UMass Boston

In fall 2022, UMass Boston launched a working group to critically evaluate the coordination and alignment of UMass Boston’s academic advising function and to make recommendations for improvement. The working group’s recommendations formed the basis of a new initiative, Advising Alignment for Student Success, launched by Provost Joseph Berger in fall 2023. The initiative has generated action across numerous focus areas to strengthen this critical function supporting holistic student success at UMass Boston.

One priority has been the revision of university structures and governance to create greater alignment and coordination of advising services. The charge and format of the Advising Directors Group (now the Advising Leadership Team) and the Advising Collaborative have been revitalized to enhance communication, coordination, and faculty and student engagement. In addition, an Advising Strategy Council—including advising leadership, the provost, deans, and the vice provost of Student Equity, Access, and Success (SEAS)—was formed and launched to help govern advising alignment in coordination with the Advising Leadership Team.   

A second focus area was improved communication with students about advising services. The launch of the umb.edu/advising website in mid-2024 improved student access to advisors and an array of resources, all in one convenient and centralized place. Regardless of major, every student can use umb.edu/advising to locate the correct advisor or to find useful information about the many student support services and peer groups available to keep students on the road to success.

A third focus area of the Advising Alignment initiative has been investment in structures that increase capacity for high-quality advising. In fall 2024, the university created a new Office for Advising Excellence dedicated to aligning resources and tools to support students in achieving their academic goals. A new position was created to direct the office, focusing on advisor training, resources, and campus-wide coordination of advising services. The Office for Advising Excellence’s work includes developing orientation, onboarding, and training that will be made available to all advisors, as well as a system for increasing access to external professional development opportunities. 

A fourth focus area has been the implementation of a common customer relationship management software tool called Advising Case Management (ACM), which supports the coordination of service to students. The broadened use of ACM enables an advisor to capture all interactions with students in a centralized space for improved collaboration with other advisors. It also allows easier outreach, report creation, dashboards, appointment scheduling, and tracking of student success. A full-time position in the Office for Advising Excellence enhances training and assistance related to ACM for advisors and student support staff. 

A final focus area has been further emphasis on development of culturally sustaining advising environments. The advising team began hosting an “Equity in Advising” conference focused on equity-minded practices, with the fourth annual conference scheduled to take place in March 2025. There has been a focus on increasing the number of affinity groups and peer learning communities on campus to strengthen support structures for students and reinforce the work of the advising professionals. Culturally sustaining advising groups provide the support and stability for students that their professional advisors can then build on.

Provost Joseph Berger has said, “Academic advising plays a critical role in promoting student success and ensuring that students have the support they need to both define goals and achieve them.” To that end, all outcomes of the Advising Alignment for Student Success Initiative have come together to enhance the student advising experience, with advising appointments increasing 19 percent in fiscal year 2024. As the initiative’s proposals continue to take hold, the university hopes the enhanced advising will mean further student success.