Working With Undecided Students: A Hands-on Strategy

Abstract

Based on a concept described by the authors as “The Myth of the Academic Major,” a scheme for working with students who are undecided about their choice of major or career was developed. This scheme is a hands-on, time-limited method for using students' self-descriptions, rather than the institution's structure (e.g., lists of curricula), as the starting point for dialogue that points students in academic directions.

The Engagement Model for Effective Academic Advising With Undergraduate College Students and Student Organizations

“…Successful application of the Engagement Model for Academic Advising pairs the student-advisee with an appropriate professor-adviser with the objective of providing mutually rewarding learning and training in a particular academic area of shared interest. Consistent with the findings of Schein and Laff (1997), this model of academic advising focuses on the goals and objectives of the incoming students, paired with faculty-mentors who likely share the same interests. If success is defined as the creation of mutually rewarding relationships resulting in the initiation-induction process of commencement, then the Engagement Model of Academic Advising seems to illustrate one possible approach to achieving that end.…”

“…There is some debate on what role student academic advising has in effectively addressing the goals of the students, academic units, and institutions (see Greenwood, 1998;Schein & Laff, 1997;Schneider, 1998;Turkey, 1996). In the current discourse on the purpose of tenure, Greenwood noted that effective tenure policies can attract scholars who are willing to devote time and attention to the increasingly unpopular task of student academic advising.…”

Exploring the Influence of Select Demographic, Academic, and Athletic Variables on the Retention of Student-Athletes

“…The final academic variable, major, was not significantly related to retention. Given the literature does not provide an overwhelming consensus regarding the impact of major, it is not surprising this variable is of minimal value to predict retention (Knight, 1994;Kroc, Howard, Hull, & Woodard, 1997;Schein & Laff, 1997). These results, however, do not suggest that coaches and administrators should ignore a student's choice of major.…”

“It's What I Have Always Wanted to Do.” Advising the Foreclosure Student

“…Not only do they want to retain matriculated students, but budgets for programs and majors are often driven by numbers of declared majors. Institutions appreciate students who fit into preexisting institutional structures (Schein & Laff, 1997); therefore, academic advisors ordinarily work toward the goal of retaining students and avoiding attrition, even when they recognize signs that advisees may be foreclosures.…”