Director of the AcademicAdvisingCenter Harold Alexander advises freshman Jami Kelley in the Center on Sept. 25. TheCenter provided advising for students who were struggling in certain areas such astimemanagement and/or study skills. [Chris Hamilton] Academic Advising Center offers Aid to all incoming freshmen [assistant vice presidents, administrative directors] 143 Freshmen arrived at Harding to begin their college education with countless different backgrounds, skills and levels of maturity. Few counselors would dare to say the one-program-fits-all was the correct approach. Each year, advisors met with incoming freshmen to discuss their four years at Harding, and together they would plan a schedule that would try to meet major requirements and demand a logical amount of stress for that student.This was a difficult task for both the advisor and the student when they were trying to communicate important issues with someone they had never seen. The Financial Aid department learned about the College Student Inventory (CSI) and began urging the Academic Advising Center to incorporate this inventory to their advising program.Acknowledging their desire for a better advisor-student relationship, the Academic Advising Center began using the inventory two years ago. The CSI was an inventory created after a student answered a 100 question booklet.The test was divided into three sections using a rating scale, according to Director of Multicultural Service and First Year Experience Butch Gardner.When the report was graded, advisors were able to see the student’s strengths, weaknesses and areas of risk. “Each of us learns in a different way,” Michael L. Stratil, the creator of the test said. “We focus attention on somewhat different dimensions of the world around us, we have somewhat different understandings of the world, and we strive for quite different kinds of personal growth. We can only achieve our full potential when these forces of individuality are meshed smoothly with the learning process.” Many students enrolled in college with a high risk of withdrawal or failure. “Once we get the report back, we have all the information on a server, and it lists students in categories,” Gardner said. “What we’re trying to do is catch the problem before it develops.” This inventory acted as a useful instrument for advisors and counselors as it showed them an analysis of the student’s capabilities and problem areas. The results were divided into three main areas: academic motivation, general coping and receptivity to support services. “The results are great indicators of how well they’ll do,” Academic Advising Counselor Jennifer Allen said. “It’s a great tool. Teachers need to be educated about it.” Gardner agreed by saying teachers needed to know more about the inventory so they would use the CSI to its full potential, and they were able to help the student more than before. Harding planned to instruct teachers about the student analysis with the appropriate training. “Our goal is to help them understand more about themselves,” Harold Alexander, director of the Academic Advising Center said. “It gives us the opportunity to help the student find resources to overcome their weaknesses and use their strengths.” The CSI was another step Harding took to help students have a fruitful college education under the help of advisors geared with a powerful instrument that provided specific analysis of strengths and weaknesses. [Karol Figueroa]
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