Competencies for the Community College Advisor: - PowerPoint Presentation

Competencies for the Community College Advisor: A Critical Job in the Student Success Mission Dr. Shellie KellerInterim Associate Vice President Academic Success

Opening It is a relevant time to examine and understand competencies for effective community college advising and to continue researching this very important profession as it is a crucial job in the student success mission.

Speaker Background

Introduction Advising requires specific competencies necessary for successfully helping students achieve their goals. The deep-rooted open access philosophy presents the community college advisor with exceptionally challenging work. Research has been less helpful in identifying the most effective competencies required for the community college advisor (Bailey & Alfonso, 2005; O’Banion, 2013).

Purpose of Study The purpose of this study was to explore whether a set of competencies describes effective community college advising and practices, and whether these competencies create a competency model.

Framework According to Boyatzis (2011), a person who is effective at work demonstrates competencies that constitute emotional, social and cognitive intelligences . Cognitive, emotional and social intelligence are competencies that are often blended and aimed at understanding the talent of people who are outstanding at their jobs (Salovey and Mayer, 1997; Goleman, 1998, 2006; Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2000; Boyatzis, 2011).

Research Questions For the identified list of competencies, how do community college advisors rate the priority of each competency? For the identified list of competencies, how frequently do community college advisors use each competency in their work? Do the competencies community college advisors evaluate as priorities and frequently used group into distinct categories that suggests a competency model for the advising profession? How do competencies evaluated by community college advisors compare with the three competencies clusters as suggested by Boyatzis (2011)—cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, social intelligence?

Data Collection & Methodology

Data Collection & Methodology   942 potential respondents 371 participated for a response rate of 39% Advising leaders from 71 community colleges, representing 31 states, agreed to participate in the study Survey respondents included 39.4% supervisors and 60.6% non-management staff

Data Analysis The exploratory analysis revealed patterned groupings All emergent categories were interpreted relative to the research literature

Group Work

Data Analysis Competency Item Highest Mean Rating for Priority Competency Item Highest Mean Rating for Frequency Display ethical traits dealing with students 3.97 Display ethical traits dealing with students 3.92 Demonstrate active listening during advising sessions 3.93 Adhere to practices such as FERPA, risk management strategies, etc. 3.86 Respect individual differences in students 3.88 Demonstrate active listening during advising sessions 3.83 Explain college degree plans 3.88 Respect individual differences in students 3.83 Demonstrate a student centered attitude 3.87 Demonstrate a student centered attitude 3.80 Adhere to practices such as FERPA, risk management strategies, etc. 3.87 Explain college degree plans 3.80 Build rapport with students 3.86 Build rapport with students 3.76 Possess in depth knowledge of college resources 3.81 * Manage multiple priorities at work 3.71 Motivate students to complete their educational goals 3.80 Possess in depth knowledge of college resources 3.65 * Control emotions in difficult situations 3.76 Motivate students to complete their educational goals 3.63

  Competency Item Lowest Mean Rating for Priority Competency Item Lowest Mean Rating for Frequency Participate in college committee work 2.86 Teach students how to conduct personal assessments to understand their own values 2.80 Apply a variety of student learning theories at work 2.88 Help students improve study skills 2.88 Help students improve their interpersonal skills 2.96 Help students improve their interpersonal skills 2.88 Teach students how to conduct personal assessments to understand their own values 2.97 Apply a variety of student learning theories at work 2.92 Help students improve their critical thinking and reasoning skills 2.98 Apply a variety of advising theories at work 2.95 Help students improve study skills 2.98 Help students improve their critical thinking and reasoning skills 2.98 Demonstrate ability to predict student behaviors 3.00 Demonstrate ability to predict student behaviors 3.00 Possess in depth knowledge of community resources 3.06 Use counseling techniques during advising sessions 3.04 Apply a variety of advising theories at work 3.07 Participate in college committee work 3.06 Use counseling techniques during advising sessions 3.11 Possess in depth knowledge of community resources 3.07

