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First Year Orientation Assessment: Effectiveness of Academic Advising at

Northern Illinois University

Linda Condon, Caleb Conley, Omar Ramirez, Kassandra Santos

Higher Education and Student Affairs, Northern Illinois University

HESA 573: Applied Assessment In Higher Education

Dr. Nichole Knutson

December 7, 2022
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Executive Summary

Introduction

Readers are granted the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the purpose of

orientations. Working like puzzle pieces, we put together the direction of orientations and their

historical effort to fulfill their specific institutions’ goal(s). In this research, readers will have the

opportunity to learn the purpose of orientation and the different components of orientation.

Readers will progress and have a greater understanding on the approach taken by the group. This

will then be concluded with an analysis of the findings and recommendations to the Orientation

& First Year Programs office.

Literature Review

Through the literature review, readers are able learn more about academic advising. Here

they learn about tools of measurement utilized at a national level and the standard institutions

have to meet. In addition, best practices for academic advising are highlighted so that readers

have a concept for standards in academic advising.

Continuing through the literature review, the academic advising is focused and readers

have the opportunity to learn about different approaches to academic advising that takes place at

orientation. This transitions into the purpose of first-year orientation programs and highlights the

intention behind the efforts. To conclude, we present limitations and needs for future research

needed in relation to orientation.

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Logistics

In this section readers learn the methodology and approach taken by the group to explore

the purpose of this project. Using a Summer 2022 survey provided by the Orientation & First

Year Programming office, we are able focus on a population of approximately 630 completed

surveys. In the analysis we share our interpretation of the findings, highlighting imprinting

comments from attendees.

Results & Discussion

In the results and discussion section, readers will acquire an understanding of the data

found/interpreted from the summer 2022 orientation sessions. Feedback from students is

introduced and this transitions to the recommendations held for the Orientation & First Year

Programming office. In addition to the recommendations, the researchers provide follow up

questions that can be utilized for future research approaches.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1
Introduction 2
Literature Review 2
Logistics 3
Results & Discussion 3
Introduction 5
Literature Review 6
Introduction 6
Academic Advising Best Practices 7
Training 8
Centralized Advising and Retention 9
First Year Orientation Programs 9
Limitations/Future Research Needs 10
Logistics 10
Results and Discussions 12
Recommendations 13
References 17
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Introduction

The time of orientation is critical to the start of a student’s academic career. Through

orientation, colleges and universities are able to provide content heavy sessions that support the

student and their guests. Institutions invite attendees to come with questions and express

excitement as they start the next chapter of their lives.

Orientations are structured to meet the needs of their students and their guests. Some

orientations can be executed through the breakdown of information in the time of days. For other

institutions and Northern Illinois University (NIU), the orientation is hosted as a one-day long

event… welcoming attendees bright and early and waiving goodbye later in the evening.

The Orientation and First Year Programs office partners with different offices across

campus to welcome our incoming students to campus. Their mission is to welcome the new

undergraduate students by creating an environment and hosting events that provide learning

experiences and opportunity for community development. In the orientation schedule, students

have the opportunity to learn the different functionalities of campus through information

sessions, prepare for their academic semester in their academic advising session, and learn more

about their institution through a campus tour.

Curiosity sparked with the group members, wanting to see how the group could be of

support to the office… specifically efforts for orientation. Connecting with the Assistant Director

of Orientation & First Year Programs, Mitchell Huftalin, the group had the opportunity to learn

about areas of learning. In this conversation, the group grasped the need that orientation will be

changing for the year 2023. The change taking place is a transition in advising, going from

practices where students connect with advisors in their college to a centralized advising. After
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much discussion, ideas were generated for the group in how they could be of service to the

office.

Reflecting on the factors that could take a toll on the performance of this project, the

group decided to work with data that had been collected by first-year students that attended one

of the in person orientations during the summer of 2022. With this, the purpose of this research

was to find areas of growth for orientation. These areas could have shaped any part or the entire

orientation to be effective and efficient in the work they do by adding intention or without losing

intention. Specifically, the group wanted to focus on areas of growth in the academic advising

section despite the upcoming changes in the coming years.

In this research, readers will have the opportunity to learn the purpose of orientation and

the different components of orientation. Readers will progress and have a greater understanding

on the approach taken by the group. This will then be concluded with an analysis of the findings

and recommendations to the Orientation & First Year Programs office.

Literature Review

Introduction

The freshman orientation experience is arguably one of the most important days for

entering first year students at a university. And, oftentimes orientation is the students and parents

first interaction with their academic advisor. Academic advising, while important, is not the only

purpose of orientation. Many different university partners are often “competing” for time to get

in front of the new students, resulting in a tightly packed schedule and lots of information being

given out. In this literature review first-year orientation programs will be examined with a

special focus on the academic advising outcomes for students as well as the institution. Best
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practices and training for advisors will be examined with an emphasis on a centralized advising

model and how that advising structure can impact student success and retention.

