Helping Students to Connect to Augustana
An advisee ignores you: doesn't return emails, doesn't sign up for/ show up for meetings, etc...
While it might be easy to dismiss such an advisee, it is important to make sure these students stay in contact with their college. There are a number of strategies for finding these students:
- you should be willing to restrict registration for a student. This will ensure that you see each advisee at least once a term.
- if you have consistent trouble, contact Evelyn Campbell. She will often have had some contact with a student, and has contacts on campus that can help explain and address the student's situation.
- you can ask your Peer Mentor, or a member of the advising group who is friends with the student, to help make contact with the student.
- you might consider collecting advisees' cell phone numbers at the beginning of the year, in order to give you a more direct line of contact with students.
Your advisee is struggling socially ("I don't like my roommate," "I don't like the people here," "I miss home a lot," etc..."
This is a time to ask questions: let the student talk about the problems, if s/he would like:
- what is the source of the problem?
- has the student been staying on campus? trying to connect with others?
- ask about connections between academic and social struggles.
Ways you might more actively help the student:
- refer the student to the Counseling Center, Reading/ Writing Center, CVR, Career Center, etc.., as appropriate. If you can help make an appointment, either by phone or by walking with the student, this is even better.
- Use your Peer Mentor to help out: have the PM invite the student out as part of a small group in order to encourage the student to connect with peers.
You hear through the grapevine that an advisee is struggling socially, thinking of transferring, etc...
You should try to make contact with this student if you can:
- set up a meeting for another purpose (pre-registation, for instance).
- ask your Peer Mentor to help: have the PM talk to the student to get a better sense of whether there is a problem or not.
- let Evelyn Campbell (x7533) or Mike Augspurger (x8290) know that there might be a problem: often, Evelyn or Mike will either have helpful information about the student or have other ways of contacting the student.
When you make contact with the student, ask questions:
- how are classes? dorm life? social life?
- what are you doing this summer? next year?
- are you beginning to develop longer term academic plans?
- what expectations did you have in coming here? how have they been met or not been met? what adjustments have you made?
