“A Lost Opportunity for Exploration:
Advising Services in the Diederich College of Communication” Katie Doherty May 3, 2012 Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between career counseling and academic advising in the Marquette University Diederich College of Communication. I conducted interviews, took observational field notes at advising and career counseling sessions, and researched scholarly literature on the topic. From my research, I created a proposal for change to improve academic advising so that it collaborates more closely with Career Services to benefit students. Advising at Marquette was nothing that I expected it to be when I made my college decision. I came to this private, Jesuit college expecting individualized meetings and career planning. I needed help in deciding a major and creating a plan for my future. Instead I was greeted with forms, bulletins and numerous lists of courses. All of my advising focused on the technical aspects of registration. While my advisors were able to answer questions about the process of choosing classes – how many credit hours should I take, what classes are only offered a certain semester, how to get permission numbers – I could not find any opportunity on campus to help me explore my options. This experience motivated me to question Marquette’s mission. Does the university truly care for the whole person? How can students find ways to explore their options? I felt that Marquette was more focused on job training than holistic education. This led to for my research question for a semester-long study: how does the College of Communication’s advising aid students in choosing majors, career paths, and post-graduate plans? My research started as a reflection on my own experience as a freshmen and sophomore. I then took that experience to form my research question: How does advising in the Diederich College of Communication work with Career Services to assist students in career exploration? I focused my research on Marquette’s existing resources and how the different departments communicate and collaborate. My Motivation and Background Last year as a freshman, I was seriously considering changing my major and future career choice. I thought advising could help me. I thought Career Services was a resource for older upperclassmen looking for serious job placement, not a freshman struggling to chose a path in college. There was not a doubt in my mind that my advisor could help. In high school I could go to my counselor (and advisor) for anything. She was willing to talk things through and help me explore all of my options. She had given me personal and professional advice, which eventually led me to choosing the right college, scheduling all of my classes and joining numerous honor societies. I knew that advising in college could not be as personal as it was in high school due to the sheer number of students, but I was expecting to talk to someone who cared and wanted me to succeed. Instead I was treated like a number. I sought help from my freshmen advisor. Coincidentally she was the freshman advisor for the entire college. How could one person possibly address the needs of every freshmen in the College of Communication? Don’t first-year students need stability? The jump from high school to college is challenging, but wouldn’t having a consistent advisor that they can depend on would make the transition easier? This experience made me question Marquette’s resources for students. The admissions website claims to help students undecided about a major. It says, “Undecided about a major? You're not alone. In fact, ‘undecided’ is our most popular major.” The site goes on to rename undecided as “multi-interested.” It encourages students to utilize the core of common studies, advising and a majors fair. But what about students who are not enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences? Most of these resources – the advising center, professional advising staff, the same core requirements, and the Arts & Sciences major fair – are not available or advertised to students in other colleges. When fall advising week came, I was greeted by a classroom of nearly 40 students. Freshmen were split into group advising by major. I woke up early and walked in the rain to sit through a power point presentation on registering for classes. I knew the technical aspects of registration – how to use Checkmarq, how to plan classes – but I couldn’t answer the big questions. What did I want to do with my life? How can I use my talents for good? What is my vocation? These were the discussions I searched for. I wanted someone to listen. At 18, how was I supposed to decide my future? I was a high school senior when I clicked that major on my college application. One click of a mouse put me into this mess. It wasn’t that I hated journalism, I just craved more. I wanted to know my options and receive individualized advice. College was supposed to be a time to explore my options and reflect on what I wanted to do. Because the advising system let me down and created stress in my life, I felt that Marquette as a whole did not care about me. I sought help anywhere I could, and I received nothing. My advisors dismissed and deserted me. I was a freshman drowning in a sea of possibilities. I felt like a number, not a student. I thought Marquette would provide me with a support system. I had envisioned myself at college studying what I enjoyed and choosing a major later in my academic career. When I got to campus it seemed everyone was pushing me to know what I wanted now and build a resume for a job. I saw a great divide and disconnect between what Marquette preaches as a Jesuit university and what advising does. My experiences with admissions, mass, and Campus Ministry encouraged me to take risks and find what I was meant to do. Advising showed me that I needed to know my major now in order to graduate. I’m more concerned with my success in life. I want to be happy, and I want to serve others the best way I can. The Jesuits advocate working for the common good, and finding your place in the world. I can’t find my way to help because I do not know my talents. I want counseling and clear advice on what path I should take in college. Methods My ethnography centers on a mixed-method qualitative study to examine the process of advising and the resources Marquette offers to students. My research began with an interview of a sophomore student in the College of Communication. I then drew on interviews with Joyce Wolburg, associate dean in the College of Communication; Kristin Adler, assistant director of the Career Services Center; and observational field notes from a Reverse Career Fair, a mock interview with career services, and an advising session from the Spring 2012 semester. I also examined scholarly literature on the topics of advising, career counseling, and undecided majors and Marquette’s on website’s text on exploration and advising services. I first contemplated my own experience with advising in a narrative inquiry and then approached the topic for a research study. I interviewed only a sample of those involved in advising, but these three subjects – a student, advising professional, and a career services professional – are the ideal demographic for my proposal. Each person I interviewed represents a group involved in the advising and career exploration process. I examined both parties present at advising meetings, a student and advisor. Dean Wolburg also gave me a look into the administration of advising as she is both a dean and faculty advisor. Kristin Adler represented the many resources available through Career Services that compliment the academic advising components available through the college. My research is only a small look into advising, but the Diederich College of Communication’s advising survey’s data, which should be available near the end of the academic year, will give a more complete look into the program’s strengths and shortcomings, highlighting areas of improvement. Results At the Reverse Career Fair in February, I estimated about 150 students attended with about 40 student organizations. About 30 employers stopped at my sorority’s booth to talk. Seven sorority members attended the career fair. There are 92 women in the organization total. Of the employers that stopped to talk, two had opportunities in the educational field, which I am hoping to enter. I went on two interviews after making connections at the career fair and learned of a service opportunity for my organization. My mock interview at Career Services lasted about half an hour total. I used this appointment to prepare for an upcoming interview. The questions asked at the mock interview were similar, if not the same, to what I was asked at the interview. I also had my resume critiqued and was given feedback on interview topics. The career services counselor advised me to ask multiple follow-up questions about the place of employment. She said employers want to know you did research on them and are interested in the position. In short, everyone wants to talk about themselves. My feedback from the mock interview can be seen in Appendix-B. My spring advising session lasted roughly ten minutes. My advisor asked how I was doing in school and asked my GPA. When I said I had a 3.8, he responded jokingly, “And you’re coming to me with advice?” He then could not find my advising form stating my requirements and what classes I have already taken. He told me if I had any scheduling questions to ask him, but I should be fine. My advisor did ask about my name, family, and career goals to get to know me. He also said I should consider study abroad and wished me luck on my internship search. My interviews were semi-scripted, and I asked follow-up questions for clarity as needed. A sample interview script (Appendix-A) shows typical questions pertaining to the topic as it applied to my interviewee. An Exploration in Missing Collaboration Advising and career counseling are two distinct and separate entities at Marquette University. Not only are these resources located in separate buildings across campus (advising, while separated by college, has a center in Marquette Hall, while the Career Services Center is in Holthusen Hall), but the centers also differentiate in staffing and resources. Some students have found other mentors on their own as a form of alternative advising. A student questioning his or her major cannot receive advice on a future career path at his or her advising session. How can advising and career services work together to assist students in finding majors, career paths and post-graduation plans? My research led me to question the consistency, independence, alternatives and opportunities advising has to offer. Consistency I interviewed Grace Johnson, a sophomore in the College of Communication, to learn what her experience was like with advising at Marquette. She said she has had three different advisors in her two years at Marquette. “(In) your earlier years I think you should have a consistent advisor,” Johnson said. She also expressed concern over the topics discussed in her advising sessions. She said they talk about the big picture, but not the logistics, such as what classes to take and how to apply for internships so that she can gain experience. “They’re just too broad when you’re in there really,” she said. “It needs to be more specific.” Johnson also described the differences between advisors. From this interaction, I determined that there isn’t enough commonality in a typical advising session. Johnson’s perspective showed me there needs to be some sort of consistency in advising. Wolburg said that students in the College of Communication typically receive group advising from the assistant dean, Dr. Chioma Ugochuckwo, and then sophomore year all students in a specific year and major, for example all sophomore journalism students, are paired with an advisor. Johnson said she did not benefit from this format of advising. She said she would rather have one advisor for all four years with one on one meetings. Wolburg said, “That’s a relatively new system for our college that we implemented when she arrived, and this is only her second year, and so she may continue to tweak that system over time, but that’s what we’re currently doing ...” The group advising model is new to the college, but through my interviews and reflective narrative inquiry, it does not seem as though this model benefits students. Wolburg said students have the opportunity to meet individually with Dr. Ugochuckwo, the freshmen advisor, but they must schedule that appointment themselves and reach out to her for advice. Too much independence? Johnson said she had experienced stress from planning her schedule every semester. Johnson explained: “... They give you options, but I would like a little more planning and structure to how I’m doing it. I feel like they’ll give me five different options of what I should be taking, but they’re not really telling me how much of a load each of this is going to be and stuff like that. I feel like they could be more descriptive when I’m in there.” Johnson’s description of this experience raises the question do advisors in the College of Communication leave too much up to the students to figure out. They handed Johnson pamphlets, handouts and the gigantic Undergraduate Bulletin that lists every course, major requirement and credit hour needed to graduate for every program in the university. But what if she reads it wrong? Who is going to stop her from scheduling the wrong class? Who will know if a class won’t be offered next semester? I learned that advisors expect students to work on scheduling on their own but still require mandatory advising meetings to register for classes, which takes time out of students’ schedules. Wolburg said advisors act as a resource to their students and should be available to answer questions, or at least point them in the right direction. She said, “There’s just a lot of questions that advisors can answer or at least they can send you to the right person to get the right answer. I would hope that at the end of four years a student would feel that they had a helping hand all the way through that they could go to not only to find out what courses they needed to take, but somebody who could answer all the questions that come up.” The difference in the administrative and student perspective on advising shows that the plan for advising in the college is not realized in actual practice. Advising is planned to benefit students, but in actuality many of the resources advisors are expected to provide are not given to students. Because advisors are not given any training, they may not be informed on how to best answer student questions or where to send them. Alternative Advising Johnson also said the best advice and help she has received has not come from Marquette advising, but resources that she has sought out herself. She said she has made multiple appointments with Career Services and received great advice on internships, resume help and interviewing preparation, but this was not something advising gave her. She went and found it for herself. Professor Herbert Lowe, a journalism professor in the College of Communication, typically holds meetings with students and gives them advice. I personally have had Professor Lowe for two different classes, and I continue to see him regularly. I have received great advice from him toward my major and career expectations. He has encouraged me and given me solid advice on how to chose a future career, find an internship and market myself professionally. Lowe is not a advisor for the college. No one mandates that he follows up with past students, but he does anyway. His meetings are more helpful and thought out than any advising session I have ever been to. Last summer I introduced Grace Johnson to Professor Lowe. She needed career advice and guidance. He has since included her in meetings, given her tips on internships and reviewed her resume with her. When asked if Marquette helps her narrow down her post-graduation plans, Johnson said: “I think you have to search for it. I think, at least in the College of Comm, I have to find those resources so I can explore my options. They tell you about it, but they don’t tell you exactly how to do it. So like with (Lowe), I searched for that, and I went and talked to people about that.” Johnson said that the college does not present her with these resources, but she has found them through friends and networking. I attended a mock interview at Career Services, not because I learned of this opportunity through the college but because my friend who works there said it was a great opportunity. I have never heard of any career services opportunity advertised through the college. Before finding out what they offered for myself, I had no idea they could help with aptitude testing, mock interviews, resume critique and internship searches. Career-Based Opportunities Last February I attended Marquette’s first Reverse Career fair. I would have never known about this great event if my sorority, Pi Beta Phi, had not encouraged me to go. I never heard about this fair through the College of Communication. Johnson helped organize my sorority's involvement in the career fair and planned a career panel about incorporating Greek life experience into the job search. All of these opportunities came to her through Pi Beta Phi, not the College of Communication. While at the fair, Johnson and I stood with our sorority and met employers. We handed out our resumes and fact sheets about Pi Phi. A senior transition officer later ran a career panel for Pi Phi, so we collected about 30 total business cards and put them in a small bowl. The amount of people at the fair remained at a consistent number. I estimated 150 students were in attendance with about 40 organizations. The number of employers total is hard to estimate because they were constantly moving, but about 25 to 30 stopped to talk to someone in Pi Phi. Of the employers I talked to, two had opportunities in the educational