Academic Advising Best Practices

When discussing academic advising best practices topics such as caseload often come up

as well as professional versus faculty advisors. For the purpose of this literature review the focus

will be on the professional academic advisor which is a staff member whose primary role is to

advise and support students. Unlike a faculty advisor whose primary focus is teaching but who

may also have a set group of students to advise within a specific major. In regards to best

practices for advisor caseloads The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) does

not have a suggested ratio since advising duties vary by institution type and the purpose of the

advising office. The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) has a

similar message. The CAS Standards of Academic Advising state that academic advising

caseloads must be consistent with the time required for the effective performance of the activity

(Mitstifer, 2012).

One particular study on academic advising focused on five California State University

(CSU) campuses where students, advisors, and administrators were interviewed on various

advising topics. It was found that advising on their campuses primarily focuses on academic

planning and there would be a benefit to move towards a more holistic approach that

incorporates academic advising with other functions such as co-curricular, career, and financial

and mental well-being support (Moore et al., 2019). It should be noted that the advising type

used at the CSU campuses is a decentralized structure where academic advising is distributed

across multiple divisions and offices. This is the same advising structure that Northern Illinois

University (NIU) used and was surveyed on for the 2022 summer orientation sessions. One of
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the main challenges Moore et al. (2019) discussed while using a decentralized advising model

are communications across colleges, divisions, and departments along with other units such as

career centers and financial aid. The advisors interviewed were also optimistic about improving

advising outcomes through various measures. These included mandatory advising at various

times, hiring more advising staff, helping students build long-term relationships with advisors,

and offering advising services at more convenient times and locations (Moore et al., 2019).

Training

Preparing academic advisors for orientation with new students often looks very different

than training an advisor on continuing student issues. Advisors must remember that incoming

freshmen do not know how a university works and certain terms and acronyms will not be

familiar to these new students (Self & Aguayo, 2009). Having an internal training session that

gives advisors a clear understanding of their role in orientation and how best to support students

is recommended. This should include information such as program dates, staff scheduling, and

include a sample of materials and presentations that will be given to students. Self & Aguayo

(2009) also recommended providing a shared electronic location for advisors where files can be

stored and communication updates shared.

Advisor training for orientation should also address the specific material to be presented

at orientation and what might be provided later via an alternative delivery method. One common

mistake advisors make is trying to deliver as much information as possible to students and

parents which can become overwhelming. Suggestions for academic advising content at

orientation include an overview of the advising office and services provided, overview of general

curriculum requirements, expectations of students and advisors, and registration procedures (Self

& Aguayo, 2009).

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Centralized Advising and Retention

Advising structures in higher education have been researched for many years now,

especially as it affects student retention rates. Centralized advising is where all advisors are

located within one academic or administrative unit while decentralized structures have advisors

located within their respective departments or colleges (Kot, 2014). Kot (2014) conducted a

research study to determine the benefits, if at all, from a centralized advising structure. It was

found that centralized advising had a positive and significant impact on first year GPA. In terms

of retention it was also reported that students who used centralized advising in the second

semester were more likely to return in the second year.

First Year Orientation Programs

For most students enrolling in a university today a new student orientation will be highly

suggested if not a mandatory event. As stated above, orientation is a unique opportunity to gather

first year students and parents/guardians to campus for intentional informative programming.

Deggs (2011) surveyed first-year students and found that 74.1% agreed or strongly agreed that

attending orientation was an important step for enrollment at the university. It was also noted that

a “one size fits all” approach to orientation and transition programs will not suffice. One strategy

might be to provide different types of orientation programs based upon student characteristics

like commuter students and part time students.

Mann (1998) talks about how student affairs professionals working with new student

orientation understand that orientation is not an either-or program. “New students have the

opportunity to test the reality of the new situation while making new friends and completing

registration for the first term. The university accomplishes major tasks in the matriculation of

new students and has the opportunity to make known its expectations of students. New student
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orientation is a success when the goals of both groups are reached ” (Mann, 1998). This is

certainly true when one thinks about how to create programming for orientation and provide a

welcoming environment for new students.

Deggs (2011) stresses the importance of orientation programs at institutions as well as the

different routes incoming students face to attend the institution. The transition to college can be

difficult for first-time freshmen. The transition from high school to college is a very quick

turnaround of only a few months from high school graduation. Having an orientation program

that supports students from high school to college is important.

