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Actions to be Implemented

There are four primary actions that will be implemented as part of the ��Bվ QEP.

Strengthening Advisor’s Role in Advising

Over the next four years, ��Bվ will hire approximately 29 additional professional advisors who will be centralized in Academic Advising Centers on the various campuses. The advisors will be specially trained in specific academic programs of study. Students will be mandated to see a professional advisor through their first 40 credit hours, during which time they will develop educational plans and receive advisement on a wide range of academic concerns such as core curriculum requirements, choosing a proper major, the effects of changing majors, and how to become more independent in tracking degree progression.

After 40 earned hours, faculty will serve as each student’s primary advisor, with mandatory checkpoint advising at 60 and 90 hours. Faculty will move students toward learning experiences that support the major, such as research and internships, as well as discuss career opportunities and/or graduate school.

To strengthen faculty advising, a Master Faculty Advisor Program (MFA) will be created. MFA’s will take the lead in individual departments to improve advising at those levels, predicated on the needs of a given major. MFA’s will also collaborate closely with professional advisors centralized in campus Academic Advising Centers.

Strengthening Advising Tools

Professional and faculty advisors will work together to develop three important advising tools: departmental advising syllabi, plan of study sheets, and degree sequence maps. The advising tool suite will add to the campus resources available to students and promote QEP student learning outcomes by furthering students’ understanding of degree pathways, prerequisite courses, impact of multiple major changes, withdrawing or repeating courses, and ��Bվ core curriculum and major program requirements.

Strengthening Advising Programming

Advising programming both before and during new student orientations is designed to expose students to information that will support them in defining academic goals, taking personal responsibility for developing educational plans, and engaging in appropriate learning experiences to achieve educational goals.

Specifically, students will be required to complete a mandatory online orientation prior to attending on-campus New Student Orientation. The academic advising section of the online orientation provides students with an introduction to the mission of academic advising as a teaching and learning experience, informs about expectations of advisor and advisee, explains core curriculum and graduation requirements, and provides information about other important academic policies and procedures.

During mandatory New Student and Transfer Student Orientations, Maximize Your Major programming will be implemented. The sessions are scheduled to take place after the core curriculum overview, but prior to students completing course registration. Information provided during the sessions is designed to address immediate student needs as well as provide an overview of the educational path the students have chosen, including program requirements and learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

Strengthening Technology’s Role in Advising

��Bվ has adopted the Civitas Learning Suite, a predictive analytic technology which, in part, helps campus leaders gain insight into key drivers of academic success and risk and assesses the impact of policies and initiatives in improving student progression and retention. Civitas technology also empowers advisors to engage in targeted, intentional advising by identifying which students are on track for progression or facing challenges that will negatively impact their success. Both advisors and students are enabled to view clearly documented, real-time information about coursework successfully completed or remaining to be completed in their programs of study.