Advising Data Updates

We’re working to keep you in-the-know on advising efforts underway in the Student Success Center.  Part of that transparency includes the regular sharing of key data points.

Please find below three updates that offer insight on the work completed and underway:

Mandatory Transfer Advising Appointments

Context:

• All transfers who are declared in a School of Business major are required to see a Student Success Center advisor before they can register for the next semester.
• In the appointments, SSC advisors check in on the students’ transition to CofC, discuss currently enrolled courses, make connections to academic and SSC supports, help verify (or change) the student’s major, and develop their graduation plan.
• The graduation plan is then placed into DegreeWorks for viewing at any time and to help the student prepare for registration in all future semesters.

Here’s the data (as of September 21):

• 197 total declared Business transfers whose first semester at CofC is this fall
  • 189 are required to meet with Drew/Robin/Kenndal
  • 8 are required to meet with Matthew or Marcia because they are International Business or an Athlete
• Out of the 189:
  • 147 have booked an appointment to occur before they can begin registering for spring classes (78%)
  • 42 still need to book (22%)
    • All students have been emailed at least three times to book an appointment
    • The students also all received a text message motivating action
    • Additional outreach is planned
• Mandatory advising with new transfer students in their first semester began in early September, representing the earliest start date for outreach and advising.  This is aimed at (1) proactively providing support and (2) working to ensure students who will be blocked from registration if they don’t meet with an advisor are taken care of before the broader audience of students electing to see an advisor begin booking an appointment.

Advisor Assignments

• All Business majors are now assigned to Drew, Robin, or Kenndal.
  • Athletes are assigned to Marcia.
  • International Business majors are assigned to Matthew Zittritsch.
• Work is still underway on a new “Faculty Mentor” designation that will display in DegreeWorks.  For now, the prior (or updated) faculty assignment will still display under Major Advisor.  We did not want to disrupt any relationships, so we kept all faculty assignments on students’ records. The plan, however, is to move those faculty assignments to the “Faculty Mentor” designation as soon as final approvals are granted.

Looking Back at Transfer Advising this Summer

• 222 transfer students were referred by New Student Orientation to the Student Success Center as Business-intending transfers planning to join us in Fall 2024
• ~139 of those students were advised via a 1:1 transfer advising appointment held BEFORE their orientation date (63%)
  • This affords a much more customized advising and registration experience for our new transfers.
  • Additionally, we enhanced our outreach to transfers before orientation to encourage them to complete 1:1 advising.  56% of the students were booked in appointments as a result of a phone call made by one of our outstanding student ambassadors.

Questions about any of this data?  Connect with Drew at newtonar@cofc.edu.