Remote advising articles:
- Advising Online Students: Replicating Best Practices of Face-to-Face Advising
- Utilizing Course Management Software in Academic Advising
- Email Advising: Doing it Wrong, Doing it Right
- Technology and Academic Advising: Student Usage and Preferences
- 7 Ways Advisors Can More Effectively Engage Online Students
- Developmental advising in an on-demand world
Technology
The two main concerns when setting up your remote advising office is your technology set-up (devices and other hardware) as well as access to the appropriate University platforms and systems. C&IT has detailed instructions on how WSU staff can use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to access their WSU desktop from their personal laptop or desktop (or other device) as well as how staff can download sign-in authentication and the appropriate security software which will allow them access to University systems.
Forwarding office calls - Academic staff who wish to have their office calls forwarded to a home phone or cell can use the VoIP call forwarding steps to set up that service.
FERPA
The WSU Registrar has provided a Best Practices and Remote Advising document that should be reviewed by all academic staff working with students online.
MS Teams
Microsoft Teams is a communication and collaboration tool included in the Office 365 package of Wayne Connect. Teams includes chat with text, audio, video, file sharing and app integration. Teams is available to all WSU faculty, staff and registered students, which makes it an excellent platform for conducting online advising appointments. C&IT has multiple training pages dedicated to Teams support including the ones below that are most relevant to one-on-one advising.
- Start a one-on-one or group chat
- Start a call from a chat in Teams
- Share your screen in a chat in Teams
- Send a file, picture, or link in Teams
- Edit or delete a sent message in Teams
In addition, there are advisor-specific considerations for using Teams that you may want to review, as well as a template to send to your students with instructions on Teams advising.
University Systems
Stars 2.0: The User Settings in each advisor's profile can be used to inform students about the advising services an advisor offers. For online advising, advisors can specify whether they want a unique MS Teams url created for each student appointment (default) or to supply their own url (such as a Zoom meeting link). The phone number/url shows up on the student's appointment reminder and the Teams URL will be actionable from the advisor and student's MS Teams calendar. In addition, advisors can create a message in the User Settings that will show in their unique URL landing page. This would be an ideal place to indicated drop-in times for advising (and how to access if remote) as well as information on extended leave or instructions on how to contact an advisor if there are no available appointments. Instructions for setting up User Settings, can be found on the Advisor Help Center page of the wayne.edu/stars site.
Canvas - Advisors may wish to use Canvas as a non-term course for use with students. It is also smart for advisors to familiarize themselves with the WSU learning managment system that will be used heavily by professors and instructors
Slate - is a Customer Relationship Management tool designed and developed exclusively for higher education to be the solution that can handle the breadth and depth of modern admissions and advancement. Slate enables users to review all applications, relationships, test scores, materials and interactions from a unified platform. Often advisors need to review transcripts before they are evaluated by transfer credit or at any point prior to matriculation. Complete https://slate.wayne.edu/register/advisoraccess for advisors access only.
Xtender - The Xtender tool in Banner will allow advisors to retrieve imaged transcripts for transfer student admits. Access is generally included with advisor Banner access.
Managing Stress
Self-care and support is extremely important during times of disruption and change. Academic staff are encouraged to take advantage of the numerous resources and services available to them, and to refer students to appropriate services as well. Below are some suggested services and resources:
WSU Academic Staff Resources
Anxiety During a Public Health Crisis (Ulliance Employee Assistance Program)
Ulliance Employee Assistance Program - free counseling, coaching, crisis intervention, community resource referrals
Managing Stress & Anxiety (cdc.gov)
The Missing Ingredient in Self Care (video)
Rob Pennington, PhD Successfully Managing the Stress of Change (video)
How to Reduce Stress with the 2:1 Breathing Technique (video)
How to do Progressive Relaxation (video)
WSU Student Resources
Counseling & Psychological Services
Warrior Life & Wellness
Study Skills Academy Online Canvas
WSU Suicide Prevention Student Wellness
Managing Stress & Anxiety (cdc.gov)