The Benefits of Holistic Advising in Community Colleges

By Patricia Moore Shaffer

Principal & CEO

In today's rapidly changing educational landscape, the importance of effective advising programs cannot be overstated. Particularly in community colleges, where students often have multiple responsibilities, including working full-time, parenting, or returning to school after a lengthy break, a holistic advising program can play a crucial role in supporting their academic and personal growth. This blog post explores this approaching to advising, highlighting its benefits and providing examples of its positive impact on students' success.

A holistic advising program at a community college encompasses a comprehensive approach that addresses students' academic, career, and personal needs. It goes beyond traditional academic advising by considering students' individual circumstances, aspirations, and challenges. By providing tailored guidance and support, this program aims to empower students to make informed decisions, set achievable goals, and navigate the complexities of college life successfully.

A holistic advising program recognizes that academic success is a cornerstone of students' college experience. Advisors work closely with students to develop personalized academic plans, ensuring they are aware of degree requirements, course sequencing, and available resources. Advisors may conduct regular check-ins with students to monitor their progress, identify potential obstacles, and provide timely interventions. As a result, students feel supported and are more likely to stay on track towards graduation.

In rural areas, students often face limited access to career opportunities and resources. A holistic advising program addresses this challenge by offering comprehensive career guidance. Advisors assist students in exploring potential career paths, identifying internships or job-shadowing opportunities, and developing essential skills. Advisors may organize career fairs, invite guest speakers, and facilitate networking events to connect students with local employers. This proactive approach enhances students' employability and equips them with the necessary tools to succeed in their chosen fields.

Recognizing that students' personal well-being significantly impacts their academic performance, a holistic advising program prioritizes their overall development. Advisors provide a safe and supportive environment for students to discuss personal challenges, mental health concerns, or any other issues affecting their college experience. Advisors may collaborate with campus counseling services to ensure students have access to the necessary support systems. By addressing students' emotional well-being, the program fosters a positive learning environment and enhances their overall college experience.

A holistic advising program at a community college is a vital component of student success. By considering students' academic, career, and personal needs, this program provides comprehensive support that empowers students to thrive academically and personally. Through personalized academic planning, career guidance, and attention to personal development, students are better equipped to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. As community colleges continue to evolve, investing in holistic advising programs will undoubtedly contribute to the overall success and well-being of their students.

Writing Your Grant: Connecting Outcomes to Measurement

By: Stacy Hayden

Research Associate

Welcome to the second post in our “Writing Your Grant” series. If you did not read the first post, we would suggest you go back and review our post on Connecting Objectives to Outcomes. In this post, we’ll explore how to connect those outcomes to measurement.

In our last post we talked about outcomes being the latter half of a cause-and-effect pair.

For example, we presented this pair:

Objective: Expand student advising program

Outcome: Improvement in student academic progress

We want to ensure the data we use is tied to the outcome.

In this case, there are several potential data sources that might be used to demonstrate “improvement in student academic progress.”

These might include:

• Cumulative GPA

• Semester GPA

• Grades (e.g., students earning a D or F in courses, students earning an A or B in courses)

• Standardized Test Scores

• Progress Toward Degree Completion (e.g., number of credits earned, other milestones)

While all of these could be reasonable data sources to demonstrate “improvement in student academic progress,” the data source selected should mirror the project. For example, if this was an outcome of a higher education STEM grant, we might want to specify STEM grades.

Further, you will also need to be specific in how each of these will be measured. For example, if we wanted to use cumulative GPA as the measurement for this outcome, we would need to decide how to analyze this data and what change we are looking for to constitute success.

Examples might be:

• The average cumulative GPA of students

• The average change in cumulative GPA of students from one time frame to another

• The percentage of students with a cumulative GPA above a certain benchmark

• The percentage of students with a cumulative GPA below a certain benchmark

• The percentage of students who maintain or increase their cumulative GPA

Finally, you’ll need to decide whose data will be used.

For example, if a higher education STEM project was to use cumulative GPA to demonstrate improvement in student academic progress, they could look at different samples of students.

For example:

• Students participating in the STEM program/intervention

• Students participating in the STEM program/intervention who attend advising sessions

• Students who have identified STEM majors and who are participating in the program/intervention

• Students at the institute of higher education who have identified a STEM major

Determining what sample is appropriate is just as important as determining the data source and how it will be measured.

When you work on a grant application you will likely need to provide the basics related to outcomes and measurements. However, thinking through this prior to being funded can help you ensure your organization has the capacity to procure the required data while also allowing you to use this as preliminary data in a grant application to show the need for funding.

Finally, being able to list measures demonstrates to the funder a plan for measuring success and may be required as part of a grant application.

When you work with Shaffer Evaluation Group on a grant application, our team will help you write effective objectives and outcomes along with planning how to measure these. If you're planning to submit a grant application and require an evaluation partner, please contact us at seg@shafferevaluation.com.

Writing your grant: Connecting objectives to outcomes

By Courtney Hagan

Research Associate

Invite SEG to partner with you on your next grant proposal.

Writing a grant? When completing your grant application, you may be asked to write objectives, outcomes, measures, and goals. These components help to guide and set-up a sustainable and effective program from the beginning of the process. This specific post will focus on connecting or aligning objectives to outcomes.

Connecting objectives to outcomes is essential to ensure the cohesiveness and alignment of programmatic activities to potential outcomes. Let’s look at a few examples:

• Objective: Expand student advising program

• Outcome: Increase in staff satisfaction

In this first example, the outcome (increased staff satisfaction) does not appear to be related to the objective (expanded student advising program). This is an example of dis-aligned objectives and outcomes.

Let’s look at another example:

Objective: Expand student advising program

Outcome: Improvement in student academic progress

In this example, there is a logical connection between the objective (expanded student advising program) and the outcome (improved student academic progress). This is a strong example of aligned objectives and outcomes.

Think of objectives and outcomes as cause-and-effect pairs. If your institution completes the objective, then it can expect to accomplish the outcome. If your grant application focuses on supporting students through an initiative, such as advising, then follow through by discussing what you would expect to see as a result of advising in the outcomes associated with that objective.

To conclude, it is best to ask yourself this one question when attempting to connect objectives and outcomes:

Is this outcome what I would expect to see as a result of engaging in the objective?

When you work on a grant application with Shaffer Evaluation Group, our team will help you write effective objectives and outcomes that are supported by research. If you're planning to submit a grant application and require an evaluation partner, please contact us at seg@shafferevaluation.com.