Adviser Education Program (AEP)

Set Expectations and Be Transparentkeyboard_arrow_down

We’ve found that you can minimize stress for the student (and yourself) by setting clear expectations and being as transparent as you can.

Let students know:

• The best way to communicate with you. Email? Canvas? Scheduling appointments?
• When you anticipate being online vs. in-person (and be up front if your schedule will be varied given the circumstances).
• Your anticipated response time. And it’s okay if you don’t know for sure.
• Whether you plan to triage email questions based on urgency or seriousness.
• Set guidelines for students if you plan to use a combination of individual appointments and drop-in hours--for example, individual appointments are for longer, complicated questions, and drop-ins are for short, quick questions. (It can be hard for students to assess this, so it helps to have examples)
• If you are concerned about your response time, you can set up an auto-response email to set student expectations.

Create Efficiencieskeyboard_arrow_down

Tips to work smarter, not harder.

• Use boilerplate or template messages for common questions and topics. You can either create a Word Doc, OneNote, or even save email templates in your email browser. Then you can cut and paste the boilerplate and customize as needed.
  • It helps if you make these easy to find so you don’t have to hunt for them later!
  • A “digest” style email with answers to questions can provide reliable support.
  • Lean on existing resources. If answers to students exist on a website somewhere, point them there. Don’t reinvent the wheel!

• Be proactive when possible. If a student asks a really good question that you think others may have, you can head off a bunch of emails by sending out a proactive communication.

• Group advising. Utilize group advising to answer common questions. If you use a Powerpoint or script you can send that out as a resource afterward.

• Schedule wisely. Block off time for responding to emails and tending to other required tasks outside of appointments.

• Use the Best Tool for the Job. Advising doesn't always require a scheduled meeting--consider whether a phone conversation or email is sufficient. Scheduled appointments are great for group meetings, or longer individual appointments where you need to discuss degree requirements or need to walk someone through a document or resource.

Survive and Thrivekeyboard_arrow_down

Advisers are very busy and are often given tasks outside of the scope of their job description. Here are some tips to make advising more manageable and sustain your well-being.

1. Lists! To do lists are your friend. Take some time at the end of your day to compose a prioritized list of things you need to get done, or do so first thing before starting your workday. Having tasks for that day provides goals to achieve, and things to cross off, which is always satisfying. You may not get through all of them, but having them in the first place gives direction.
2. Talk to other humans outside of email and social media. Schedule time to talk with your coworkers! You may feel much more connected to them and your work when you speak with your colleagues. If things are too chaotic for regular meetings then reach out individually, maybe to discuss work-related things, maybe to talk about an awesome movie you just watched or a book you read, or to grab a coffee.
3. Get out of the office or house at least 1X per day, even if it’s just to take a short walk around the block, or to throw a ball for your dog. The fresh air, exercise, and getting away from the screen is not only healthy, it helps to break up the workday a bit. Breaking the workday into manageable chunks makes your workload far less daunting than having the whole workday stretching out before you, “tied” to your computer.
4. Make personal stuff a priority. Wait—what? We are supposed to be WORKING! Yes, we are, but if you don’t do the things you need to do for yourself and your loved ones (or set aside a time to do them) you can start feeling stuck, resentful, and distracted. This all relates to item #5.
5. Time blocking - Put boundaries on your time, or think of your day in “blocks”. Set aside blocks of time for the things you need to do for work, home, and personal responsibilities.
6. Have a dedicated work space on your remote days. It may be difficult to find, but if you can, having a specific place in the house to go for work helps to put you in the right mindset and again provides a much-needed boundary.
7. When appropriate, encourage students to make appointments or advertise set drop-in hours instead of emailing. Some things can and should be done over email. However, if you realize that you are either getting too chatty in your email or what the student thought was a simple question really isn’t a simple question, encourage them to make an appointment to talk.