Academic advisors uncover student needs

I created an e-learning concept project for new academic advisors to practice conversations with students that may need referrals to campus resources.  The project simulates a student appointment where advisors choose the questions and actions that will lead to student success.  

  • Audience: Newly Hired Academic Advisors

  • Responsibilities: Instructional Design, E-learning Development, Graphic Design, Action Mapping

  • Tools Used: Mindmeister, Google Suite, Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Articulate Storyline 360

The Problem

Academic advisors are a central point of contact for students, and are crucial in connecting them with campus resources. Students often don’t ask for help connecting to resources until it’s too late, which can result in them leaving the university. Newly hired advisors need practice asking the right questions, identifying cues and prioritizing referrals to best support students as early as possible.  Students that get the support they need are most likely to successfully graduate.  

The Solution

I studied the current prescribed approach to advising appointments and found that these high-priority actions are already considered best practice.  However, there are environmental pressures that can distract from best practice, including large student caseloads, competing job responsibilities, and a fast-paced work environment.  These pressures are especially relevant to new advisors that are learning the job. After considering these factors, I determined a few possible solutions that include:

  • Streamlined processes for competing job responsibilities

  • A job aid in the form of a flow chart or graph that describes various campus resources and their services for quick reference.

  • A scenario-based e-learning solution that simulates appointments/conversations with students, so that new advisors can practice in a risk free environment.

I focus on this scenario-based, story-driven eLearning concept project in my portfolio.

My Process

I looked to my own work experience for inspiration for this concept project.  I have more than 7 years experience in higher education, nearly 3 of those years working in academic advising at Tulane University. I’ve also taught for several years as an Adjunct Instructor of Topics in Community Engagement and Life Design Education. I have a knack for distilling complex concepts into digestible content. 

Action Map

Rather than presenting information that advisors need to know (e.g. what campus resources exist, their function) the project focuses on crafting the advisor's approach to conversations with students.  What steps can advisors take to make better referrals for students?  I identified an institutional goal, and determined that the three highest-priority actions for advisors to reach that goal are:

  1. Ask an open-ended question during advising appointments that builds trust and helps to understand more about the student.

  2. Ask students to share more about what's going on if or when they mention being stressed, feeling overwhelmed, or have grades in one or more classes at a D or below.

  3. Promptly make referrals after appointments. 

I used Mindmeister mapping tool to make my action map below.

Text-based Storyboard

Using the action map as my guide, I wrote a text-based storyboard as the base for my project.  The story leads the advisor through a student appointment with three questions, or turning points in the conversation.  If the advisor makes the correct choice, the appointment moves forward.  If the advisor makes an incorrect choice, they experience a negative outcome.   

In this way, advisors can practice their approach to student conversations in a risk-free, virtual environment before starting to meet with real students.  For extra support, I created a mentor character that the advisor can consult as needed.

Visual Mockups

I searched for images and text styles that would inspire the look and feel of the project: 

education, university campus, modernity, beginnings, diversity, simplicity, achievement.  

From there, I created a style guide, wireframes, and mockups in Adobe XD.  I gathered my final image choices and edited them using Adobe Illustrator to be consistent with my style guide.  After developing these visual mockups through multiple iterations, I landed on a solid design to guide my project.  

Interactive Prototype

I used Articulate Storyline 360 to create an interactive prototype for my project and tested it before full development.  I solicited feedback from other Instructional Designers in my professional network.  This prototype included the first several interactive slides for my project, including the title slide, mentor introduction, first prompt and question.

In this process, I continued to make some design changes to my slides to bring the full interactive vision to life. 

A few notable design changes were:

  1. Combining the content and visuals of the intro slide and mentor slide, which made for a more cohesive introduction.  

  2. Simplifying the desk layout in the prompt slides, making the visuals more consistent throughout the project.

Full Development

I tested and retested my interactive prototype to gather feedback, and published my final project on Articulate Storyline 360.  

Results and Takeaways

I leaned into my strong communication and storytelling skills to bring this project to life.  The right word choice and placement is crucial to delivery and success.

I built on my foundations in training/curriculum design and adult learning theory to keep the project engaging and give it real world value.  

I jumped right into visual design and e-learning development and landed on my feet.  

This was a concept project, thereby its scope was limited.  In an applied context, I would have included a variety of nuanced student scenarios.  As an onboarding tool, I would have looked for the performance indicators of newly hired academic advisors to match their more experienced counterparts in a shorter period of time, and contribute to an overall increase in student retention.