As the new academic year approaches, college academic advisors play a crucial role in setting the stage for student success.
A thoughtfully prepared back-to-school checklist ensures that advisors are ready to meet the diverse needs of their students, from academic planning to mental health support. This checklist goes beyond the basics, offering a comprehensive approach to advising that includes everything from reviewing curriculum changes to promoting student involvement, fostering staff collaboration, and integrating holistic advising practices.
By taking the time to review and refresh key areas, advisors can create an environment that not only supports students academically but also enhances their overall well-being and sense of belonging. This article will provide you with many of essential tasks to consider, ensuring that you’re fully equipped to guide your students through another successful academic year with confidence and care.
Here are some ideas for your back-to-school checklist:
Physical Office Readiness: Ensure your physical office space is welcoming and disarming, decluttered and clean, and restocked with necessary handouts, brochures, office supplies, and business cards.
Virtual Office Readiness: Ensure your virtual or real background looks great on camera, consider your lighting and audio quality for potential improvements, and reflect on ways to make your virtual setup fun and welcoming.
Email Checkup: Review the email templates you use for the most commonly asked questions for accuracy and tone. Are these templates still accurate, and do they convey a warm and welcoming tone with as little jargon as possible? Take a look at your email signature. Is it still accurate, and if it includes links, do the links still work?
Website Checkup: Take a look at your department’s website. Are there any broken links? Is the information up-to-date, such as contact information, staff information, and policies? Can your site be more accessible? Is there anything outdated that needs to be taken down, such as that PDF from 2012?
Update Advising Tools and Resources: Ensure all handouts are up-to-date and still accurate, by going through the handouts in your desk drawer or wall brochure holders. Print more copies of the ones you’re running low on. Update any advising templates or forms you use to reflect current academic policies and procedures.
Review Student Support Services: Refresh your knowledge about the services available to students, such as tutoring, testing, and career services. Perhaps the people who lead these areas should attend an advising staff meeting to give updates on their services.
Reconnect with Campus Partners: Ensure you have up-to-date contacts for student services, such as counseling, the veteran’s support center, and financial aid, as people and contact information can change over the summer. Reach out to key departments to discuss any changes that might affect advising. Review any changes in course offerings, major requirements, or academic policies. Familiarize yourself with the courses that still have lots of open seats that might interest your advisees.
Refresh Your Advising Techniques: Revisit the principles of your office’s advising mission, values, or preferred advising model. Revisit the principles of key concepts like SMART Goals, Growth Mindset, and coaching models to ensure you're at the top of your game to start the year. Review the strategies for active listening techniques to ensure you’re fully present in advising sessions. Read a few articles on enhancing techniques for unique student populations.
Set Goals for the Academic Year: Identify areas for your own growth, and set goals for things like attending workshops, webinars, or conferences or earning a certificate in academic advising or a certificate in student affairs leadership. Talk to your supervisor about your goals for the academic year and request they invest in your advising professional development.
Student Success Goals: Consider how you’ll measure the success of your advising this year—whether through student retention, satisfaction, or academic performance. Reflect on how your role impacts these key performance indicators.
Mental Health Awareness: Ensure you have up-to-date information for campus mental health resources, including counseling services, wellness programs, and crisis support. Review lists of common signs for student mental health concerns, so you are ready to spot them and know what to do when you see them.
Student Involvement Readiness: Check out the campus events calendar for the next couple of weeks and familiarize yourself with upcoming events, clubs, and organizations that could enhance your students' college experience. If there are clubs you regularly promote, double-check the club is still active and that its contact information is still accurate so you’re not promoting a club that disbanded three years ago or referring your advisee to a faculty member who is no longer the club's advisor.
Plan and Write Your Pre-Semester Outreach: Before you run out of time, draft a warm welcome note to your students, setting a positive tone for the year. Edit and revise before sending it.
Find a Campus Event to Attend: Students notice and appreciate staff involvement on campus. Find a sporting event to attend, an interesting speaker, or a wellness event. Stroll through the involvement fair to say hi to students and learn about new clubs. Attend a music recital or a new student welcome event. And stop by the bookstore to grab a new tee shirt to show your school pride.
Plan Team Building Activities: Organize a team-building retreat or workshop to strengthen collaboration and morale within your advising office. Identify projects where advisors can work together, such as developing new advising resources or planning student success workshops.
Self-Care and Wellness: Take time for yourself. Consider stress-reducing practices to maintain energy and enthusiasm throughout the year to limit burnout. Set wellness goals for the first month, such as taking a break to walk around campus most days.
As you finalize your preparations for the upcoming academic year, this back-to-school checklist serves as a helpful guide to ensure you’re ready to support your students holistically.
By focusing on key areas such as mental health awareness, student involvement, and staff collaboration, you’re setting the foundation for a successful year. With thoughtful planning and a proactive approach, you’ll be well-equipped to help your students thrive academically and personally throughout the year!
