To better understand how colleges are using advising policies, programs, and practices to support student success, the College Completion Network conducted virtual focus groups with administrators at 47 colleges from fall 2021 to summer 2022. College administrators can use the findings to learn about approaches to advising that other colleges are using and their successes and challenges related to implementation. Researchers who study advising and other student success initiatives can use the findings to identify directions for future research.

Key findings:

• Advising policies, practices, and programs often focused on the first year of college, with the intent of setting students up for success at entry.
• College administrators reported using different types of strategies for supporting students in the face of time and resource constraints. These strategies included assigning transition-focused advisors in the first year, using faculty advisors, using first-year experience opportunities to provide small group advising, and using technology to support advising.
• College administrators reported using a combination of light-touch strategies (such as nudging) and more intensive strategies (such as proactive advising) to support students’ progress through college.
• Increasingly, and especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges have recognized the importance of offering a comprehensive set of wraparound support services to help students maintain access to basic needs so they can focus on their classes.

View the report: Advising for College Success: Policies, Practices, and Programs That Support Students on the Path to College Completion (960 KB PDF)