Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Category
Professional Experiences
Abstract/Artist Statement
Advisors are Ambassadors
We can improve UM’s graduation rates by increasing our students’ levels of hope. (Snyder et al, 1999) found a significant positive correlation between student Hope Scale scores and graduation rates. In this study, about 56% of students with high hope graduated on time, compared to only about 40% of those with low hope (Snyder et al, 1999, p. 824). They further found that through consistent interaction with others, hope could be either increased or decreased. Snyder’s (2002) Hope Theory attributes hope to a combination of agency- a person’s willpower and confidence in their ability to accomplish goals, and pathways- are the steps that they make on the route to achieve their goals.
Academic advisors can increase the hope levels of our students by making their pathways clearer, leading to small wins along the way, which in turn increases their sense of agency. Advisors are the ambassadors between students and their university, and we can apply the very same person-centered techniques that we use with students to communicate with our colleagues at our university and gain their assistance to reduce student confusion. I offer eight recommendations advisors can follow that have helped to clear the pathways for students at UM.
- Ask for consistent referrals for prospective students.
- Use person-centered language to ask departments to remove defunct concentrations/minors.
- Ask to be notified when messages sent to students could cause students to contact their advisors.
- Help departments reduce curricular complexity.
- Help departments reduce scheduling conflicts.
- Help departments reduce the need for overrides.
- Be mindful of departmental timelines.
- Seek and offer alternative solutions.
Our colleagues at UM also want students to succeed, so we can collaborate with them to increase our students’ levels of hope, and their graduation rates.
Mentor Name
Stephen Yoshimura
Advisors are Ambassadors
UC 327
Advisors are Ambassadors
We can improve UM’s graduation rates by increasing our students’ levels of hope. (Snyder et al, 1999) found a significant positive correlation between student Hope Scale scores and graduation rates. In this study, about 56% of students with high hope graduated on time, compared to only about 40% of those with low hope (Snyder et al, 1999, p. 824). They further found that through consistent interaction with others, hope could be either increased or decreased. Snyder’s (2002) Hope Theory attributes hope to a combination of agency- a person’s willpower and confidence in their ability to accomplish goals, and pathways- are the steps that they make on the route to achieve their goals.
Academic advisors can increase the hope levels of our students by making their pathways clearer, leading to small wins along the way, which in turn increases their sense of agency. Advisors are the ambassadors between students and their university, and we can apply the very same person-centered techniques that we use with students to communicate with our colleagues at our university and gain their assistance to reduce student confusion. I offer eight recommendations advisors can follow that have helped to clear the pathways for students at UM.
- Ask for consistent referrals for prospective students.
- Use person-centered language to ask departments to remove defunct concentrations/minors.
- Ask to be notified when messages sent to students could cause students to contact their advisors.
- Help departments reduce curricular complexity.
- Help departments reduce scheduling conflicts.
- Help departments reduce the need for overrides.
- Be mindful of departmental timelines.
- Seek and offer alternative solutions.
Our colleagues at UM also want students to succeed, so we can collaborate with them to increase our students’ levels of hope, and their graduation rates.