Dive Brief:
- Florida Atlantic University has seen great early success with a drive-up advising pilot, stationing advisors in the parking garages to reach commuter students.
- Inside Higher Ed reports the advising office initially had trouble reaching commuters who didn’t spend any time in dining halls or dorms, where most of their outreach was.
- Advisors last semester took over two empty parking garage security booths from 5 to 7 p.m., catching daytime students as they were leaving campus and nighttime students as they were arriving, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
Many students go through years of their college experience without engaging the wisdom and experience of advisors. Some of these students end up taking longer to get their degree because of it, dropping out, or missing important connections on campus because they didn’t know they were there. Florida Atlantic University’s pilot program was hastily put together before the spring semester but has already made important gains. It could serve as a model for other colleges serving a similar population.