Faculty Advising Fellows Program

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Announcing the Call for Faculty Advising Fellows

Faculty play an essential role in student success, and you can too!

Do you have a deep commitment to student success? The research demonstrates that strong connections between faculty and their students underpin both retention and persistence to graduation, and instills a desire to become life-long learners.

Application Re-opens 2023

Faculty Advising Promotes Student Academic Success.

Who we are

The Faculty Advising Fellows Program is designed to increase advising on campus and student retention by involving university faculty more in the advisement of freshman, sophomores, and transfer students. Increased faculty contact outside of the classroom is linked to improved student success.

What we do

Faculty work in the University Advisement Center for up to one year, receiving training, asking questions, and developing connections to a community of advisors across the campus. They then take this knowledge back to their departments and colleges, where Faculty Advising Fellows provide students holistic advising for major, general education, and graduation requirements. Faculty Advising Fellows also provide a liaison between faculty and advising units across the campus, linking all partners in the goal of increased student success.

How we do it

Fellows apply for the program each year with the goal of having each college represented in the University Advisement Center. New advisors will be trained in the Center while more experienced advisors work in the departments and colleges. Fellows will receive one course reassignment per semester worked. Stipends may be available during the summer for trained and experienced advisors in lieu of a course reassignment.

Eligibility

Full-time faculty and lecturers on three-year contracts who hold a master, Ph.D. or other terminal degree (e.g. JD) and are active in their field are eligible for the Faculty Advising Fellows Program. Faculty who do not have terminal degrees will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in this opportunity, please connect with your chair/dean to obtain a letter of support from each. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Faculty Advising Fellows

Wenli Jen

Dr. Wenli Jen

Department: Health Sciences
College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing

John Keyantash

Dr. John Keyantash

Department: Earth Science
College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences

Faculty Advising Fellows Past Members

Glenn Bach

Dr. Glenn Bach

Department: Digital Media Arts
College of Arts and Humanities

Dr. Debra Best

Dr. Debbie Best

Department: English
College of Arts and Humanities

Karin Kram

Dr. Karin Kram

Department: Biology
College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences

Annemarie Perez

Dr. Annemarie Perez

Department: Interdisciplinary Studies
College of Arts and Humanities

Patrick Still

Dr. Patrick Still

Department: Chemistry
College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences

Year 1

Faculty Advising Fellows will:

  • Work in the University Advisement Center (UAC), training, asking questions, and developing connections to a community of advisors.
  • Become members of the University Advising Council.
  • Receive a course reassignment to work an average of 8 hours per week.

Scheduled time will be coordinated between the Faculty Advising Fellow and the AVP of University Advising.

Faculty Advising Fellows will be expected to coordinate their activities with other advising resources in their College as determined by the Dean. This may include regular meetings, participation on committees, and cross-training with other staff and faculty. As Colleges create comprehensive advising strategies and policies, Faculty Advising Fellows should expect to coordinate their hours and primary tasks with others to best meet student needs.

Duties Include:

  • Advise students regarding General Education and Graduation Requirements.
  • Attend training for PeopleSoft, EAB, OnBase, Dashboard, SmartPlanner, and other relevant platforms to aid advising and student success.
  • Become familiar with rules for probation (but refer students to probation advisors in UAC).
  • Participate in UAC student workshops, especially for freshman and probation students.
  • Participate, as appropriate, in on-campus advising programs such as college orientations and sessions for undecided students.
  • Attend college and campus advising workshops and summits as scheduling permits.

Approximately 3-5 new Faculty Advising Fellows should be recruited each year, ideally one Faculty Advising Fellow from each college per year. There will be outreach by Faculty Advising Fellows and associate deans/deans to help encourage a large applicant pool. Look for the call for applications to apply.

Summer

Faculty Advising Fellows will:

Trained Faculty Advising Fellows may apply for a limited number of summer positions. These positions will carry a stipend.

Summer Fellows will work 8 hours per week, on average.

Duties Include:

  • Participate in orientation sessions for transfer students especially, but also with incoming freshmen in the major and with undecided students.
  • Advise incoming transfer students, especially in the UAC.
  • Continue doing General Education advisement at the UAC and in the department.

Year 2 & beyond

Faculty Advising Fellows will:

Faculty Advising Fellows continue advising, but now conduct General Education and graduation advising primarily in the department or college. Hours should be held in the faculty member’s departmental office or in a designated advisement space. These hours are in addition to normally scheduled departmental office/advising hours. Faculty Advising Fellows may be requested to provide some hours in the UAC as needed for updated training and assisting in peak advising periods during the semester. Faculty Advising Fellows receive a course reassignment for 8 hours per week or stipend for 4 hours per week (may depend upon faculty availability and size of the department). Faculty Advising Fellows may schedule flexible hours to accommodate additional hours worked during peak pre/registration periods and in the first week or two of classes. They may “bank” hours in the week before classes begin.

If appointed for a second year, training for Faculty Advising Fellows will include skill sets related to evaluating graduation applications by students, including early intervention. Faculty Advising Fellows will learn the requirements for graduation, the most common reasons that students are denied graduation, and strategies for seeing that students graduate in a timely manner.

Duties Include:

  • Do General Education, graduation advisement, and if appropriate, combine sessions with major advising.
  • Update training at the UAC with the various advisement programs, including PeopleSoft, EAB, Dashboards, SmartPlanner.
  • May advise students on basic processes regarding probation, readmission, disqualification, and changes in catalog year, but should refer students to the UAC for assistance by advising specialists. Will be assigned a contact person, College Specialist, in the UAC to answer difficult questions during advisement sessions.
  • As appropriate, participate in on-campus advising programs such as college orientations and sessions for undecided students.
  • Coordinate with college academic advisors as appropriate.
  • Act as a liaison between college faculty and the UAC.
  • As time permits, do proactive advising. A list of majors will be available, listed by the number of units completed, so that, when time permits, the Faculty Advising Fellow can check the requirements, both G.E., graduation requirements and major, of students nearing graduation. The hope is to catch students who have not yet applied to graduate or who are missing requirements, which might not otherwise be identified until the graduation check.

Academic advisement provides a clear path
towards degree completion.