November 2023 - June 2024
Director of Implementation for the Holistic Advising Initiative within the College of Business
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Overview
I work as an Academic Peer Advisor within the College of Business. Our responsibility is to support the students of our college through various advising services such as personalized graduation plans, drop-in advising assistance, study abroad support, change of major advising, and more. Every week we have an all-hands meeting, one of which the idea of “holistic advising” was brought up by my manager. Feeling inspired, I built upon the idea further into a proposal that I presented to my manager which, although fairly rudimentary, outlined the basic premise of providing a more integrated and personalized advising experience for students. I now act as the Director for the Holistic Advising Initiative within our office and am proud of the progress made towards integrating Holistic Advising into how we advise our fellow students.
What I have done?
Proposal Creation: Developed a proposal for implementing a holistic advising program, addressing students' academic, personal, and career.
Management Approval: I received feedback which I implemented into a final proposal which I presented to management, receiving enthusiastic approval for the program's advancement.
Team Presentation: Led an informative session for 30+ fellow peer advisors and professional staff during an all-hands meeting, detailing the holistic advising framework and its implementation strategy.
Advisor Training: Conducted training for peer advisors, sharing techniques and strategies for holistic advising to ensure a unified and effective approach.
Next Steps…
As the Program Director, my focus will now shift towards the expansion and deepening of our holistic advising capabilities. We cannot simply expect our team to be able to know how to carry out the practice of holistic advising from watching presentations.
Mini-Course Development: I will be spearheading the creation of a comprehensive mini-course designed specifically for our advising team. This course will delve deeper into the principles of holistic advising, providing our advisors with an even more robust toolkit to support our students' diverse needs.
Interactive Learning: The mini-course will feature a mix of interactive modules, real-world case studies, and practical exercises, ensuring that learning is not only informative but also engaging and applicable to our daily advising practices.
General Training Integration: A key initiative will be the incorporation of holistic advising training into our new hire onboarding process. This ensures that all peer advisors moving forward are equipped with the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to provide holistic support.
What is Holistic Advising?
Holistic advising aims to address not just academic needs, but also personal, career, and extra-curricular aspects of a student's life, ensuring a well-rounded support system. By considering the whole student, advisors can more effectively guide students towards their goals and feel a shared sense of responsibility for the students future. This approach is rooted in the understanding that a student's performance and decisions are influenced by a multitude of interconnected factors.
Introduction and Training Presentation:
What is the value added?
Implementing holistic advising within our academic advising team is pivotal for several reasons. First, it aligns with our institution's mission to support students' overall success and retention rates. By adopting a holistic approach, we can foster a more nurturing and supportive environment that acknowledges and addresses the diverse needs of each and every student. This method not only enhances student satisfaction and retention but also improves academic outcomes by providing tailored advice that considers all aspects of a student's life. Moreover, holistic advising positions our college as a leader in the advising realm, distinguishing us from the other advising centers of other colleges at Cal Poly. Ultimately, by empowering our advisors with a holistic framework, we can better support our peers within our college.
Original Proposal:
