2017 Fall Conference Schedule
Inclusive Advising: Building Bridges in a Diverse Learning Environment
Thursday, September 28, 2017
7:45 - noon
8:00 - 8:45
8:30 - 8:45
President, Penn State University
8:45 - 9:45
Resident Director, West Chester University
More information about the keynote coming soon!
9:45 - 10:00
10:00 - 11:00
Devin Ferraro, M.S.Ed., Director, Diversity Enhancement Programs, Penn State University Park
Come learn about, engage in, and explore proposed do's and don'ts of advising diverse, international and students of different orientation. This will be a discussion on empowering advisors to be the student’s best academic advocate. According to the University Budget Office, Penn State has approximately 46% of students who identify as being from an underrepresented population, across all campuses. As diversity officers within the colleges, we are seeing an increase in diverse students who express that their voices are not heard, nor are they shown respect for their viewpoints within academia. We have afforded the opportunity to engage with diverse students through recruitment, programming and academic advising throughout the year. Challenging our students to grow in understanding their identities, expressing them and finding the resources available to them is something we do as academic advisors and mentors. This session will include interactions with diversity officers from academic colleges across Penn State and feedback provided by students and will discuss best practices, methods and techniques to start the conversation and execute solutions..
Robert Edwards, Ph.D., Head, Department of Comparative Literature, Penn State University Park
Heather McCoy, Ph.D., Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of French and Francophone Studies
Maria Truglio, Acting Head, Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, Penn State University Park
Academic advisers are the crucial link between students navigating a curriculum and the value added by programs that highlight diversity and inclusion. This workshop aims to support the front-line work of academic advisers by providing mechanisms and examples of best practices that augment advising within a discipline (business, economics, education, engineering, marketing, or international studies, for example) by adding a concurrent major that will enhance a student’s understanding and practical competence as a citizen of the world. The concurrent major allows the cultural dimensions of a profession to be identified, analyzed, critiqued, and reformulated during a student’s undergraduate program. Equally important, the diversity on campus is a microcosm of the diverse world, workplace, neighborhood, and community that a student will inhabit. Our workshop will offer a) an overview of the advantages of a concurrent major from a department in the School of Global Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; b) models of schedules that give an accurate, reliable, and easy-to-produce outline of courses; c) case studies of concurrent majors who have established successful careers in diverse and inclusive work environments; and d) an opportunity for advisers to offer suggestions and feedback regarding the development of a new, time-efficient scheduling instrument/app.
Join our Keynote Speaker for a Q & A session.
Anthropologically-informed pedagogies have the potential to reform and transform the ways in which we approach academic advising in higher education. Media, political pundits, and some scholars are pointing to a crisis among dispossessed, white, working class Americans. (Never mind, for the moment that at least the media and pundits have historically not given adequate attention to non-white dispossessed groups of Americans.) Written for the dispossessed of Latin America, Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed has empowered generations of disparate, struggling groups around the world to work toward solidarity in the fight for equality. In a similar vein, Bourdieu and Passeron describe the arbitrariness of education, which can not only empower the dispossessed but also shake up what we, as academic advisors and advocates for higher education, view as the purpose and mission of our work. This kind of classic scholarship may be taught or applied in our teaching and advising as a means for empowerment for all students, but in particular could be used to engage white working class students in various post-secondary settings so that they not only understand the formations of their own struggles but those of more “othered” dispossessed groups of Americans (or those wishing to become Americans).
Elisabeth Roselle, M.Ed., Professional Adviser, Liberty University
We live in an instant-gratification-seeking, social-media-addicted, “Extroverted Ideal” age. Because of this, it may seem like the best way to appeal to students is by offering them loud, exciting, engaging events and services. But what if we stop to consider that one-third to one-half of our student populations are introverted—would it change how and what services we encouraged for our students? The world of teaching is currently reevaluating the extroverted ideal that has permeated classrooms and caused us to value participation over engagement, therefore, we as advisers should also reevaluate our interactions using a new “grading scale” for success.
This presentation will:
- Inspire us to consider the individual temperament of students to build trust and rapport and increase student retention
- Share the surprising benefits of encouraging students by talking to them in their own personality “language”
- Encourage appropriate and respectful interactions between coworkers that strengthen comradery
Participants will:
- Examine the tools needed to evaluate the communication style of each student
- Examine campus services and resources that appeal to the introverted population and contribute to their personal growth and well-being
- Increase student retention by providing the environment and tools needed to help introverted students succeed
11:00 - 11:15
11:15 - 12:15
Stephanie Cardona, Ph.D., Academic Adviser and Liaison, AASDS, Penn State World Campus
Academic advisors and librarians are often thinking about the same concepts as can be seen in the parallels between their respective standards. They share a commitment to helping students perform at their optimal level. Students who use the library have a higher GPA and retention rate than students who do not regularly use the library. However, the notion of silos impedes the collaborative support structures that could be developed for students. Though academic advisors and librarians do not typically work together, their jobs are interconnected and fundamentally driven by many of the same concerns. Students don’t know what they don’t know. A collaborative relationship between academic advisors and librarians can help to bring awareness and support in a manner that was previously underutilized. Join us in this session to participate in a structured design activity intended to create content that could be shared with students at all levels. Participants will determine how best to assist students on their information literacy journey through collective resources. After the session, the presenters will collect all of the ideas generated and create resources to be shared. We see ourselves partnering with a learning designer to create appealing visual content that is accessible to students.
