Higher Education Insights on Academic Advising, Student Affairs, Student Success, and AI

Parents are playing a larger role in the college experience than ever before. They're helping students navigate systems, choose majors, and sometimes even register them for classes using their login information. For advisors, this raises an important question: Where should we draw the line? An insightful article by Alan Reynolds, published in The Mentor, explores this very issue. Rather than focusing only on FERPA or the logistics of working with parents, Reynolds asks a more

Many advising directors never set out to become leaders. They simply became the person others turned to the most. If that sounds familiar, you may be closer to an advising leadership role than you realize. Here are eight signs you may be ready to take the next step. 1. You naturally mentor other advisors. New team members seek your advice. Colleagues ask how you handle difficult conversations. You enjoy sharing ideas and helping others grow, even when it's not part of your jo

A few years ago, an advising office might have had one or two staff members experimenting with AI. Today, it's increasingly common for advisors to use tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini to draft emails, brainstorm ideas, create presentations, or research trends. The technology has arrived faster than many institutions expected. When things happen fast, what's often missing is guidance and guardrails. The result is inconsistency, uncertainty, and unnecessary risk. An AI po

Conference season is almost here. Across higher education, thousands of presenters are putting the finishing touches on slide decks, handouts, and interactive sessions. While we spend countless hours perfecting our content, there's one question every presenter should ask before stepping up to the podium: Can everyone in the room fully access what I'm about to share? Accessibility is about ensuring every attendee has an equal opportunity to learn, participate, and benefit from

Every semester, colleges invest tremendous time and resources into creating opportunities for students. Career fairs. Leadership programs. Undergraduate research. Campus organizations. Internship programs. Workshops. Study abroad. Yet many students never take advantage of them. It's easy to assume they're simply uninterested or lacking motivation. But what if the real barrier isn't that? Chemistry offers an interesting perspective. In science, activation energy is the minimum

Every academic advisor knows the feeling. The semester begins. The waiting room is overflowing. Students are lined up outside your office. The drop-in queue is packed. Everyone seems to have an urgent question, a registration problem, or a deadline they need to meet today. During these weeks, it's tempting to shift exclusively into transaction mode. Solve the problem. Answer the question. Get to the next student. And while efficiency is essential during peak advising periods,

Every college invests significant time, energy, and resources into orientation. Students tour campus, meet classmates, register for classes, get a T-shirt, and begin imagining themselves as college students. But what happens after they leave? A thoughtful new essay, "The Drive Home From Orientation," from The Student Empowered shines a light on a key moment in the student success journey: the ride home. It's a quiet transition where excitement, uncertainty, confidence, and an

When colleges discuss student success, the conversation often centers on academic advising, tutoring, financial support, mental health, or creating a stronger sense of belonging. These are all essential components of helping students persist and graduate. But there's a ubiquitous higher education effort that's often viewed as more as an administrative or clerical function, and less of a student success strategy: The academic course schedule. Course scheduling is sometimes vie

Summer can feel quieter on many college campuses, but it is still an important season for student connection, communication, and belonging. While some students may be away from campus physically, many are still taking summer classes, working on campus, checking email regularly, attending orientation, or preparing for the upcoming academic year. Summer is also a valuable opportunity for student services offices to create visible reminders that students from different backgroun

Today’s students do not navigate college websites the way institutions often expect. They rarely start on a homepage and click through five layers of menus to find information. Instead, they search. They search Google. They search the college website itself. And increasingly, they ask tools like ChatGPT for answers. When many people hear the term “SEO,” they assume it only matters for businesses trying to sell products online. But for colleges and universities, search engine

Dual enrollment has grown rapidly across the United States over the past decade. More high school students than ever are taking college courses before graduating high school, earning credits that may transfer directly into degree programs after graduation. For colleges and universities, this shift is changing the student experience in important ways. Increasingly, students are arriving on campus with completed general education requirements, prior college transcripts, and a s

For many college academic advisors, student success coaches, career coaches, and student services professionals, summer feels like a unique window of opportunity. The pace shifts. Appointment calendars open up slightly. Campus traffic changes. Meetings slow down just enough to finally tackle projects that have been sitting untouched all academic year. And every summer starts with optimism. “This is the summer I’ll reorganize our resources.” “We’ll finally update the advising