Limitations/Future Research Needs

While there is a decent amount of research on academic advising, it does have some

limitations. It is hard to quantify direct results of academic advising successes or failures as

research tends to be based on satisfaction surveys. And trying to link academic advising to other

outcomes such as retention or graduation rates is hard to prove. Despite some of these limitations

research should still continue as it is helpful to have shared success stories. Institutions realize

the importance of advising in supporting student success and additional research can help to

model good programs and provide a foundation for advisor training and development.

Logistics

Our group was provided with the survey results from Orientation and First-year programs

that were given to students at the end of their orientation sessions. There were about 800 students

that had submitted and participated in the survey. When we gather the results from all of the

orientation sessions we saw that not all the results that we received were going to be able to be

used. They were a handful of survey responses that were not complete and there were survey
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reponses that could not be used due to them providing more information and we would not be

able to break down the results into data sets. We would still use the information that could not be

broken into data sets to further provide and prove why some of the results that were found were a

common theme through the survey results that were provided to us. Overall after eliminating the

surveys we could not use and were incomplete we ended up with 627 completed surveys that

were going to be used in our data set collection. The questions that were asked were mainly

satisfaction questions about their orientation experience, The highest answer that was available

to be selected was strongly agree and it was then agreed, neither agree nor disagree, and so forth.

Having these types of questions our group was able to create data sets using the completed

surveys.

We selected certain questions because the questions were able to be used in data sets as,

well as we wanted to provide questions that would illustrate on the satisfaction and how

confident students felt with the information they were given in their orientations. What we

gathered from the questions we selected and used was overall the students were satisfied with

how their orientation experience. One of the biggest concerns that were provided that we did not

use into data the data collections was that many students felt that their orientation was too long.

Many students felt that their orientation experience would have been better if certain parts in

their orientation was cut shorter. Many students went on to share that if the parts that they felt

were too long could be cut down, then the time could be allocated to the time that were provided

to students meeting their advisors when registering for classes. Many students that were in the

colleges that had more programs had less time to meet with their advisors to sign up for classes.

Not all students received the same time amount to meet with their advisors from their major and
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felt rushed in having to register for their first semester of classes. This information can be used

and looked at for an area to improve or for future orientation sessions.

Results and Discussions

The way our group approached the data we had was that we eliminated questions that

could not be broken into groups. Some of the answers provided were written in long sentences

and information which was great to have but could not be implemented into a data bar graph.

After eliminating the questions we felt we did not have enough data on we ended with about 627

completed surveys from the orientation sessions. The college that had the highest number of

participants was The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences which had close to 180 participants.

This was not a surprise to much of the group due to The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

having the most majors in its college. The orientation day was about 7 hours beginning in the

morning and ending in the afternoon. During that time the students did a variety of activities and

learned about the resources and things they should know about NIU.

An orientation day concluded with a closing ceremony where the then Orientation

Coordinator, Mitchell Huftalin, gave closing remarks. A QR code was displayed on the final

slide for the purpose of incoming students to fill out a brief survey. The QR code served as a link

for the survey and required all students to fill it out so they could get their new Onecards and an

Insomnia cookie. This incentive for students to provide and share their experience of orientation

and the schedule they had for orientation. With technology being heavily used it made for faster

access for students to complete the survey and all the information and results would be able to be

easily organized and kept without having to use paper documents and have the possibility of

results being lost or altered.

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Results from the survey mentioned orientation days as repetitive from events incoming

students attended in the spring semester of 2022. One of the events in the results mentions

Admitted Student Day. During the day, incoming students walked through the campus, learned

of resources available, and could tour a residence hall. With the results, there are options for the

Orientation and First-Year programs office to implement. The staff can compare the information

given at Admitted Student Day and tailor the information to be a synopsis at orientation. The

staff can continue presenting the information as expected because there are students who did not

attend Admitted Student Day. The great thing about the results is that programming and

schedules can be altered and changed to best meet the needs of the students that are signing up

for orientation. From orientation for freshmen students to orientation for transfer students each

program can be changed and moved around to best meet the needs of students and the goal of

orientation.

Recommendations

Recommendations can provide positive and negative feedback based on responses gained

from a survey. It is vital to analyze the input to make beneficial decisions on improvements for a

program. Orientation and First-Year programs at Northern Illinois University (NIU) surveyed

students on their experience attending an orientation day. The survey responses only included

students who attended a full orientation day because there were students who left after their

academic advising appointment. When the group received the orientation feedback, we looked at

information we could remove. The response that was not filled out, including a student's name,

finished the survey, and modality of orientation, was removed because the information was

irrelevant to our findings. We did not need to know the modality of orientation, a finished

survey, and the students' names to lead to the recommendations.

