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A Guide to Getting Started

1. Look Around: Self Assessment

Reimagining counseling structures and practices can help counselors to identify opportunities to better meet the needs of their students as their needs become increasingly complex. Print Self-Assessment

2. Gather Your Data

Data to Examine

  • Matriculation

  • Comprehensive Education Plan completed within the first year

  • Number of students and populations meeting with a Counselor in the first semester

  • Equity data on access student services/supports

  • Persistence and retention data

  • Student focus groups or survey data on experience with counseling 

3. Engage Your Team

Whom should you include?

  • Counseling and Instructional Faculty

  • Classified staff from Counseling, A&R, Outreach, Financial Aid, EOPS

  • Counseling Dean, Director of Enrollment, Director of IR, and VP of Student Services

How do we get started?

  • Start with your self-assessment and data to develop an understanding of the problems or barriers students face with success and achieving momentum.

  • Schedule regular meetings to provide time, space, and energy to understand the barriers students are facing with getting into the right courses and developing an Ed Plan for success at your college and to develop creative solutions to help students choose a clear curricular pathway.

  • Explore questions in groups that can lead to ideas for solutions. Here are some questions to get you started. You can use these with the “How might we…” questions you developed in your self-assessment.

    • How can we support students in exploring their interests and choose a major pathway that achieves their academic and career goals?

    • How can we provide students with a set of clear course taking patterns that promotes better enrollment decisions and prepares them for future success?

    • How can we partner with instructional faculty to ensure that students are getting the correct information about course and major requirements so that they can successfully matriculate?

4. Sample Activities

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Sample Activity 1: Building Collaborative Teams

This activity is designed to help participants clearly define their role and work collaboratively with members of a Student Success Team. Print Sample Activity 1

Sample Activity 2: Reimagining Counseling Structures

The following activity is intended to help teams assess their intention in reimagining counseling, identify a focus area, and generate steps toward achieving that identified goal. Print Sample Activity 2