Executive Summary of the Student Advisement and Success Project Working Groups (WG1–WG4) for Academic Year 2025–2026
The 2025–2026 academic year marks a coordinated, campus-wide effort to strengthen UNK’s academic advising systems, processes, and support structures. Four interconnected working groups—WG1 (Assessment Design), WG2 (Data & Infrastructure), WG3 (Advisor Training), and WG4 (Stakeholder Engagement & Communications)—collectively advanced the institution toward a comprehensive, scalable advising-, assessment, and professional development ecosystem. Their work builds directly on the foundations established during the 2023–2024 planning grant.
Together, the working groups ensure that advising reform at UNK is data-informed, student-centered, technologically supported, and broadly communicated with institutional partners.
WG1 focused on creating a rigorous, student-facing assessment of the advising experience and preparing for an advisor-facing counterpart. From Sept 2025 through Jan 2026, the group completed multiple rounds of drafting, revision, stakeholder incorporation, and technical alignment. WG1 successfully:
Completed multiple rounds of survey drafting and refinement.
Established evaluation criteria and content structure for advising assessment.
Coordinated closely with WGs 2, 3, and 4 to ensure alignment.
Developed pilot and full-launch plans, respectively.
Outlined data-output needs for institutional stakeholder reporting.
Initiated the development of an advisor-facing survey.
WG1’s work provides the central framework on which the other workgroups depend.
WG2 is working to ensure that any feedback collected about the advising experience at UNK is in the best format for the participant and the reviewer of the output data. The group’s work centered on feasibility, data governance, and survey implementation logistics. WG2 successfully:
Recommended the use of the Student Information System’s (SIS) E-forms, which can auto-populate student NUIDs and advisor names, ensuring a smoother survey participant experience.
Setting a working timeline that would allow the advising assessment questions to be piloted in spring of 2026 and scheduled for wider implementation via SIS in October 2026.
Documented the accuracy challenges in CRM/Salesforce relative to PeopleSoft data.
Review survey data for replicability, reliability, feasibility, and validity.
WG2 is translating WG1’s conceptual work into a pilotable, technical plan.
WG3 is responsible for developing the training and ongoing support structures necessary for all advisors—faculty and staff who advise—to meet UNK’s advising standards. WG3 successfully:
Reviewed existing advising-training materials (Bridge training modules, PowerPoints, departmental tools) to identify gaps and opportunities.
Aligned training content with the planning-grant findings on effective, equitable, and proactive advising.
Ideated around a multi-part training series, including best practices, EV-based student-needs identification, technical advising skills, student-relationship building, goal-setting, difficult conversations, and proactive-advising modules (continuing with the learning and collaboration with USC PASS researchers).
Began designing a preliminary draft of a Comprehensive Advising Toolkit containing question banks, resource sheets, and resources for both advisors and students.
Recommended requiring baseline training completion before advisors receive advisees, with the suggestion that progress be tracked through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) or Bridge.
WG3 ensures that all advisors—not just systems and surveys—are fully supported and trained for success
WG4 led the campuswide communication strategy to ensure transparency, engagement, and broad participation in the advising initiative. Over fall 2025 and early 2026, WG4:
Developed communication frameworks emphasizing that the project is supportive, not punitive, and focused on student success.
Produced marketing materials, launch-event promotions, newsletters, table tents, postcards, and Announce/Student Bulletin messaging.
Planned and coordinated the January 28–29, 2026 Stakeholder Feedback Sessions, including agendas, question banks, RSVP tracking, and outreach strategies.
Created a “roadshow” and recommended college-level engagement to ensure broad awareness with faculty and staff.
WG4’s work ensured that the advising initiative remained highly visible, proactively communicated, and accessible to all campus stakeholders.
This coordinated effort demonstrates a comprehensive, institution-wide approach to strengthening advising—supported by data, training, technical systems, and intentional communication.
