1	TSTC FACULTY ADVISING ADVISOR TOOLBOX
2	HOW TO USE THIS PRESENTATION For best results, use “slide show” view. Press F5 to begin the presentation in slide show view at the first slide. You may use the navigation buttons in the lower right corner to move forward or reverse.
3	YOUR ROLE AS ADVISOR One of your “other duties as assigned” Advise students in your program. Your role as advisor is an important one. Quality advising is an important factor in student success, retention and persistence.
4	SO WHAT DO YOU DO AS AN ADVISOR? Listen Be a concerned mentor Be approachable and available Be perceptive You may need to initiate the contact when the student may not know he or she needs to talk with you. If you have developed a rapport with your student, you may be able to pick up on non-verbal signals when something is not quite right. Initiate the contact when necessary. Know your limits You are not an expert in all things. Defer and refer to the experts. Academic advising and registration
5	ACADEMIC ADVISING AND REGISTRATION Currently a student must have advisor approval to register, to add, or to drop classes at TSTC. It is extremely important that your advice dealing with academic issues be accurate. The next series of slides deals with tools that can assist in you in accurate academic advising.
6	TSTC CATALOG The College’s catalog is a valuable resource for advising. This catalog contains important dates, graduation requirements, general education requirements, degrees offered, majors available, course descriptions, contact information, etc.
7	TSTC CAMPUS WEB SITES The College’s websites provide links for all programs of study. Program pages list contact information, degree requirements, recommended schedules for majors, etc. This information is useful for both the advisor and student.
8	(DATATEL) COLLEAGUE Colleague, the College’s database, provides advisors access to files containing vital information needed to accurately advise students. In Colleague, advisors can access an advisee’s current transcript, unofficial degree audit, demographic information, class schedule, course availability, and can register/add/drop a student’s courses (during registration/add/drop periods).
9	COLLEAGUE You should already have access to Colleague and your supervisor should have shown you the basics of its use. If you do not have Colleague access, please notify your supervisor to request Colleague access.
10	COLLEAGUE Colleague has a number of screens that you can access through mnemonic commands. The next series are some helpful screens and reports, what they do, and how to access them. First, you need to know how to enter a mnemonic command:
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12	USEFUL COMMANDS STAD – Student Advisor FADV – Faculty Advisees STAC – Student Academic Credits TRCL – Transcript Listing RSTR – Class Roster Listing XCRS – Roster listing or multiple class roster listings in report browser EVAL – Student progress toward degree plan
13	STAD STAD - When a student does not know who his/her faculty advisor is. Use STAD (student advisor). A window will appear as on the following slide to select the student. You may type in the student’s name or ID number. If you know the ID number, the process is quicker.
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15	STUDENT LOOKUP SCREEN
16	STAD RESULTS
17	FADV Use this mnemonic to see a list of advisees for a particular instructor. The process for entering the mnemonic command and selecting the instructor is similar to the example above.
18	FADV RESULTS
19	STAC The STAC mnemonic command returns a screen or series of screens showing courses taken and grades received. The results can only be printed using the “Print Screen” key, one screen at a time. Advantages – STAC is quick.
20	STAC RESULTS
21	TRCL The TRCL mnemonic command returns a screen or series of screens listing courses taken and grades received. The primary difference between STAC and TRCL is that TRCL does not include testing scores to determine TSI status. You may choose to see either official (OFF) or all (ALL) course listing. The results can only be printed using the “Print Screen” key, one screen at a time.
22	TRCL RESULTS
23	RSTR RSTR is the mnemonic command that returns a screen or series of screens listing students enrolled in a particular course section. The results can only be printed using the “Print Screen” key, one screen at a time.
24	RUNNING A ROSTER
25	RSTR RESULTS
26	XCRS XCRS is a mnemonic command that allows you to produce a printable roster for a particular class section, or a group of classes. The results are printable, can be saved as a text file, or exported to a spreadsheet.
27	XRCS Process
28	XCRS PROCESS (Cont’d)
29	XCRS PROCESS (Cont’d)
30	XCRS PROCESS (Cont’d)
31	XCRS RESULTS
32	REPORT BROWSER MENU BAR
33	EVAL A particularly good tool for advising is the EVAL mnemonic, which allows the advisor to view and print a degree audit listing the course requirements for the advisee’s major. This report displays the advisee’s status toward completion of his or her degree plan.
