Academic Advisor Appointments: Student Self-Scheduling

June 3, 2010

Appointment scheduling for academic advisors: How an online solution can improve the student & advisor interactive experience.

When asked what drove a student’s motivation to continue and get a degree, graduates would say overwhelmingly that the efforts of their academic advisor kept them on the path to achievement. These student advisors play crucial roles in the lives of every student from entering a college or university to the last steps taken on graduation day. For the students, the time spent with their advisors is comparable to seeing a golden path light in front of them. For advisors, the success and gratitude of the student brings a sense of continue enlightenment. It is because of this relationship that research has found one area of improvement, appointment scheduling.

Everyday thousands of students call or walk into advising offices to schedule appointments with academic advisor. Each of these students is looking for answers to the academic challenges, career choices, and concentration interests. For some departments with only a handful of students it is easier to schedule appointments over the semester while given proper direction to each student. For much larger colleges the task of advisor appointment management becomes over bearing and the student interaction initiated by the student.

Smaller institutes may seem more engaged with their students. The persona is that the student, once enrolled becomes a part of a well-formed unit with deep roots in student engagement with emphasis above all else on the student and advisor communication. Advisor appointments in these colleges and universities typically set up appointments on a recurring pattern throughout each semester as the student delves deeper into the curriculum. This method gives students continued expectations allowing for full engagement in education and minimal focus on steps towards graduation.

In larger universities the ratio of student to advisor is much greater and availability for advising appointments becomes limited. Take a state university liberal arts & sciences college. These colleges lean-to having the largest student body since there is a broad focus on different life sciences and artistic sciences. In some cases departments within the college manage specific degree concentrations. In other instances the college alone will manage student concentrations individually. Whether department orientated or college based appointment booking is student driven and not pre-arranged.

So, how does a college such as this handle the vast number of students who have vast number of interests? Students are encouraged to meet with their advisors once or multiple times throughout the semester. In some cases the students are required to meet with an advisor before each semester. To handle the appointments being scheduled with advisors the college may have receptionists take the incoming calls and walk-ins. These receptionists review the reason for the appointment, pull student information such as an identification number, and then associate this with the right advisor based on availability.

How can the appointment scheduling process be improved? Today, we have a new tool that maximizes resource availability. That tool is the internet and it has grown exponentially this past decade to become a driving force for most colleges and universities. With the internet students can actively register for classes, see current events, and even schedule academic advising appointments. The first reaction of institutes seeking the potentials of online self-scheduling is motivating with a touch of fear. Motivated by encouraging students to meet with advisors by reducing the number of phone calls and walk-ins that usually occur. The fear comes from the potential hurdles that could be present in student self-scheduling. Questions arise such as; will over-booking occur? Will students schedule back to back appointments? And will the student be scheduling for times that an advisor is not in the office?

The greatest improvement that online software brings is that it based on rules. The administrator of the online appointment scheduling tool is able to set the permissions and restrictions for both students and staff. The functionality allows the office to streamline appointment management through the business processes that are already established. This means student can self-schedule on the web but will only be able get an appointment based on predefined rules and availability. Student and staff also feel comfortable in the friendly online convenience that is available at any time and is restrictive so that no student can see another student’s appointments.

The benefits of online appointment scheduling in the advising office includes a broad view of advisor availability for receptionists and other advisors, reminder emails sent to the students, and flexible reports of appointment rates. The benefits for each advisor are also recognized as their calendar of appointments is accessible to them from just about any computer with an internet connection. With defined appointment types scheduled as well as an optional ‘reason for visit’ column with notes from the student will enable the advisor the rapidly prepare for each upcoming appointment.

Academic advisors are the door openers to every student’s successful education career. It is because of this important role that improving upon student and advisor interaction becomes paramount thus bringing important changes in scheduling processes that deliver exceptional results. The virtual edition has provided greater student to education achievement and as more online options appear so does the improvement the student experience. One of these options is self-scheduling for advisor appointments.

Posted by Michael A. Sweet, Director of Marketing at EZAPPT on June 3,2010.

EZAPPT – Improving Appointment Automation the EZ Way.

See: http://ezappt.com/student_advisor.html