The Advising and Supporting competency area addresses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to providing counseling and advising support, direction, feedback, critique, referral, and guidance to individuals and groups.

Since my practicum is in Academic Advising, I have ample opportunity to build skills in the Advising and Helping competency area. Participating in walk-in appointments is very interesting. It keeps me challenged and allows me to interact with a wide variety of students from every major in the University of Massachusetts – Boston (UMB) College of Science and Mathematics. The skills I use most often are counseling skills: active listening, which involves asking clarifying questions, nonverbal communication, reflecting to students what they have communicated, and asking them what feels like the right decision for them. However, there is a strong informational component to my work as well. I try to get a sense of the student’s goals and interests, as well as their major and when they want to graduate. This helps me to ensure they have all the information they need to make a good decision.

Part of sharing helpful knowledge is directing students to other offices where they can find additional resources. At a large university such as UMB, good referral skills are key. When sending students to a different office, it’s very important that they are aware of which form(s) they need to bring, with whom they need to speak, and which questions to ask. We also do our best to follow up with students who have requested information with pertinent links, forms, and other information. In the Student Success Center (SSC), we always ask students to update us on their progress and to let us know if they need guidance or support with regard to any process of decision-making or institutional procedure. We tell them to keep us in the loop so we know whether we can be of further help, and also to show that we care about their outcome.

I believe my level of mastery in this area is Foundational but is moving into Intermediate in a few aspects of my practice. Specifically, I have learned to “simultaneously pursue multiple objectives in conversations with students,” an item in the Intermediate level of mastery under Interpersonal Skills. This practicum moved me from Foundational to Intermediate in this dimension of Advising and Supporting. Another dimension identified as Intermediate in the CAS Standards is “culturally inclusive advising, supporting, coaching, and counseling strategies.” As UMB is an extremely diverse institution, providing culturally inclusive advising and support is a necessity for every one of its professionals. While I anticipate growth in this dimension until retirement, I believe that my practice is culturally inclusive in many ways by virtue of the context in which I practice. I have also used technology to reach our students with important information and have discussed mental health issues with a number of students. Holistic wellness is incredibly important to students’ academic success. Because our students face many more and varied challenges as compared to so-called “traditional” college students, addressing barriers to good mental and physical health is part of working with students in the UMB context.

In order to move into Intermediate mastery of the Advising and Supporting competency completely, I need to be employed in academic advising long enough to take on leadership roles. Developing and implementing programs beyond one’s functional area, mentoring staff and students, managing conflict and group dynamics, and training others are all functions of staff who are very established in their roles. While I can certainly continue to hone my Foundational-level skills in my first year or two on the job, moving into Intermediate mastery will require both tenure and opportunity for leadership. I hope to find a department where I can put down roots, (so to speak) and become a part of the campus community that will be well received when it is time for me to step up as a leader in this competency area.