Ever since colleges and universities have existed there have been first-generation college students. Often these students need different types of support and guidance when starting college than do their counterparts with at least one parent who attended college. Students whose family members did not attend an institution of higher education can have a difficult time navigating the process of completing applications, adjusting to the rigors of college-level courses, and helping their families understand what they are experiencing in college. Various initiatives can and have been utilized to help first-generation college students succeed. However, an important factor in first-generation college students’ …
Graduate Corner
The Graduate Corner showcases the research, analysis, and writings of developing authors enrolled in graduate programs. Their topics focus on academic advising in higher education and seek to introduce new advising ideas as well as contribute to the discussion within the academic advising profession.
Using Skype to Meet with Students: An Adviser’s Guide
It’s 9:00 p.m. and Marie, one of your students studying abroad this semester, has just come home from a magnificent dinner and an opera performance in Rome. Marie pulls out a list of questions, boots up her computer, and signs on to Skype, a free videoconferencing program. While Marie typically uses Skype to keep in touch with her parents and friends, tonight she has an appointment with you, her academic adviser. It is 3:00 p.m. on the East coast of the United States when you log on to Skype and place the prearranged video conference “call” to Marie. Instantly Marie’s …
When Academic Advising Meets Residence Life: An Adviser’s Guide to a Successful Partnership
A large subpopulation on many college campuses is the group of residential students living in campus-operated residence halls. Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) found “remarkably consistent evidence that students living on campus are more likely to persist and graduate than students who commute” (p. 421). Residence halls’ close proximity to campus resources, classrooms, and instructors’ offices make them a primary target group for organizations and campus partners seeking to increase student involvement and retention rates. The majority of residential students are either freshmen or sophomores, the two most critical years in terms of student retention. Given that only 66.7 percent of …
Everyone Can Study Abroad! An Academic Adviser’s Guide to Short-Term Study Abroad Opportunities
Many students are looking to gain an international and cross-cultural experience during their undergraduate careers. As academic advisers should know the most up-to-date information about the types of programs available in order to provide students with all of their study abroad options. Powers (2006) reported that study abroad programs can enhance students’ acquisition of a foreign language, improve their knowledge of the host culture, and even transform their worldviews. Yet less than 1 percent of American college students study abroad each year. This article points out some of the benefits of studying abroad but also draws attention to the low …
