In Fall 2015, GateWay Community College implemented a one-year faculty advisors pilot.
Seven faculty in the fall and six in the spring were selected to be part of the pilot; a majority from the academic divisions at GateWay’s 40th & Washington campus.
“We wanted to start out small,” says Kelly McPhee, advising director for the college, “so we asked each division for recommendations and potential candidates. We provided formal advisement training, tips for navigating the Student Information System (SIS), as well as other useful resources.
“While it’s a first for GateWay, a few of our sister colleges within the district have been using this model, some more actively than others,” explains McPhee.
Faculty commit three hours per week to advising students in the Advisement area located in the IE Building. Several faculty have stated that the training and support provided from the beginning played a key role in the success of the pilot.
“I heard that this model was in place many years ago but it did not work out well because of the lack of training,” says Mary Carrillo, Radiology program director. “I’ve learned a lot about advising, beyond the tools used in finding information. After experiencing it first hand, I have a much greater respect for the job the advisors do,” she says. “I highly recommend it to my colleagues.”
Many of the faculty participating agree that their career and program expertise provide the students with real life experiences, allowing them to answer questions that often come up about what to expect in the profession.
Malka Stromer, program director allied health continuing education and clinical coordinator for ultrasound, sees her role as helping to provide a greater connection to the college for students because the students are actually speaking with someone intimately involved in the program.
“It helps the faculty, too, because we get a better perspective on our interested applicants and the hurdles they have to overcome to get into a program,” she says.
The feedback from surveys and traffic activity will help Advisement identify opportunities for the future with this program.
“We are excited to continue the program in Fall 2016 and hope to expand, based on future funding allocation,” says McPhee.
For questions, contact McPhee at mcphee@gatewaycc.edu or 602-286-8186.