In spring 2024, a self-study committee was convened to collect campuswide feedback and provide recommendations on how to strengthen the impact of academic advising on student success at the University of Iowa.
Recommendations
Five recommendations emerged from campuswide feedback, along with consideration of an external review process conducted in the fall 2023 semester and additional external resources, including national advising professional standards and reports.
Shared Foundation
Implementation and Highlights
Implementation will span multiple years and necessitate a flexible process driven by partnerships across colleges/units and alignment with collegiate and institutional strategic priorities.
Leadership and guidance: The Advising Council is a representative group of advising leadership from colleges and central units, and in consultation with the Office of the Provost and collegiate associate deans, will provide overall guidance on the implementation process.
Implementation team: Given input from the Advising Council, the Office of the Provost and collegiate associate deans will appoint members of the implementation team who represent campuswide advising and various advising roles and experiences to begin meeting early in the Spring 2025 semester.
Strategic Plan Implementation Highlights 2025-2026
- Strengthened campuswide academic advising culture and connections: The implementation team observed strengthened connections across campus, creating new opportunities for advisors, advising leaders, colleges, and central units to collaborate across boundaries. Through listening sessions, workgroups, shared resources, and feedback loops, the team co-created this work with the advising community, building trust, highlighting shared priorities, and establishing a stronger foundation for campuswide advising improvement.
- Developed Academic Advising at Iowa statement: An advising definition, student learning outcomes, and advising expectations were developed collaboratively through advisor and student input, feedback sessions, workgroup discussion, and partnership with the Academic Advising Council. The document frames advising as a transformative partnership that supports student goals, confidence, and agency while clarifying shared responsibilities and expectations for advisors, units, and students.
- Expanded onboarding resources: A graduate student was hired to work with colleges and central unit staff to develop onboarding resources related to MAUI Advising tools housed on an ICON site that will be utilized by all new advisors across campus.
- Strategic workgroup progress: Three workgroups were convened, focusing on the following:
- Advisor training and onboarding: The workgroup developed a direction for a sustainable training model by reviewing UI Advise materials, unit training schedules, self-study feedback, NACADA competencies, MAUI onboarding resources, and peer models. Shared topics are emerging around advising foundations, tools and systems, policy and process, student support, communication, and professional growth.
- Professional development: The workgroup improved access, visibility, and sustainability for advisor learning through a landscape analysis, draft resources on key professional organizations, a professional development planning guide, and a database of external opportunities and University of Iowa training resources.
- Strategic advising communications: The workgroup reviewed unit practices, gathered campus partner timelines, developed an advisor survey, planned student feedback, and initiated Big Ten benchmarking. Early insights show variation in communication practices, transition gaps, limited central structure, and risks of both over- and under-communication.
- Campuswide feedback: Multiple feedback sessions provided an opportunity to share implementation team updates, gather advisor and student perspectives, and reinforce advising as a shared institutional endeavor that is also contextualized by colleges/departments and central units.
- Conference learning: P3 funding was allocated for an additional 11 academic advisors to participate in the NACADA regional conference, and served as a catalyst for a follow up discussion with 40 plus members of the advising community, representing multiple colleges and units. Attendee takeaways reinforced several priorities in Iowa’s advising strategic plan, including kindness, warmth, and connection in student relationships; advisor involvement in AI integration; and equitable, strengths-focused, student-ready advising. Themes also pointed to opportunities to strengthen plain-language communication; reconsider academic probation language and processes; better support transfer and Gen Z students; and expand advisor development, community, and cross-campus learning.
- Professional association engagement: Iowa’s advising work was shared through professional development, NACADA and BTAA engagement, and conversations with peer institutions, positioning Iowa to learn from and contribute to national advising practice.