K-State unveils plan for further campuswide advising enhancement
Advice for students comes in all shapes and sizes.
Sometimes it’s a quick tip, like “always wear matching socks.” Other times it’s life-altering, like a suggestion to switch your academic plan.
An academic advisor’s guidance can drastically change a student’s professional trajectory, which is why consistency and proactivity are crucial. To provide students with the highest level of personalized support, K-State is transitioning to a professional advising model within multiple colleges.
Currently, each college shares a set of advising expectations, but no core method. The centralized model will ensure that all students receive equitable advising experiences and will increase advisors’ confidence in providing both in and outside of the classroom advice.
Following recommendations from the National Institute for Student Success, K-State recognized that evolving their advising expectations is a promising avenue to improve student retention and degree completion.
“The move to a centralized model of professional advising for all of our students is part of the college’s broader commitment to creating the enabling conditions for students’ success,” said Christie Launius, associate dean of student success.
Four colleges — Architecture, Planning and Design; Business Administration; Education; and Health and Human Sciences — are already fully using the model, with the College of Arts and Sciences in the transitional process. The Carl R. Ice College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture are next to adopt the model in the fall of 2025.
Groundwork is being laid for universitywide implementation of advisor and professional development training, standardized practices and policies and the use of common technological tools.
Using the model as a guide, academic advising leadership will assist in creating a standard process for faculty-mentoring experiences and hire additional advisors for the spring of 2025.
“We look forward to welcoming professional advisors to enhance student services across the college, as well as developing a robust faculty-student mentoring program to further support students in their academic and professional goals,” said Jennifer Minick Borrmann, assistant dean of academic programs.
Written By: Abbigail Marshall
Curated from: https://www.k-state.edu/today/students/announcement/?id=102039
