Eight ChatGPT Prompts Every Advisor Can Use to Boost Efficiency and Impact

College academic advisors wear many hats. They are planners, problem-solvers, communicators, and connectors all at once.

The demands of the role can feel overwhelming, from helping students select courses to navigating degree plans to collaborating with faculty and support services. In the midst of this, ChatGPT can be a powerful tool to enhance efficiency, creativity, and strategic thinking.

Here are eight ChatGPT prompts tailored for academic advisors, covering multiple facets of the role, not just student-facing advising.

1. Crafting Personalized Student Communication

One of the most time-consuming aspects of advising is sending emails, outreach messages, and check-ins to students. ChatGPT can help draft professional, empathetic, and personalized communication quickly.

Prompt example: “Write a professional email to a first-year student who is on academic probation. Encourage them to meet with me, outline support resources, and keep the tone positive and motivating.”

How it helps:

• Saves time drafting repetitive emails

• Ensures messaging is clear and supportive

• Can create multiple versions for different student types

2. Supporting Career Exploration

Academic advisors frequently assist students in career exploration, linking majors to potential career paths, internships, or skills development. ChatGPT can generate insights tailored to student interests.

Prompt example: “Provide a list of five career paths for students majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology, including typical job responsibilities, relevant skills, and internship opportunities.”

How it helps:

• Supports advisors in offering actionable career guidance

• Helps students connect academics with employability

• Can generate discussion points for career-focused advising sessions

3. Streamlining Administrative Tasks

From taking notes in advising sessions to compiling information for reports, administrative work is significant. ChatGPT can assist with templates, summaries, and organization.

Prompt example: “Summarize the advising notes for this student session into key takeaways and action items for the student and for the advisor’s records.”

How it helps:

• Improves efficiency and organization

• Ensures consistency in record-keeping

• Frees advisors to focus on higher-value advising work

4. Analyzing Advising Data

Advisors and advising leaders are often asked to use data to improve their work. However, analyzing data is time-consuming and a unique skill. ChatGPT can help by analyzing a spreadsheet that you upload and identifying themes in the data.

Prompt example: “Summarize the patterns in this advising dataset, including common course withdrawals, frequency of advising visits, and areas where students report needing the most support. Highlight potential trends.” (Related Reading: The Culture Shift That Transforms Advising Offices from Good to Great)

How it helps:

• Reduces time spent manually reviewing spreadsheets

• Supports data-driven decision-making

• Helps advisors identify early-warning signs and target interventions

5. Creating Engaging Workshop Content

As noted above, advisors wear many hats. They are sometimes asked to lead workshops, and these take a lot of time to put together. ChatGPT can help save time.

Prompt example: “Develop a 45-minute interactive workshop for first-year students on time management. Include activities, discussion prompts, and tips for online and in-person delivery.”

How it helps:

• Provides structure for workshops without starting from scratch

• Encourages creativity and student engagement

• Adaptable for multiple formats and audiences

6. Drafting Warm, Inviting Communications

We know it's important to send students useful and helpful messages, but also messages that convey care and belonging. ChatGPT can help to add warm touches in an efficient way.

Prompt example: “Add a friendly and approachable warmth to this email message, including a motivational message, reassurance about asking for help, and encouragement.”

How it helps:

• Enhances the student experience by setting a positive tone

• Saves time while maintaining a personalized approach

• Reinforces advisors as approachable and supportive

7. Creating Advising Materials and Guides

Advisors often need handouts, FAQs, or guides for students navigating registration, degree requirements, or campus resources. ChatGPT can generate drafts that are easy to adapt.

Prompt example: “Generate a step-by-step guide for students planning to transfer from a community college to a four-year university. Include tips for maintaining GPA, selecting transfer courses, and applying for scholarships.” (Related Reading: Study: Confusing Processes Break Student Trust)

How it helps:

• Reduces prep time for workshops or orientation sessions

• Provides a starting point for branded materials

  
  

8. Generating Reflective Exercises for Advisors

An important part of self-care, motivation, and continuous improvement is the intentional, genuine, and regular practice of reflection.

Prompt example: “Create a self-reflection exercise for me to evaluate the effectiveness of my student interactions. Include prompts about communication, inclusivity, and goal-setting support.” (Related Reading: Are We Preparing the Next Generation of Student Affairs Leaders?)

How it helps:

• Promotes continuous professional growth

• Helps advisors identify areas for improvement in practice

• Encourages thoughtful reflection on student impact

Getting Started with ChatGPT

Advisors don’t need to be tech experts to benefit. A few tips for getting started:

• Start small: Use ChatGPT for a single task, like drafting an email, before moving on to larger projects.

• Be specific: The more context you provide in a prompt, the more relevant and useful the output.

• Review and edit: AI-generated text should always be reviewed for tone, accuracy, and appropriateness.

Authenticity, Accuracy, and Ethics

While ChatGPT can be an incredibly helpful tool for generating ideas, drafting communications, and organizing information, it’s vital that advisors remain authentic in their work.

The value of advising comes from the human connection. Your empathy, experience, and personal insight cannot be replicated by an AI. Use the tool as a supplement, not a replacement, so that your guidance reflects your voice and professional experiences.

Finally, advisors should always consider ethical implications when using AI, including maintaining student privacy and confidentiality, and double-check all content for accuracy before sharing it. This ensures that your advice is both trustworthy and true to your professional standards.