Identifying Components of a Successful Faculty-Advisor Program
While research models show that faculty advisors play an important role in academic advising, the data are limited regarding faculty conceptualization of their roles and responsibilities as advisors. In this study, we gather faculty perspectives about the components that have made the model effective in a large, urban, community college. Faculty members describe their strategies for developing student accountability, goal-setting abilities, and decision-making skills. They also discuss strategies for building student academic success and encouraging student self-regulation and self-determination. The described program has helped increase buy-in from faculty members undertaking advising via systematized delivery. The faculty feedback will help others design and implement advising programs proven to increase persistence and reduce attrition.
Contributor Notes
Cynthia S. Wiseman, EdD, is an assistant professor of developmental skills at the Borough of Manhattan Community College/City University of New York. Professor Wiseman served as a BMCC Title V faculty advisor and faculty mentor and has been a presenter at the NAFSA annual conference. She received her doctorate in applied linguistics with a concentration in second language writing assessment from Teacher's College, Columbia University.
Holly Messitt, PhD, is an assistant professor of English at the Borough of Manhattan Community College/City University of New York. Professor Messitt was the part of the BMCC Title V steering committee from 2004–2005 and then joined the BMCC Title V executive committee in 2006 as the Faculty Mentor Coordinator. She co-wrote, with Glenn Miller, “Changing Culture: A New Program for Liberal Arts Advisement at an Urban Community College,” which appeared in Academic Advising Today in March 2007. She has been a presenter at the NACADA annual conference twice. For more information about this article contact hmessitt@bmcc.cuny.edu.