34	EVAL When invoking the EVAL report, the advisor has the option of requesting that the TSI Plan for the advisee be printed. The following series of slides describe how to run an EVAL report.
35	RUNNING EVAL FOR RETURNING STUDENT
36	FIND THE STUDENT’S RECORD
37	ENTER THE SEQUENCE NUMBER
38	ENTER NUMBER OF PROGRAM
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40	EVAL REPORT BROWSER
41	REPORT BROWSER MENU BAR
42	REPORT BROWSER After printing or saving text file, click on exit browser. If “Print TSI Plan” was selected, the next slides will demonstrate how to get the plan.
43	TSI PLAN The TSI Plan is an invaluable asset for advising students. A new student should have a printed copy of the TSI Plan when he/she comes to you for registration. If not, have the student see their admissions advisor. The next few slides discuss how to access and use the TSI Plan.
44	TSI Plan Guidelines
45	TSI PLAN Every new student coming to you for registration should have a piece of paper similar to the figure on the following slide. For returning advisees, you should run an EVAL report and request a printout of the TSI Plan while setting up the EVAL Report
46	TSI PLAN REPORT
47	TSI STATUS Notice the section titled “Texas Success Initiative Information” outlined in red (for emphasis). This indicates the new student’s status relative to TSI requirements: Reading - Not Completed, based on a score of 59 on the Accuplacer test taken on 08/19/04. Math – Not Completed, based on a score of 28 on the Accuplacer test taken on 08/19/04. Writing – Completed. No developmental requirement.
48	TSI Requirements Notice the section outlined in blue. This details the developmental requirements for the student. This new student needs to be enrolled in READ 0100. Also needs to be enrolled in DMTH 0050. Must be enrolled in at least one of the required developmental courses.
49	TSI RESTRICTIONS You must not enroll this student in any PSYC, HIST, GOVT, HUMA, SPCH or similar courses with pre-requisites of READ 0200. You must not enroll this student in any college level math course, nor in most technical core courses because of the math developmental requirement (lowest level DMTH 0050). You may enroll this student in ENGL 1301 because there is no WRIT developmental requirement.
50	TSI STATUS FOR RETURNING STUDENTS
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54	TSI PLAN
55	Early Alert If you know a student is having difficulty academically, financially, or having personal problems, take an interest – use the Early Alert process!
56	Early Alert and Referral Program What is the Early Alert/Referral Program? The Early Alert/Referral Program is a student success tool for the Intervention Component of the College’s retention initiative. The purpose of this program is to identify at-risk students, who are having academic, social, and/or personal problems, so they may receive immediate intervention services.
57	When Should the Early Alert/Referral Program Be Used? The first incident that you, a TSTC Instructor, Staff Member, Administrator, or Mentor, witness a student who:
58	"Expresses dissatisfaction or confusion with..." Expresses dissatisfaction or confusion with the College Has a problem of a personal nature which affects academic performance Shows unexplained disinterest in academics Fails to regularly turn in class assignments Is consistently late in turning in class assignments Stops attending class Has any other academic, social, or personal problem
59	What Students Should Be Referred? Factors that generate high leaver rates and low retention and graduation rates do not discriminate; any TSTC students exhibiting the behaviors listed above should be referred.
60	What is the Early Alert/Referral Program Process? All TSTC team members will receive the early alert form by email. The form should be saved to each member’s hard drive and/or desktop for quick access. The form will also be housed on the College’s “I:” drive. TSTC team member (faculty, staff, and/or administrative) identifies the student in need. Team member completes the early alert form and emails the form as an attachment to the Learner Support Services Coordinator:
61	What is the Early Alert/Referral Program Process? Learner Support Services Coordinator meets with student to determine appropriate intervention services. Learner Support Services Coordinator provides feedback to the referring party. Learner Support Services Coordinator monitors effects of intervention services.
62	SUMMARY Remember that each new advisee must have a TSI Plan. For returning students, run an EVAL report to see what courses are still needed for degree plan. When setting up to run the EVAL, request the TSI Plan be printed. Stay engaged with your advisees. Take an interest in your advisees’ success.
63	IMPORTANT Student information is confidential, and that right to privacy is protected under the law. When accessing student information, protect that confidentiality. You may not discuss information about a student with anyone except the student, even family members, without a signed waiver on file in the Office of Admissions and Records.
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