IU advisors are instrumental to student success

Expert and engaged advising is critical to the success of our students. A National Survey of Student Engagement found that the quality of advising has a significant impact with a 17 percentage-point difference in students' intention to return between those who experienced high- and low-quality advising. IU advisors, advising leaders, and programs have been recognized for excellence 26 times in the past five years by NACADA Global, an international association for academic advising in higher education.

IU's focus on strong, individualized advising has positive results across the state where each of our campuses has programs designed to fit their students' needs. In fall 2020, IUPUI's study of proactive advising practices for at-risk students was found to improve persistence to the next year by 14 percentage points. IU Northwest has placed special emphasis on cultivating relationships with students who need more support, resulting in a 20% increase in retention rates over the last five years. Since IU East instituted a minimum of three advising meetings a year for each student in 2009, the campus has seen long-term gains in graduation rates of 16 percentage points.

We know there are numerous factors that impact degree completion, but the connections our advisors make with students have a distinct influence on their experience at IU.

They are students like AJ Brady, an IU Bloomington graduate whose advisor helped him discover a major that fit with his personal interests and goal of becoming an officer in the Air Force; IU Kokomo's Maggie Kincade, whose conversations with advisors helped her navigate a decision to change her major to psychology; and IUPUI's Mia Knight, who isn’t sure she’d still be a student had she not found support through her weekly meetings with her advisor.

Representatives of the 1,200+ advisors who serve our students are:

Marcus Bingham, academic advisor at IU East, a trusted resource for other advisors, student services staff, and athletic coaches who routinely seek out his advice;

Summer Bowman, an academic advisor at IUPUC for nine years, who works tirelessly to champion students' success;

Krystie Herndon, senior advisor at IU Bloomington, who earned the College of Arts and Sciences' Advisor of the Year twice for her outstanding efforts to aid students in discovering new areas of study;

Heather Humphrey, School of Sciences advisor at IU Kokomo, who exemplifies IU's commitment to student belonging, and;

Desiree Jaynes, student success coach at IUPUI, who partnered with a faculty member to pioneer a class that helps student-athletes plan careers after athletics and graduation.

I'm grateful for the outstanding efforts of these advisors and so many others on our campuses whose work shapes the experience of our IU students and positions them for long-term success.