Beth Gilfillan, M.Ed., Counselor Education Doctoral Student, Penn State University Park
Research shows that first generation college students, in comparison to their non-first generation peers, are less likely to persist to graduation, less academically prepared, feel a lack of support in college, have lower educational and career aspirations, and lack cultural capital. The session will describe today’s first generation college student and what supports they are currently receiving in general and through academic advising. Attendees will learn more about what resources are needed to provide further support to first generation students and how to tailor these to the needs of specific populations of first generation college students, in order to increase retention and graduation rates. In order to implement these services and resources, colleges need to explore their own data, which requires collaboration between various offices on campus, from admissions to alumni relations. This can be challenging, but well worth the effort. Surveying current first generation students on their campus also helps establish useful programs. The presentation will offer research on this population as well as several examples of programs and interventions that have proven effective. We will discuss how colleges and academic advising can offer programs that have been proven to increase the success of this population.
Dawn Maguire, M.Ed., Academic Adviser, Smeal College of Business, Penn State University Park
Advisers are fundamental in facilitating student growth and development in their conversations with students by providing an inclusive environment, explaining institutional policies, providing appropriate resources, and encouraging students to take ownership over their educational experience. However, many institutions are looking for ways to address the increasing number of academic integrity violations and build a culture of accountability among faculty, staff, and students. This presentation is dedicated to supporting academic advisers who work with undergraduate international students in diverse learning environments to discuss how advisers are key players in the conversation about honor and integrity. Presenters will discuss best practices in addressing academic integrity issues through implementing a task force within the Smeal College of Business. This session will focus on how to promote academic integrity with high-achieving international students where the expectations of advising differ culturally and one’s academic record may be perceived as negotiable. Participants will learn about the use of scenario-based pre-arrival videos to educate first-year international students about honor and integrity within the college. Participants will walk away with tangible approaches to developmental advising with international students, emphasizing the honor code and accountability in one’s educational decision-making process.
African Americans are often undecided about an academic major upon entering college. Advisers are often the first point of contact for new students, putting them in a unique position to expose students to academic fields they may not have considered. Currently there is a serious shortage of African American male teachers - less than 2% of teachers in the United States are African American males. This session will provide the results of the presenter’s research on what motivates African American males to choose careers in teaching. After an extensive review of the literature on African American male teachers, four themes emerged as major reasons why black men teach: a) a desire to be a role model; b) social justice factors; c) peer influences; and d) job benefits. The four themes were used to develop a survey that measured African American males’ motivations for teaching which was completed by 185 teachers. Responses to an open ended question showed other reasons may include a desire to help others, a love for children, and being called to teach as significant influences for teaching. Participants will discuss what academic advisers could do to introduce teaching as a valuable and rewarding career for African American males.
Brad J. Kovaleski, M.A., Director of Student Services and Engagement, Penn State Worthington Scranton
“Student success” takes into account academic success, relationships, identity development, career development, health and wellness, spirituality, cultural awareness, and social responsibility. No single department can foster student success in all areas. Thus, student success is only achievable through partnerships, and the partnerships, in turn, create a campus environment conducive to whole-student success.
An Academic Advising and a Student Affairs administrator developed and implemented a success network based on strategic, intentional partnerships across campus. This session will provide participants with a practical guide for developing and fostering strategic, intentional partnerships between Academic Advising and Student Affairs stakeholders, based on the Student Success Team model implemented at our institution.
Presenters will:
- Review research and best practices emphasizing the importance of Academic and Student Affairs partnerships
- Discuss the strategic planning and implementation involved in building the success team
- Review retention and persistence initiatives the SA/AA collaborative developed and implemented including but not limited to New Student Orientation; academic and student services software cross-training; cultural training, academic success and probation programs; peer mentor recruitment, training, and cross-department programming
- Provide valuable planning and collaborative efforts resources to participants
- Facilitate open discussion of challenges and considerations
- Solicit feedback and question/answer from participants
12:15 - 1:15
1:30 - 2:30
Terrance Hudson, Ph.D., Academic Adviser and Coordinator of Multicultural Initiatives, Division of Undergraduate Studies, Penn State University Park
The National Center for Education Statistics indicates that 30% of all entering first-year students are also first-generation students. Nationally, 89% of low-income first-generation students leave college within six years without a degree, while more than 25% leave after their first year. According to The Education Trust, the U.S. graduation rate for minority students was 50% in 2013, compared with 64% for white students. Historically, at-risk college students benefit from additional programming designed to facilitate a successful first year. To assist incoming first-generation and other traditionally “at-risk” student groups, we developed a mentoring program tailored to address their unique needs and to create a sense of community. In this session, we will discuss the development of our program, the outcomes, and plans for future program improvements. Participants will 1) discuss the barriers facing at-risk students and the challenges associated with group advising; 2) share strategies to support at-risk students as well as programs and/or initiatives within their units to provide more inclusive advising; and 3) generate ideas to improve diversity programming.
As the student populations of colleges and universities become more diverse, more students from ethnic and socio-economic groups who are underrepresented in higher education are contemplating graduate study. Among underrepresented students, however, enrollment in graduate programs is not keeping pace with increases at the undergraduate levels, perhaps due to the special challenges that they often face in preparing for, applying to, and succeeding in graduate school. Programs like McNair Scholars, The Meyerhoff Program at University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and Penn State’s Millennium Scholars Program – as well as initiatives by such organizations as the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Health – seek to help students overcome these challenges and attain graduate degrees. These programs, however, serve only a small percentage of the students who would be eligible for them, so it is important for students who are not in these programs to receive good advice about preparing for, applying to, and succeeding in graduate programs. This session will review the steps and strategies needed to prepare for and apply to grad school, look at the challenges particular to underrepresented students, and offer participants the chance to ask questions and share their experiences with advising underrepresented students who want to attain advanced degrees.
Liz Agler ,M.Ed., Academic Adviser, Division of Undergraduate Studies, Pennsylvania State University Park
Jonathan Colón, M.A., Academic Adviser, College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University Park
Carolyn Jensen, Ph.D., Director, Eberly College of Science Advising Center, Pennsylvania State University Park
Beth Johnson, Ph.D., Academic Adviser, Eberly College of Science, Pennsylvania State University Park
Joan Miller, M.Ed., Academic Adviser, Division of Undergraduate Studies, Pennsylvania State University Park
David Zach, Academic Adviser, Eberly College of Science, Penn State University Park
Advisers play a crucial role for students facing academic warning, probation, or suspension. The advising approach taken when meeting with students in academic crisis can influence students’ future actions and outcomes. Higgins (2003) cites literature that promotes and supports intrusive advising encouraging advisers to “reach out to students, meet with them, and help them identify the issues contributing to their academic difficulty, set short and long term goals, and develop a plan which includes follow-up.” This session provides tools which incorporate student development and behavioral change theories to guide advisers through this process. A panel of advisers from different academic units will share their process for developing a process for advising this at risk student population and varying experiences and results from using this proactive and collaborative method. Participants will have the opportunity to ask panelists questions about the development, implementation and success of the reflective conversation approach.
Olivia K. Lewis, M.A. in progress, Coordinator, Office of Inclusion and Diversity Engagement, College of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University Park
This session seeks to provide academic advisers with resources to help bridge potential adviser-student gaps that may arise due to unknown key cultural and environmental data that interrupts deeper and richer interactions. We contend that if advisers incorporate practices from the eco-location model into their daily routine, underrepresented minority and international students will experience greater rapport that enhances interaction for both parties. In this session we present a new model, eco-location that combines: 1) the ecological model, 2) social location, 3) intersectionality, and 4) minoritization. The eco-location model will enable advisers to “eco-locate” students’ intersectional identities and social location (i.e. micro, meso, exo, and macro) to add value to the quality of individual advising sessions. This presentation will be especially useful to those seeking new ways to work with growing international and underrepresented minority student populations. We assert that regardless of academic background, the eco-location model is accessible for all practitioners to integrate into their daily practices.
From the framework of the widely-supported approach of Proactive or “Intrusive” Advising, the presenter will discuss the unique intersection of online/distance learning as a college student with a disability. More universities are incorporating online teaching modalities, yet retention and graduation rates are low for these students. In addition, students with disabilities (SWDs) similarly have lower overall success rates in college, as compared to their classmates without disabilities. The incorporation of basic counseling techniques into the proactive advising relationship may aid SWDs online in feeling a greater connection to the university, accessing on and off-campus resources, increasing the quality of student academic engagement, identifying root causes of student social and emotional concerns, developing problem-solving and decision-making skills, becoming more active partners in the advising process, and completing their degrees. The presenter will share anecdotes of advising online/distance SWDs with the audience from the presenter’s experience and ask participants to share suggestions from their own experiences as well. The audience will also be asked for feedback/input on the idea of incorporating the basic counseling techniques that are presented into the proactive advising relationship (perceived feasibility, comfort, etc.).
