Feedback from Student Forum on SLOs, the Advising Experience, and Student Responsibilities

Academic Advising Council

Student Forum Feedback on SLOs/Advising Experience/Student Responsibilities

September 12, 2024

Question 1.  What are your expectations regarding academic advising?  How have your experiences informed your expectations?

• Know more about processes—details number of credits, which credits transfer, courses of academic pathway account for degree
• What would need to shift if changing major. Also transfer information—where will classes transfer.
• General information about GRCC—(example: printers, Blackboard, Online Center, etc.,)
• Theory verses practice—How to find something when specific details are not explained. What to need for specific classes.  Advisors sometimes share the general process that students need to follow, but do not go through the specific steps—this can make it hard to know where to start.
• Not a lot of direction on your next steps—how-to?
• Knowing where to find information about where to go and what to do. (Dispute grades etc). More centralized area for information.
• Scholarships—supplies not sold in bookstore, what you need for specific questions
• Student employee responsible
• More interconnected system is needed with other departments
• Grievances processes
• Strengthened information system
• Lots of information is available on campus, but not organized very well. The GRCC knowledge base would be a great place for this to find this information.
• Navigate doesn’t really help with this
• Re-directing to different departments—use of GRCC knowledge-base for students
• Not knowing about DSS prior to starting. It would have been helpful to know more about resources on campus before starting as a student.

Question 2. Do the learning outcomes shared align with your expectations?

• Yes
• Pretty on point
• Price tag with path—how much will that impact me financially
• Only met with advisor formally twice
• MTA
• Helpful

Question 3.  Are there any outcomes you’d like to see changed or added?

• Student tutor sees a lot of students who are placed in courses and they are not prepared or suited for them.
• Lack of basic skills for using computers or writing papers. Hard to help students who do not have basic skills for classes. Advisors might suggest classes that students are not ready for yet. Maybe there is another way to evaluate technological and writing literacy.  Program alignment.
• Customize timeline—seems more like assignments (success coaches) vs program courses. Projected timelines for finishing at GRCC is important. Wording might need to be changed for this outcome.
• More temporary adult student thinks timeline/lifestyle is important as situations change
• International students have struggled to find advising resources. Hard to navigate the rules required. A dedicated team for International students would be helpful.
• Signed up for more than one online course/highlight regulations
• Another department for international student support/support team
  • Lack of resources
  • Lack of information on GRCC website such as departments, locations, resources
• More information on who to call
• When you need to talk with advisor
• Need support for quick questions
• Knowing financial ramifications for changing their major. For example, how much extra would it cost to change from major A to major B?

Question 4. How would you describe your role/responsibilities as a student in the academic advising process?

• Know what I want—how do we get to the goal?
• Be prepared with questions to understand how to get through process
• Take action and follow through with information and assignments
• Desire for future—make it clear even if you don’t know what to do
• It might be helpful to have an email inbox for common questions that do not need an entire appointment.
• Advisors help students understand the differences between programs and then students will follow the plans created between the student and advisor.

Question 5. What is the single most important thing GRCC can do to improve the academic advising experience for you?

• More advisors especially during first week
• More evals
• Web page links—easier to access wording and broken links
• Improve web page knowledge base for advising
• Clear summary before appointment on appointment page—not very intuitive
• Disability support, trio resources awareness
• Differences between advisors
• Right pathway for me
• Each department through own website—updates/accuracy—frustrating—for more self navigating
• Strengthening departments and connectivity
• Info boards
• More class reg, help balancing, tools for progress
• Better understanding about different advising centers. Who is the point person and how do students know who to go to when they are connected to different advising departments. (Example, if a student is connected to Trio and DSS).
• Use the Knowledge base to better organize information.

Question 6.  Have you ever gone to your classroom faculty for advising?

• 4 of 15 have
• Professors don’t know a lot of things that we need for advising