April 19, 2017 - Albany, GA - Albany Technical College will hold a ribbon cutting for the all new Academic Advisement Center on Thursday, April 20, 2017, at 10 a.m. in the Nathaniel Cross Healthcare Technology Center.
With Albany Tech’s continued commitment to providing professional services to all students to ensure they receive professional assistance in navigating through curricula and college requirements that lead to graduation and placement, the college wanted to create a more customer-oriented approach and focus on continuously improving the services they provide to both internal and external stakeholders to reach a higher level of superior quality.
Through the new Academic Advisement Center (AAC), Albany Tech students will receive one-on-one assistance with understanding their respective placement into degree programs that represent an optimal balance of their aspirations and abilities. The center is designed to significantly enhance the capabilities to assist students from enrollment to graduation with a “high touch concept.”
Staffed with Academic Advisors and Success Coaches, the AAC will help students in formulating a successful academic program that helps them translate their goals, interests, and life plans into an effective educational experience. This will be achieved through three phases of advisement: Pre-Advising (Recruitment Phase), Professional Advising (Intrusive Advising Phase), and Faculty Advising (Completion Phase).
During the Pre-Advising (Recruitment) Phase, each student will be pre-advised by the admissions and recruitment staff. Students will be assigned to a professional advisor and/or success coach. Items covered during this phase includes Accuplacer, ACT, and SAT scores; overview of program options; career options; and the application process.
The Professional Advising (Intrusive) Phase provides new first-year degree seeking and transfer students with Academic Advisors, Online Success Coaches, and a Student Navigator. During the initial meeting, a review of the desired academic program, including the general education and program curriculum, in addition to an overview of academic policies (academic progress, holds, schedules, grade point average, etc.) and an overview of the registration process will take place. The student will also be scheduled for mandatory orientation and registration sessions. All Academic Advisors, Online Success Coaches, and Student Navigators will implement the “high touch concept,” making contact with students three times during the semester. If students are experiencing academic challenges, the staff will again make contact with students to set up tutoring appointments.
Finally, the Faculty Advising (Completion) Phase will provide students with faculty advisors after they successfully complete their first semester or have earned at least 12 credit hours. Through Albany Tech’s dual advising model focused on assisting students to realize the maximum benefits from their educational experiences and move on to a successful career, the faculty advisor will assist students with curriculum, work ethics, and registration. Faculty will also be engaged in the “high touch concept” to ensure communication with students is consistent.
The AAC concept was developed at Albany Tech as part of a PBI grant the college received recently from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant is designed to strengthen and enhance online learning and student support services. Goals are to strengthen the design and delivery of online courses; provide faculty professional development workshops on best practices in online course pedagogy; and provide online student support services and self-service tools, such as tutoring, academic advising, financial aid services, library resources, and other services afforded to on-campus students. The AAC will allow ATC to help remove barriers and provide a more humanized approach to student success.