2:30 - 2:45
2:45 - 3:45
Jason Whitney, Program Coordinator, Penn State Collegiate Recovery Community, Penn State University Park
Danielle Joliet, Asst. Program Coordinator, Penn State Collegiate Recovery Community, Penn State University Park
Melissa Bradley, President, Lions for Recovery, Penn State University Park
Robert Edwards, Program Manager, Residence of Addiction Recovery (ROAR House), Penn State University Park
This panel will introduce the Penn State Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC), a Program of Student Affairs that supports students in recovery from alcohol and other substance use disorders. Since it was founded in 2012, the CRC has grown into a thriving community of 25-30 active members and houses 16 of those students in on-campus dedicated recovery housing, ROAR House (Residence of Addiction Recovery). Students in active addiction often struggle to meet the GPA requirements for their colleges and majors, and many are in severe disciplinary trouble with the university and may face legal issues. It is common that students in the program have withdrawn from the university multiple times. Once in recovery from addictions, these students return to campus and often must navigate the wreckage of their period of active use -- putting them in contact with academic advisers. With the help of the CRC, these students succeed at remaining drug and alcohol free (since 2011, 92.9% have gone from 90 days sober to graduation without a single return to active use) and have GPAs .2 higher than the mean GPA of students at University Park. Come meet the Program staff and students in recovery who will outline the program features, share their experiences, and answer questions.
Meggan MacDonald, M.S., Academic Adviser, Penn State World Campus
Higher Education has seen a rise of their student veteran population as a result of the generous Veterans Affairs education benefits. However, within this population, female student veterans are often forgotten about on campus. Their challenges are rarely addressed and opportunities they bring to higher education are overlooked. We will begin our presentation with an activity, "Guess Who: Veteran Edition," which will allow our audience to understand that it’s not easy to recognize a veteran as they blend in with the college-aged population, they can look like any one of the students walking around on campus. Student veterans are unique in which they might encounter the same challenges as traditional aged students, but they also struggle with a multitude of issues that stem from their time in the military. More often than not the only way to know is when a veteran self-identifies. We will then discuss the female student veteran culture.. This small population is unique in that there are multi-faceted aspects where the individual feels they have to meet to be accepted: gender expectations, accountability, and male dominance. These three themes shape the way females interact socially and is often carried with them when they transition to higher education and civilian life. Then we will model the experience of women veterans in higher education through a panel of female veterans who are either current students or have attended a higher education institution.
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, among undergraduate students in the United States, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation and the real number is much higher considering that only about 20% of female student victims report to law enforcement. Sexual assault is twice as likely to occur to a college woman as a robbery. This presentation will help individuals understand how a traumatic sexual incident may affect a person and why a person may respond in a certain way. The presenter will review Title IX laws and employee obligations when someone discloses about sexual misconduct. In addition, basic helping strategies to assist if someone discloses sexual misconduct will be discussed.
Jen Saltsgiver, M.Ed., Academic Adviser, the College of Engineering, Penn State University Park
As the adviser role broadens, students will continue to seek our advice and guidance on a multitude of topics. One such question revolves around linguistic prejudice. This concept relates to students who are struggling with language barriers with their international instructors. More often than not, students will come to us for advice on this topic. How do we navigate that conversation, which according to the literature is considered discrimination against non-native English speakers? This interactive session will allow participants to learn what linguistic prejudice is and explore the literature surrounding it. Presenters will provide skills to facilitate conversations with students to broaden their perspective on this “issue” that they share with us. Participants will have the opportunity to provide their own experiences and take part in small discussion groups to further examine student scenarios. Advisers truly have the opportunity to encourage student development around topics of diversity in order to better prepare them for a career in the global workforce. At the end of this session, participants will be able to describe what linguistic prejudice is and will possess the skills to have productive conversations with students to aid them in their approach to courses with international instructors.
Tammy Spevak, M.A., Learning Center Coordinator and Student Disability Resources Coordinator, Penn State Hazelton
University professionals understand that access to higher education and the ability to pay tuition are two of the biggest factors determining a student’s capacity to earn a college degree. The Pathway to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS) program at Penn State Hazleton provides tools and resources that increase the likelihood students will graduate on time. This program, comprised of tuition scholarships, work experience opportunities, workshops and acculturation activities, aims to connect students to the University while increasing retention and graduation rates. In fact, the retention rate for Hazleton PaSSS students was 90% compared to the 81% retention rate of all first-year students and the average CGPA was 3.00 at the end of the first year for the first PaSSS cohort.
This presentation describes the PaSSS program from inception through implementation via collaborative efforts of the entire campus. This session will specifically detail how our student success philosophy influenced the building of this five-week program including ongoing assessment efforts as the program evolves through its third year. The program focus on at-risk students and how it is expanding to encompass other student populations will be described. Q&A and a discussion of how this program might be applicable to other settings will be included.