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The data kept included dates of orientation days students attended. At the beginning of

orientation, a respondent's feedback stated they were disappointed in the residence hall tours

because Orientation and First-Year programs advertised there would be residence hall tours at

the end of the day. The respondent says that once they got on the bus, they were told everyone

had to pick one residence hall (Patterson Hall, Stevenson, and Grant Towers) to visit, which

ended up being Patterson Hall (formerly New Hall). Caleb worked in orientation as an intern and

spearheaded residence hall tours during the summer. After a residence hall tour, Caleb would

have an assessment with the orientation coordinator, Mitch Huftalin, to discuss what should

improve for the next residence hall tour. That established a continuous evaluation of

improvements for residence hall tours for the rest of the summer. Therefore the staff in

Orientation and First-Year programs should assess the structure of residence hall tours, including

transportation, showroom setup, and who will be giving tours. This assessment can view the

progress of the residence hall tours from the beginning to the end of summer.

The paper's recommendations stem from the survey's general feedback, and a primary

recommendation is to shorten the campus tours. Multiple respondents stated that the campus

tours were long and exhausting. Furthermore, the tours should be optional for students, families,

and guests. Individuals attending an orientation day sat through informational sessions and group

activities, and students walked to and from their academic advising appointment. Campus tours

can be exhausting for one day of orientation, and students, families, and guests must walk around

various parts of campus in hot temperatures. Giving the time frame for a campus tour as an

option can provide individuals with a break to relax before the next session. The benefit of

individuals attending is that they have the time to relax because, before the tours, students walk

to their academic advising appointments.

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Survey response geared toward academic advising was positive, with a few negative

ones. One response stated, "Passion was my nursing class advisor, and she was outstanding!

Great help and so nice!". Another said, "The meeting with my advisor was very helpful. I really

felt like I understood my schedule and path for my major better after meeting with her." The

recommendation is to praise and recognize the academic advisors for the hard work they put in

during the summer. Recognizing the academic advisors' work shows support for campus

partners, which can lead to healthy partnerships for future endeavors.

While there were positive responses from first-year students, there were negative

responses. A student responded, "I don't feel 100% confident in the times that I registered for

classes/what they are, and am very anxious about that". With the upcoming centralized model

utilized in the Summer of 2023 at orientation, there could be changes in how academic advisors

provide class information to students. However, a recommendation geared toward academic

advisors can be assessing each college's advising process to see if advisors provide enough time

for students to register for classes. One student stated, "I felt rushed during enrolling of classes,

but otherwise an amazing experience." Assessing can include evaluating advisors to understand

if they thoroughly know the class information they are providing students. A second

recommendation is reaching out to the academic advisors to get their feedback on whether the

time allowed is enough for their students.

Following the positive and negative experiences from students' interactions with

academic advisors, there were responses focused on Orientation Leaders. Based on a response,

students enjoyed interacting with Orientation leaders mentioning how they provided a fun and

supportive experience. One stated, "Great Student leaders, really explained everything in depth

really well." For example, one student asked about NIU's bus system, and an Orientation leader
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shared their personal experience using the bus. There should be a continuation of training for

Orientation leaders and praise them for their work.

In conclusion, the importance of assessment, evaluation, and research is crucial to

implementing change. The professional competency rubrics of ACPA/NASPA have provided a

richer understanding of the values of these focus areas. Continuing, we have gathered an

essential knowledge of how assessment provides important information for the benefits of

academic advising—having detailed responses support the efforts and goals of the Orientation

and First-Year staff. It is crucial for future assessments further to understand best practices and

training for academic advisors. As time has passed, so have the student expectations< having the

programming that plays a significant role in supporting students as they embark on their college

journey. The typical college student from 6 years ago has evolved over the years. There is more

emphasis on supporting the student but also having programming and resources that best support

students in today's age, from more technology usage to online learning. As students have

completed orientation, they learn about NIU's resources and programming. NIU strives and

makes a great effort to welcome new students to the huskie family. Every student's journey is

special and unique, and the resources at NIU support students as they embark on their college

journey.
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References

Deggs, D. (2011). Students’ adjustment to college: A comparison of orientation program

Attendees and non attendees. Journal of College Orientation and Transition, 18 (2),

45-50.

Kot, F. C. (2014). The Impact of Centralized Advising on First-Year Academic Performance and

Second-Year Enrollment Behavior. Research in Higher Education, 55(6), 527-563.

Mann, B. A. (1998). Retention principles for new student orientation programs. Journal

College Orientation and Transition, 6(1), 15-20.

Mitstifer. (2012). CAS professional standards for higher education / Dorothy I. Mitstifer, editor.

(8th ed.). Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education.

Moore, Colleen; Schrager, Cynthia; Jaeger, Laura. Destination Integration: Perspectives

of Students and Advisors about Improving Academic Advising from the CSU Student

Success Network Education Insights Center. 2019 40 pp. (ED607268)

Self, C. and Aguayo, T. (2009). Preparing Academic Advisors for Orientation Programs.

NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources.