Lessons Learned from Development of a Software Tool to Support Academic Advising

摘要

We detail some lessons learned while designing and testing adecision-theoretic advising support tool for undergraduates at a large stateuniversity. Between 2009 and 2011 we conducted two surveys of over 500 studentsin multiple majors and colleges. These surveys asked students detailedquestions about their preferences concerning course selection, advising, andcareer paths. We present data from this study which may be helpful for facultyand staff who advise undergraduate students. We find that advising supportsoftware tools can augment the student-advisor relationship, particularly interms of course planning, but cannot and should not replace in-person advising.