CIAC is No More: Advising Changes at WWC
Emily Cobb | April 27, 2023
On April 3, Jay Roberts, the provost and dean of the faculty, sent out an email to student-l announcing changes to advising and the Center for Integrated Advising and Careers (CIAC).
According to Roberts, CIAC will no longer have individual Integrated Advising Coaches (IACs) assigned to every student, and all academic advising, for declared and undeclared students, will be with a faculty advisor.
Roberts announced that these changes would occur this summer and that there was a Google form for questions students might have.
Kendra Powell is an IAC, until her position title changes over the summer, at Warren Wilson College (WWC). She is an alumnus of WWC, graduating in 1999 with a Human Studies degree.
“I've worked in different kinds of institutions,” Powell said. “And Warren Wilson I have to say that this has been a really unique experience, working as an integrated advising coach in a center that is both focusing on doing the academic advising piece, and then also helping them [students] think about what comes after Warren Wilson, and how you tell your story.”
The position of IAC is being removed from CIAC, and current IACs will be taking on different responsibilities. The CIAC will be focusing more on career exploration and development rather than the class advising they were primarily doing through IACs.
For students who are declared Powell says not much will change, they will just continue to use their major advisor.
Ruby Schober-Colburn is a freshman at WWC and is on the Athletics Crew. Her IAC was originally Sonce Reese before Reese moved to a different position at WWC. Megan Mrkonjich then became her IAC before Mrkonjich left WWC. This resulted in Schober-Colburn having several periods with no IAC. Due to this, Schober-Colburn did not have the best experience.
“In my opinion, [my IACs were] absolutely not [helpful],” Schober-Colbrun said. “I did all the planning and they unblocked [registration] for me. Maybe I just didn’t have the right ones, because I’ve heard there are a couple of really good IACs.”
Meredith Traugott is on the Library Crew and is a freshman. She had Powell as her IAC and had a different experience than Schober-Colburn.
“I really liked her,” Traugott said. “I found the stuff that I was interested in, and then she helped create a list of classes that I might be interested in. When I came in with my list of courses for the next semester she also helped me in case I didn’t have enough credits as well as for backups [classes].”
The dissolution of IACs and instead having faculty advising is a return to the system pre-CIAC. The same faculty advising was done at WWC for years before IACs came into play. The faculty members will be advising similarly to IACs, focusing on classes and major exploration.
“I think part of the advising relationship and the advising process is having those [academic] conversations and choosing classes,” Powell said. “There are multiple factors that are going to influence why someone wants to take a class. We always talk about, like, the three buckets of advising. You have your electives, you have your Gen Eds, and you have your major courses.”
When asked if this new form of advising would be similar to IACs, Powell said that she hopes there will be similarities and differences.
“Your advising doesn't exist in this vacuum, it's not necessarily scripted,” Powell said. “We all know that within majors, there are certain classes you need to take. And there's this list of classes that meet Gen Eds for sure. But I think in our goal of appreciative advising, that's sort of the model that we use at the CIAC, you are helping students sort of define and discuss and discover the why’s and the reasons behind the classes that they're going to take.”
According to Powell, the main reasons these changes are happening are because of the school’s budget and a loss of staff in the CIAC.
“The way that the CIAC is set up, structurally, we would be unable to continue meeting our own goals and the needs of the students with a smaller staff,” Powell said. “Our number one priority is the do no harm mentality to students. So, if we're in a situation where positions are unable to be filled, how do we pivot and make some decisions that will help us continue to serve students to the best of our abilities?”
Schober-Colburn will be getting a faculty advisor next semester due to being undeclared and is worried that this change will come with difficulties, saying how it will put more work on professors.
Traugott expressed concerns as well.
“I feel like [faculty advising] is overwhelming because it feels, like, bigger of a deal when it's a professor,” Traugott said. “It also puts more work on the staff, so I don't know if this is the best because they [staff] might not be able to provide what the students need.”
However, Powell explained how the CIAC will be working behind the scenes to help facilitate advising and support faculty. Additionally, Powell wanted to remind students that they can still use CIAC resources. The open-door policy will remain in effect.
Powell said that she is looking forward to these changes and that it will allow the CIAC to explore other forms of advising.
“There's certainly some bittersweet moments,” Powell said. “I feel very optimistic. I have an amazing team. So I feel really excited to continue to collaborate with them and step into this new iteration of the CIAC.”