Academic advising during a global pandemic

Abstract

A major goal that nearly all undergraduate students have is to graduate. But how to do that? What do they have to do? Who can they go to with questions during their most stressful days? Advisors. Advisors are key individuals that students in the college and university settings depend upon for support and guidance during their journeys to discover their passion, themselves, their career paths, and to graduate. During the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, schools, colleges, and non-essential businesses have become remote. With these closures, colleges have been forced to transition, not only classes, but also support systems to an alternative, and somewhat unfamiliar, communication style. Primarily, advising is reliant on in- person meetings and creating genuine connections, a feat that becomes much more difficult when human interaction is limited or cut off. The following will focus on crisis adaptation and whether or not incorporating remote advising could be beneficial when in-person advising is a possibility.