide the necessary information to facilitate this link.
Importing Student Data
AdvisorTrac allows manual creation of student records within the software. A more effective method of accessing student records, however, is to establish an import from current campus student information systems (SIS). AdvisorTrac accepts information in comma-delimited, tab-delimited, text, Microsoft Excel, and other file types. Imports can occur nightly, weekly, per semester, or on a manually initiated basis.
The University of Louisville uses PeopleSoft 8.9 as its SIS. The AdvisorTrac program coordinator worked with an analyst from the Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP) and staff from information technology to automate a nightly import process. OIRP had previously developed a nightly extract of currently enrolled students and selected demographic and academic data from the SIS. AdvisorTrac was able to capitalize upon this process. Select fields were added to accommodate the information needs of academic advisers and added to the pre-existing query. Information technology developed a nightly process to run this query and save the information into a CSV file on a central server. AdvisorTrac then retrieves and imports this information at a designated time. As a security precaution, after the file is imported, it is deleted from the server.
Given the number of resources that may be involved to develop the import query, it is important to carefully consider the information that academic advisers and administrators will find useful for inclusion in the advising center management software. AdvisorTrac includes a variety of standard fields but provides for additional custom fields. At the University of Louisville, the import was adjusted to include current academic standing, honors program and athletics participation, cohort, and a field to indicate if the student is registered for the upcoming semester. In addition, a process was developed to import transcript data, making it directly accessible from within the application.
Following the development of student data feeds, the program coordinator engaged in extensive testing to ensure the validity of data. Random student populations were selected from each class and various academic standings, and these student records in the advising center management software were compared against information from the SIS to ensure data integrity. Tests were also conducted to ensure accurate representation of athletics and honors participation and academic standing.
Academic Unit Usage
After accomplishing the technical tasks of initial software installation, LDAP authentication, and development of student data imports, the AdvisorTrac program coordinator shifted focus to program development and training for each of the academic advising units that would use the advising software.
Beta Testing
As a multi-unit campus with a variety of advising practices, the university selected a singular academic unit to initially pilot the AdvisorTrac program. The College of Business and Public Administration (CBPA) is home to approximately 2,900 undergraduate students. Advising is required for first-year students and is available to all other students in the college. The advising center in the CBPA is composed of seven professional advisers assigned to students based on major.
The AdvisorTrac program coordinator at the university elected to deploy the software to conform to current advising center practices as closely as possible (rather than asking the advising center to adapt its working practices to conform to the software). Before introducing the software to advisers, the program coordinator spent approximately two weeks on-site in the advising center to develop a thorough understanding of current processes and practices. As Collins (2001) cautioned, an important part of successful project leadership is to “ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights” (p. 75). Particular configurations and settings in the AdvisorTrac software were then modified in light of these observations.
Training was presented to the advising center as a whole to introduce advisers to AdvisorTrac and the goals of its implementation. Instructional training on the operation of the software was also conducted in both group and individual settings. Group trainings consisted primarily of PowerPoint presentations and live demonstrations, while individual training allowed the adviser to physically interact with the software and explore its functionality. The program coordinator also remained on-site in the advising center during the first two weeks that the system was in operation in order to proactively address any issues that arose.
Advisers must initially establish their advising schedules in the software to indicate times they are available for student appointments. The system allows either advisers or support staff to make these entries. In the CBPA advising center, support staff members enter the schedules for all advisers, though advisers retain the ability to block specific time periods in the event of vacation, meetings, or times they are otherwise available.
In the CBPA advising center, a student contacts the front-desk support person to establish an appointment. The support staff person selects the appropriate adviser and instantly views a list of times the adviser is available. After confirming an appropriate time with the student, the support person enters the appointment into AdvisorTrac. When the student arrives for his or her appointment, the support person logs the student into the AdvisorTrac system. A pop-up notification is automatically displayed on the screen of the adviser indicating that the student has arrived. The adviser need only click to start the appointment and click again to end the appointment. At that point, the system prompts the adviser to enter advising notes from the appointment.
Constant feedback was solicited from advisers, the advising center director, and support staff in the center. After several weeks of operating and adjusting particular settings to meet the needs of the advising center, CBPA advising staff indicated a general understanding of the system. A review of the usage data by the AdvisorTrac program coordinator revealed that the system was being used for all advising appointments within the first two months of program implementation.
Campus Deployment
Each advising center at the University of Louisville maintains its own set of advising practices, which made it more difficult to establish a standardized advising center management software protocol. Similarities exist between particular centers, however, that allow for certain practices to be replicated across the campus environment.
The deployment plan for each of the remaining academic units followed the general practices used to introduce the software to the CBPA advising center. The program coordinator developed a timeline incorporating the size and complexity of the advising unit for each of the remaining academic units.