Pattern Matrix a   Pattern Matrix for Three-factor Solution: Items Used for Interpretation of Factors (>.50) for Priority Scale of Community College Advisor Competencies PFA & Promax (N=348) Factor 1 2 3 Help students improve study skills .840     Help students improve their critical thinking and reasoning skills .828     Teach students how to conduct personal assessments to understand their own values .764     Help students explore career options .763     Help students make connections between personal characteristics and major/career .734     Apply a variety of student learning theories at work .647     Help students improve their interpersonal skills .641     Use counseling techniques during advising sessions .549     Teach students how to formulate goals .542     Help students to think critically about their roles and responsibilities as students .511     Demonstrate active listening during advising sessions   .569   Demonstrate a student centered attitude   .568   Demonstrate effective problem solving skills   .542   Control emotions in difficult situations   .508   Demonstrate effective decision making skills   .504   Knowledge of higher education issues     .762 Participate in college committee work     .652 Demonstrate effective public speaking skills     .554 Explain college policies, procedures, and transactions to students     .548 Stay relevant on current trends/issues that impact academic advising     .538

Pattern Matrix a   Pattern Matrix for Three-factor Solution: Items Used for Interpretation of Factors (>.50) for Frequency Scale of Community College Advisor Competencies PFA & Promax (N=348) Factor 1 2 3 Help students improve study skills .977     Teach students how to conduct personal assessments to understand their own values .914     Help students improve their critical thinking and reasoning skills .846     Help students improve their interpersonal skills .803     Teach students how to formulate goals .708     Apply a variety of student learning theories at work .645     Develop intervention strategies conducive to academic success .626     Help students explore career options .617     Help students make connections between personal characteristics and major/career .609     Use counseling techniques during advising sessions .594     Possess in depth knowledge of community resources .585     Help students learn to become members of their higher education community .560     Help students to think critically about their roles and responsibilities as students .557     Demonstrate a student centered attitude   .666   Display ethical traits dealing with students   .647   Respect individual differences in students   .594   Control emotions in difficult situations   .552   Demonstrate active listening during advising sessions   .551   Demonstrate effective problem solving skills   .531   Explain college degree plans     .775 Explain college policies, procedures, and transactions to students     .624 Create educational plans     .585 Demonstrate ability to explain transfer information     .546 Possess in depth knowledge of college resources     .524

Outcomes to Emphasize Key competencies Job competency matrix Community college advisor job competency model Importance of social intelligence and emotional intelligence for effective job performance

Key Competencies Display ethical traits dealing with students Demonstrate active listening during advising sessions Explain college degree plans Respect individual differences in students Adhere to practices such as FERPA, risk management strategies, etc. Demonstrate a student centered attitude Build rapport with students Possess in depth knowledge of college resources Motivate students to complete educational goals Control emotions in difficult situations Manage multiple priorities at work

Competency Model Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (2005 ) Standards for Academic Advising offers standards in similar categories to my findings: Academic advisors should have an understanding of how to help students Academic advisors should demonstrate interest and effectiveness in working with students Academic advisors should have comprehensive knowledge of the institution

Findings Findings support the proposition that emotional and social intelligence competencies are often blended with cognitive competencies to achieve maximum performance (Salovey and Mayer, 1997; Goleman, 1998, 2006; Sternberg & Grigorenko , 2000; Boyatzis, 2011)—in this case, maximum performance equating to successful advising. Each category can be interpreted as requiring a combination of social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and cognitive intelligence competencies. The student, advisor, and institution centered factors can be compared to Boyatzis (2011) social, emotional, and cognitive intelligences.

Recommendations for Research Examine top performing community college advisors most effective performers or dig deeper into how emotional, social, and cognitive intelligences play a role in effective advising Examine national hiring practices of community college advisors Minimum & preferred qualifications job announcements, various hiring practices, and hiring decisions for community college advisors

Competencies for the Community College Advisor: A Critical Job in the Student Success Mission