In this era of emphasis on multiculturalism and diversity, it is important that we recognize the uniqueness of each individual and realize that all advisees come to us with distinct cultural backgrounds. In that spirit, we extend the statements of multicultural educators like Sue and Sue (2007) to the arena of advising by contending that each advisee is like all other advisees, like some other advisees, and like no other advisee. Providing access to appropriate academic guidance, therefore, may require unequal advising procedures.
As advisers, we are aware of the special needs of many of our advisees. We are aware of the unique characteristics of nontraditional students, disabled students, student athletes, first-generation college students, students on probation, and others. However, many needs are not readily apparent, and we must expand our identification of “special needs” to those individual needs of each advisee. Without effective communication with our advisees, we may never know about an advisee's unique needs and may be surprised when a student does not return to school. A student's personal or financial problems, disabilities, insecurities, and academic naiveté are most often not immediately evident. We concur with the emphasis by McClennan (2006) on the need for active listening and empathy to facilitate a more successful advising process.
We are not suggesting that advisers discard all of the current advising guidelines. Often, in our efforts to improve a process, we formalize extensive rules and forms that may impede the progress of many students. Perhaps we need to think more about the diversity of advisees and their potential special needs when we implement guidelines. McKamey (2007) suggested that advisers provide students with an advising syllabus as a resource to help them understand both student and adviser roles in the advising process. Students are familiar with classroom academic syllabi and know how to use them. They could be effective tools in an advising setting as well, provided they are flexible.
Traditional advising is not for everyone. As a result of a small study with the lowest performing at-risk students, Vivian (2005) found that an adviser mentoring program, in which the mentor periodically meets in small groups with students, is effective in improving retention, grade-point averages, and graduation rates. Some benefits of group advising include “the opportunity to teach students how to positively interact with their peers and support each other” and that it “allows students to learn from each other's creativity and apply these lessons in their own lives” (Sanchez, 2008, ¶ 12). The ability to help another student with a problem can increase the helping student's sense of agency. Much like joining a student organization, participating in an advising group decreases a student's isolation. Realizing that they are not the only person who has questions and problems can be reassuring. Additionally, students' brainstorming can lead to innovative academic planning that benefits everyone in the group. Group advising may be particularly effective on campuses with limited first-year orientation or without first-year-seminar experiences.
In a study comparing first-generation and continuing-generation students, Giancola, Munz, and Trares (2008) found that the groups differed on rating the importance of and satisfaction with such things as instructor effectiveness and registration effectiveness. A large number of first-generation adult students in the study were female. Giancola et al. suggested that programs that have been very effective with traditional college students may not be appropriate for nontraditional students, and first-generation nontraditional female students in particular may need attention. This applies to advising as well. Traditional advising is not for everyone. If we adhere to rigid rules and treat all students exactly the same, we may not be advising our students appropriately. The first-generation student may not be academically streetwise or savvy. Often parents provide guidance in addition to formal advising, and many first-generation students' parents may not have that information to assist their children. Having a supportive adviser becomes all the more critical for such students.
We have encountered a number of students—both traditional and non-traditional—who are naïve regarding the order in which they should take courses. If left to design their own plans of study, these students may delay courses that should be taken in the first or second year. Without vigilant advisers to prevent this, they may find that they are competing in class with students who have stronger background-course work.
Students can determine the prerequisites for each course by reading the course descriptions; however, there are hidden prerequisites that are just as important. Our current student populations include many nontraditional students, and prior life experiences of our advisees vary. Many courses require the use of computers, and while some students are confident and capable with technology, others are terrified at the thought of using a computer. We often assume that students have basic computer skills and easy access to computers, but in fact some do not. If an adviser fails to recognize this digital divide, students may end up taking courses before they have the prerequisites for success. In addition, some students must work while in school and need access to computer labs in order to complete assignments. They may not know where and when computers are available after hours, or they may not consider the additional time required to commute to these labs. A working student may want to register for an online course but may not have access to high-speed Internet service and may lack the computer skills to complete the course. Students who have been out of school for a while may have old ACT/SAT scores or course credits that qualify them for math or statistics courses, though they may have forgotten most of the requisite math skills.
Communication is the key to resolving issues before they deter success, and communication should not only occur during the advising session. Initiating an advising information bulletin board can make students aware of rules and academic issues that an experienced adviser anticipates will be a problem. For example, the experienced adviser knows that many students are unaware that the date they last attend or drop a course may impact a scholarship or their ability to continue a course sequence in subsequent semesters. Public presentations of such information on a bulletin board may forestall problems and assist the advisees of less experienced advisers. Technology provides further opportunities for communication. Often a student will feel comfortable or find it convenient to e-mail an adviser and ask a quick question. The adviser may find this to be an effective way to answer a student's needs or encourage the student to come in for a more extended visit.
It is important that advisers encourage students to work diligently toward their goals and evaluate students' progress toward these goals. Again, communication is the key to helping students establish realistic goals and modify them as necessary. It is important to encourage students who are capable but have hit stumbling blocks and to reassure the first-generation student and the insecure student that reasonable goals are possible for them. It is just as important to provide emotional scaffolding for students who are re-evaluating their goals, so that they don't feel a sense of failure if they change directions, especially given that some students initially pursue goals that are actually those of a parent. Certainly it is important for students to develop their own goals. Occasionally, we will meet with an advisee who has an unrealistic career goal. The student may aspire to be an engineer but need to take developmental mathematics or may want to be a doctor but does not wish to take biology. Another student may plan to enter a profession, such as counseling or nursing, which requires licensure but has a felony conviction in his or her past. It is important to discuss these goals and limitations and consider whether a referral to the career counseling center is appropriate.
Clearly, for some students minimal advising is not enough. Vivian (2005, p. 350) commented on the traditional advising process by saying that “there are many students for whom this type of advising becomes an exercise in miscommunication, frustration, and discouragement.” Without spending quality time with advisees, we are not able to identify the key needs of advisees and may be unable to identify at-risk students. As advisers, we provide information and support for each of our advisees. That may mean offering written materials or large-group sessions to meet the needs of advisees who are like all other advisees, coordinating small-group discussions for those who are like some other advisees, or sharing more individual time and communication with the advisee who is like no other advisee.