Strategies to Enhance Interpersonal Relations in Academic Advising

Abstract

The relationship between interpersonal skills is positively correlated with effective academic advising. Professional academic advisors feel significant pressure to meet a wide array of student needs, increase retention rates, help students in their efforts of academic achievement and career exploration, and support institutions to excel in scholarship. These demands make the skills needed for effective academic advising more professionally demanding than ever before. An advisor's skill level in interpersonal relations is critical to advising success. In this article, I share the foundation for interpersonal relations proficiency, communicate the challenges in interpersonal skill areas, and provide strategies with examples designed for advisors to enhance their proficiency in their relationships with advisees.

Assessing Advisor Competencies: A Delphi Method Study

“…Despite the problems with consensus on many of the rankings, three competencies consistently appeared as among the most important for entrylevel advisors: Communication, listening, and interpersonal skills. This finding aligns with previous literature featuring recommendations that academic advisors must communicate good and bad news effectively and with empathy (Hughey, 2011;McClellan, 2005). The other competencies were evenly dispersed, and the positions were altered between Rounds 2 and 3, at which times the participants ranked (n ¼ 68) and re-ranked (n ¼ 57) the items.…”

“…As Winston and Sandor (1984) extolled, no single formula leads to successful academic advising. Hughey (2011) asserted that most academic advisors can challenge advisees without alienating them. Academic advisors who provide a nurturing environment encourage student intellectual growth and success.…”

Advising and Progress in the Community College STEM Transfer Pathway

“…Advisors who inquire about their advisees' transfer plans can straighten the path to education beyond the community college by helping them effectively plan their time in the community college. One can also see the value of advisor training with regard to improving interpersonal communication; these programs can be viewed as an investment in both retention and transfer (Hughey, 2011). In this digital age, STEM-specific transfer web sites may prove very helpful to students and initial advisors alike by increasing access to knowledge and materials focused on STEM disciplinary-specific program requirements.…”

Preferred Communication Channels Among Omani Students for Academic Advising

“…Academic advising is a plan outlay or process that is designed at enabling students to be in a position to approach and handle matters about education in a way that is well organized and meaningful to them (Cook, 1999). Advising students in bringing together all the students that might come up in the academic lives of students (Hughey, 2011). Some of these matters might turn into being very complicated if an excellent advising model is not in place.…”