CSULB’s academic advising services reside in multiple divisions (Academic Affairs, Student Services, and Administration & Finance) and seven colleges reporting to five vice presidents and seven college deans. Advising responsibilities are divided among professional staff advisors in advising centers, departmental faculty advisors in major disciplines, staff advisors in departments and colleges. Consequently, students face an array of advising resources with sometimes overlapping and sometimes distinctive advising responsibility and expertise. This decentralized structure also tends to support duplication of effort and potential differences in policy interpretation and application.
Although there is considerable collegial coordination between professional campus-wide advising units, professional staff college-based advising and faculty advisors, currently no policy exists that delineates a university advising mission statement, advising learning outcomes, advising assessment, or faculty workload and compensation. In addition, currently CSULB has no director of campus-wide advising to address these issues. In response to these concerns in AY 2006-07, the CSULB Academic Senate established the Academic Senate Task Force on Advising (Task Force) to address the need for a faculty advising policy.
The Task Force began its work by researching academic advising models and examining standards developed by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) and endorsed by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). In addition, similar-enrollment cohorts within the CSU system were examined. To document current practices within CSULB, electronic surveys were distributed. A series of faculty focus groups helped the Task Force identify expectations of faculty advisors who requested a policy that delineates (1) workload issues, (2) compensation, (3) advising accountability, and (4) training expectations.
The Task Force analyzed CSULB and other CSU campus academic advising policies and practices with particular attention to workload compensation for advisors and standards for evaluating advisors.
They also reviewed the scope, nature, and practice of a policy on faculty or program advising. They defined faculty academic advising responsibilities including program planning, course selection, career counseling, mentoring and other instruction-related activities.
Since the Task Force recognized substantial variation between departments and colleges at CSULB, they developed an electronic survey to assess current practices regarding advising training, workload, and compensation. Twenty-nine faculty advisors responded to the survey. Preliminary analysis of those responses indicated little consistency in training, workload, or compensation. According to advisors’ self reports, the relationship between compensation and workload range includes: (1) no compensation for advising 10-60 students, (2) 3 WTU per year for 160 – 400 students, (3) 6 WTU per year for 100 – 900 students, and (4) 12 WTU per year for 600 - 800 students.
Based on an analysis of the results of this survey, two draft policies were developed: one that is limited to faculty advising and one that addresses advising at CSULB including faculty advising. From these draft policies, the Task Force will develop a policy that establishes standards for advisor workload, compensation, support, qualifications, training, and accessibility to students. The resulting policy will be forwarded to the CSULB Academic Senate for approval.
The Task Force also developed criteria for an “Outstanding Faculty Advisor” award to reward excellence in advising, which will be added to the Academic Senate Awards for Distinguished Faculty Teaching, Distinguished Faculty Scholarly and Creative Achievement, Outstanding Professor Award, and Academic Leadership Award.
In reviewing cohort academic advising practices, the Task Force referenced advising policies and standards developed by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) and endorsed by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) as well as CSU Fresno and San Francisco State University. The Task Force discovered that policies in place at other CSUs do not clearly establish workload and compensation norms.
Further, the Task Force identified a number of issues that must be addressed by a CSULB faculty advising policy, including (1) the role of professional advising staff, (2) training for the use of CMS Degree Progress Reports, (3) updating department websites and advising information, (4) need for department support staff assistance, and (5) the impact of faculty teaching loads.
Effective undergraduate advising should address university policies and regulations (placement exams, repeat/delete, credit/no credit, etc.), degree requirements, General Education requirements, requirements of the major, the relationship between college degree preparation and professional certification and accreditation requirements, and career information and preparation.
