Promising Practices: The Advising Buddies Program at Temple University

Submitted by Dane Zdunowksi, Temple University

Introduction

Working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges to our personal and professional lives.  Some of those challenges include advisor well-being and lack of connection with colleagues outside of regular meetings.  To help with these challenges, the CPH Professional Development committee created the Advising Buddies program.  The program relates to both the Advisor Training & Development and Well-Being & Advisor Retention advising communities from NACADA. 

Promising Practice: Advising Buddies Program

Before I discuss the program itself, I want to give a shout out to the CPH Professional Development committee-- Alyssa Garnich, Lauren Hosko McKenzie, and Nicole Howard for their awesome work in getting this program up and running!  The Advising Buddies program started in the Fall 2020 semester and pairs advisors within the college that advise different majors. The program seeks to have advisors observe each other in student appointments to be able to provide peer feedback. 

For the Fall 2020 semester, the pairings ran for a two-week period and then advisors would change buddies.  We had three rounds of pairings for the fall, and advisors completed a post-round survey to offer their feedback and reflection on working with their buddy.  We also incorporated a group discussion at our fall retreat to discuss what people learned from the program. 

Based on feedback, the program changed for the Spring 2021 semester.  Instead of pairs, we created groups of three for each round of the program.  We also extended each round to last a month (four weeks,  since people felt that two weeks was not enough time with each buddy. This would allow for more time for each buddy to observe multiple appointments and more time to get to know one another.    

The program is a great opportunity for the advising buddies to learn more about a major they do not advise and to share their own personal best practices with each other.  For example, I advise for the Health Professions major but learned a lot when I observed appointments with the Nursing advisors.  I took away many excellent resources which I was able to share with my students who are looking to apply for accelerated nursing programs after graduation.

Outside of observing appointments, some groups found different ways to connect with their buddies, such as having a virtual lunch together.  This was a great way for advisors to meet in an informal, relaxed setting and just catch up with each other.

The Advising Buddies program also lends itself to provide peer feedback to our advising colleagues.  Assessment in advising is important, and most feedback is only given during the annual performance review process required by Human Resources.  Peer feedback is not part of the performance review process since we only meet with and hear from our direct supervisors.  “By reviewing student-advisor correspondence, observing advising sessions, assessing the advisor’s knowledge-base, and considering student and peer feedback, administrators can more effectively assess advisor performance and set standards to which advisors can be held accountable (Ohrablo, 2019).”   

Practical Considerations

If you or your advising team are looking to start an Advising Buddies program, here are some things to consider before implementation:

●        What size groups do you want to have- pairs, three people, etc.?

●        How long do you want to have each round?

●        How many appointments should be observed (two, three, or more)?

●        What are the intended outcomes of the program for your advising unit?

●        Do you want to include advisors from other advising units?

●        What social aspects do you want to incorporate into the program- lunches, games, etc.?

●        Do you want to include a survey for participants to complete after each round?

●        Will there be a chance for participants to discuss what they learned in a group setting?

●        Would your students be ok with other advisor(s) shadowing the appointment?

One thing to note is that this program has been operating virtually via Zoom for the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters due to remote work.  The program has worked great in a virtual environment, and hopefully will work for an in-person setting as well.

In terms of the survey used after each round of the program, here are some of the questions we included in the online form (submitted via Google forms):

●        How would you describe your buddy’s advising approach or style?

●        Did your buddy use any technology, software and/or online tools that were new to you?

●        What is one thing your buddy did that you might adopt in your own advising sessions?

●        In your opinion, what are your buddy's top strengths as an advisor based on what you observed?

●        What suggestions do you have for your buddy to continue in their growth as an advisor?

This was the first time our advising team has facilitated a program like this, as such it continues to evolve. Please feel free to contact me at dpz@temple.edu with any questions. Also reach out if your advising unit already does a program like this as we are open to suggestions and feedback!

References

Ohrablo, S. (2019, February 6). Academic advising Metrics: Are we measuring the right things? https://www.academicimpressions.com/blog/academic-advising-metrics/.

Bio 

I currently work in the College of Public Health (CPH) at Temple University where I advise students in the Health Professions major. I have been in higher education for over 13 years, starting out my career in financial aid and then moving to academic advising where I have worked for more than six years. For the CPH advising team, I am part of the Professional Development and Transfer Task Force committees.  I currently serve on the NACADA steering committee for the Advisor Training & Development (ATD) advising community. I also serve as liaison to Region 2 for the Well-Being & Advisor Retention (WBAR) advising community.