field, what I am interested in going into. Almost every other employee was somehow in the business field. Of the Pi Phis in attendance, four were in the College of Communication, two in Business, and one in Education. After my participation and reflection on the career fair, I was left with many questions. Do career planning resources need to be made more accessible to students? Why should a student have to search out resume help and career fairs by his or herself? Why are these events not advertised to students through the College of Communication or the college’s advising services? The Career Services Center provides individualized meetings and advice for all students, not just those near graduation. Kristin Adler said freshmen can come to Career Services or the Counseling Center to help explore majors. Career Services can give assessment testing and share that with the Counseling Center to talk through major options. Then these students can come to Career Services to talk through career options as it relates to the student’s interests. Adler said career counseling at the center is based on “interests, skills, and values.” This kind of focused discussion is exactly what advising lacks. If these services collaborated more closely, students could utilize more university resources and opportunities. Communication Between Advising and Career Services Adler said that counselors in Career Services work as liaisons to the various colleges on campus in an effort to promote the center to students. She said, “We pretty much do any kind of publicity out there, and we kind of make ourselves crazy because of it.” Adler said the center uses word of mouth to spread the word. She said the student staff at Career Services do a lot to bring in students. Every month the center sends out a newsletter, Career FYI, and utilizes all social media. Adler said, “I think advising is key, and whenever we can get in front of an advisor to communicate what we do I think we’re better... What we find sometimes with advisors and faculty, which are a lot of time one in the same, we find that they don’t really know what we are.” She said advisors also do not know to send students to Career Services. Wolburg said, “To tell you the truth, I think we rely more on career services to send out announcements to students independently. I’m not sure that all the advisors know everything that career services is doing.” Wolburg said there is maybe an opportunity to work better in collaboration with Career Services. Advising Outside of Marquette Universities and colleges everywhere have struggled with advising. This is not just a Marquette issue. A research study based on involving undecided students in the career counseling process asserted, “If a student becomes more involved in thinking about his or her future career, then the student has a better chance of success both in selecting a career he or she will find satisfying and in college in general.” (Lepre, 81). The study then argued for more outreach to encourage students to utilize career counseling. The study also advised universities to reach out to freshmen and first-semester sophomores to intervene quickly in students that are undecided so that they have continued support. The research concluded that career counseling should be more greatly advertised to students. It said, “Most advertise in campus newspapers and participate in some way during freshman orientation activities. Many others advertise on local radio and television stations and provide speakers who visit sororities, fraternities, and other student groups to discuss what the career counseling center has to offer.” (Lepre, 81). In addition to using these strategies to advertise to Career Services Center, Marquette could provide faculty advisors with information that must be given to students, even if it is only a flyer. Another study, which focused on results from alumni psychology majors, found that career counseling and advising is growing increasingly important in the job search. The article referenced Marquette, “For alumni at Marquette University, the department's perceived contribution to the alumni achieving their career goals was the single most important factor affecting the overall valuation of the department (Quereshi, 1988).” (Ogletree, 1999). This study praised Marquette’s focus on career exploration. Proposal Communication and collaboration between advising and career services can be improved so that students are more aware of their options in career and major exploration. In the short term, advisors can be given training on what resources the university has to offer students. They can also have fliers of career services events available to all students they meet with. In the long term, all university advising can occupy the same building as career services and work together to create graduation plans. The university could also hire professional advisors for all colleges and eliminate freshmen group advising. This new advising model would incorporate aptitude testing, career services, and advising into one united program and give all students access to professional and individualized advising. This advising model could be applied to other colleges and universities. The College of Communication should continue the use of advising feedback surveys but make them more accessible. The college could send out these surveys electronically and give students time in class to give feedback to ensure a significant response. By continuing to evaluate advising the college can track trends in weaknesses and strengths and adjust the system accordingly. References Adler, Kristin. Interview. Advising session, fieldnotes. Johnson, Grace. Interview. Lepre, C. (2007). Getting Through to Them: Reaching Students Who Need Career Counseling. Career Development Quarterly, 56(1), 74. Mock interview, fieldnotes. Ogletree, S. (1999). Improving career advising: Responding to alumni surveys. Journal Of Instructional Psychology, 26(1), 42. Reverse Career Fair, fieldnotes. Wolburg, Joyce. Interview. |