The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Human Development employ variations of the centralized advising center model exemplified by the CBPA. Implementation in these advising centers was similar to the CBPA implementation discussed above. The University Honors program, the Speed School of Engineering, and the School of Nursing each employ the centralized advising model, albeit with unique requirements. The Honors program and the Speed School of Engineering generally advise on a walk-in basis, with the exception of several weeks before and after peak registration periods. Advisers in these areas were trained to document unscheduled student visits and to most effectively navigate within the program. The School of Nursing, located in downtown Louisville, presented the unique challenge of being physically separated from the main campus. As AdvisorTrac is a Web-based application, the physical separation was transparent to the software. The program coordinator visited the health sciences campus to provide training to staff and to foster a feeling of inclusiveness with the main campus. In addition, training was provided on how to allow multiple schedules within AdvisorTrac, as these advisers provide services to students on both the main and health sciences campuses on particular days.
Three academic units (the School of Music, the School of Social Work, and the Program in Dental Hygiene) have one professional adviser in each unit who serves all undergraduate students. Clerical support in these areas ranges from minimal to nonexistent. AdvisorTrac was configured to allow these advisers to schedule their own appointments and enter advising notes, similar to an advising center setting. Training for the individual advisers was customized to meet the needs of the adviser and to assimilate the program into current advising practices to the greatest feasible extent. In these situations, it was important to explore the benefits of the advising center management software and to obtain commitment to the program from the individual advisers.
Assessment and Evaluation
After the initial testing, training, and deployment, the program coordinator position shifted to focus on assessing and evaluating advising practices and assessing student achievement of defined learning outcomes. The ability to measure both was a key component of the decision to use advising center management software at the university.
A clear definition of the serviced population is necessary to ensure the appropriate design, development, and delivery of academic support services (Multari, 2006). AdvisorTrac enables the Office of Undergraduate Advising Practice to disseminate reports to individual advising units that detail the average time spent with students (which can be further categorized by reason for student visit, student class standing, grade-point average, or other demographic data), peak usage times for advising center services, the number of missed and cancelled advising appointments, and demographic composition of students using the center. This information can be used across all levels: at the adviser level to develop a greater understanding of students being served and to follow-up on previously suggested or recommended courses of action, at a center level to manage workflow and planning efforts, and at a university level to refine service offerings and delivery methods.
In addition, reports of students who obtained advising services can be used to deliver advising appointment satisfaction surveys or other qualitative surveys to garner further information about students' perceptions of advising practices. The University of Louisville developed a survey that is sent via electronic mail to a random population of students who received advising services within a given time period. The program coordinator collects, analyzes, and interprets this data, which is shared with the individual advisers, the advising units, and the Office of Undergraduate Advising Practice.
Suggested Practices
Overall experiences with AdvisorTrac at the university have been positive. There are several lessons that can be learned from the installation and deployment of the software.
Continual collaboration between advising professionals across the university and the Office of Undergraduate Advising Practice has helped the advising center management software to become an essential tool in facilitating academic advising across campus. It is important during the implementation of technological solutions to remember that “technology alone cannot create sustained great results” (Collins, 2001, p. 153). Advising center staffs and advising administrators must work together to ensure that technological solutions are appropriate, valuable for the campus, and effectively implemented.
The initial technical hurdles involved in physically installing the advising center management software require extensive interaction with information technology functions on campus. It is important to foster a productive relationship with information technology. Only through good communication can a partnership be maintained (Smith, 1999). It is essential that the liaison between the advising practice and information technology communicate in technical terms, understand what is being shared, and effectively present to information technology the information and support that is needed.
Following the physical installation, much time must be invested to ensure that the software will mirror advising practices and promote efficiencies within the advising centers, rather than creating redundancies and roadblocks. The University of Louisville committed resources to the process in the form of the program coordinator. Spending time in each advising center and with individual advisers gave the program coordinator a deep understanding of operations within each advising center, as well as a general awareness of student perceptions of academic advising. The program coordinator ensured that the final installation incorporated goals that were congruent with both university-wide objectives and individual advising center needs (Northouse, 2002).
Training is a necessary and oft-overlooked component of any new venture, particularly software designed to enhance academic advising across campus. Training occurred at the university on both unit and individual bases. Additionally, the program coordinator spent time in each advising center to serve as a resource and to solicit feedback. Open lines of communication helped advisers to feel more confident when using the software and provided continual feedback to the program coordinator. This feedback was used to make appropriate adjustments to the software installation, consistent with Barge's (1994) reflections on team leadership. This constructive dialogue also increased campus support for the AdvisorTrac initiative.
Conclusion
Collins (2001) succinctly stated, “... thoughtless reliance on technology is a liability, not an asset. Yet, when used right—when linked to a simple, clear, and coherent concept rooted in deep understanding—technology is an essential driver in accelerating forward momentum” (p. 159). The university committed human and technological resources that allowed for a clearly defined project plan and implementation strategy for the AdvisorTrac program. Advanced planning allowed for more effectively assimilating the software into existing advising practices.
Advising center management software has increased the transparency of advising notes at the University of Louisville and increased communication between the advising centers and individual academic units. In larger advising centers, the software has also contributed to workflow efficiency and facilitated other processes (such as walk-in and on-call advising).
The program coordinator is working with academic advising units to explore other uses for the software, including recording specific additional information for students in academic distress and methods to assess student achievement of specified learning outcomes. As individual advising centers continue to use the software, increasingly robust data will be used to further assess and evaluate university advising practices, both generally and with respect to specific student populations.