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I didn’t know what I didn’t know. No one in my family had gone to college, so they couldn’t advise me. I did know I could do the work; I just needed someone to help me understand what work I had to do.”
Lisa Perez TCC Physical Therapy Major
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Navigating the pathway from admission to graduation can be a daunting task, especially for the majority of TCC students who are the first in their families to go to college. Expecting students to “just figure it out” is unfair and unwise, resulting in an enormous waste of their limited time and resources.
When we surveyed our students, more than 90 percent said the most important student service is academic advising. We also found that nearly 40 percent of them rarely or never see an advisor. That’s in large part because we have a critical shortage of advisors – just one advisor for every 520 students.
That has to change. The second element of our plan is to provide our students with increased access to advisors who can help them chart their academic plan, link it to career goals, and balance it with life’s demands. In addition, these advisors will provide just-in-time support when academic issues or other challenges arise on a student’s pathway to completion. Advisors will also work closely with students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree to design a program of study that transfers seamlessly to four-year institutions.
Thus, we are targeting $7 million of the campaign goal to provide initial funding over five years:
> 22 ACADEMIC ADVISORS,
> 10 ANSWER CENTER ADVISORS
The analysis indicates the added positions will become self-sustaining over time by increasing revenue through higher retention rates and reducing costs through higher productivity. The added positions will provide one advisor for every 350 students. |
