A new initiative has taken flight at City Colleges of Chicago - Wilbur Wright, the New Student Advising program. See the potential effects it could have on the college community through the eyes of our head of advising and her team of advisors. By: Yasmin Whitfield
The collegiate world is filled with academic challenges, personal growth, endless possibilities, and numerous struggles. The list goes on, sometimes overwhelming even for the most organized, grounded students. That is why City Colleges of Chicago chose to invest in their students using the New Student Advising program. The New Student Advising program attempts to shine a light on the confusing, engulfing darkness of college’s complexity. It mandates that all new students (prior to their first semester) attend at least one meeting with their advisor before signing up for classes. This is overseen with an AAR hold (Academic Advisor Report), which prevents you from registering for classes prior to your mandatory advisor meeting. Once the hold has been released, the student is free to embark on their academic journey at Wilbur Wright or other City Colleges of Chicago. Currently, this hold does not apply to anyone entering the spring semester as a returning student at City Colleges of Chicago.
The Head of Advising at Wilbur Wright, Ms. Maria Llopiz, displayed a passion for this new program during her interview with Wright Times. This idea was first born as data was being analyzed by the City Colleges of Chicago District Office. Llopiz said, “The data shows that students who meet with their advisor are more successful than those who do not. In terms of knowing what they need for degree requirements, for transfer requirements, for career choices, for connecting with opportunities like scholarships and internships and all of the resources that we have within City Colleges and outside City Colleges.” This new implementation has been considered a “game changer” and “breakthrough” for Wilbur Wright. They are hoping to have students establish a connection with a professional in the institution that has resources. Although the mandated advising is currently only for new students, they are hoping that a ripple effect is created. The ripple effect envisioned by Llopiz extends far beyond. Collaborative efforts are already underway to ensure that every student can benefit from personalized guidance. Even professors are getting into the spirit, such as an English 96 teacher, who is requiring students to meet their advisor via an assignment. Llopiz prays that each interaction between student and advisor blossoms into an opportunity for growth, enrichment, and success. Eventually, they are hoping the mandatory advising can extend to every degree-seeking student at City Colleges of Chicago – Wilbur Wright.
(This is the flyer used for New Student Advising. Photo Credit: City Colleges of Chicago)
Another interviewee and advisor at Wilbur Wright, Ms. Pier Underwood, provided more information on the New Student Advising initiative. Underwood shares that the AAR hold for mandatory advising was originally introduced to City Colleges of Chicago in the school year 2015-2016. However, this idea slowly faded from the system for reasons unknown before being reintroduced in spring 2024. She said, “Now we are in a different era where the AAR hold could be used to connect students with their assigned advisors and begin to not only build their relationship with their assigned advisors. But their educational or career plan so that they can either move into the world of work or transition to a four-year college or university.” This provides insight into how Underwood and other advisors are constantly focusing on the bigger picture of educational and professional milestones. They hope the New Student Advising program can help students see through that lens as well.
Emma Marrison, a second semester student at Wilbur Wright, agrees with this initiative. Before Wilbur Wright, Emma attended another small college that did not provide access to counselors. For her, having access to a counselor at Wilbur Wright has become a gamechanger. She said, “I met my advisor at like the meet and greet thing. And to be honest, I had so many things I had to do that I did not know about, and she is like, I guess I got lucky with her because she’s fab [fabulous]. I love her.” Emma claims her college experience would have been different had she met an advisor at her previous college. Her current advisor at Wilbur Wright has been a big supporter of her college journey and overall, a rock for Emma to lean on.
Although everyone is assigned an advisor at first, it is completely possible for you to remove your AAR hold, or even continue further meetings with a different advisor. As long as all necessary topics of discussion such as: degree requirements, potential classes, etc. have been touched on in the advisory meeting, any advisor should be able to mark the required session as completed.
(This is the New Student Advising (NSA) Reference Guide Photo Credit: Yasmin Whitfield)
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