Supporting students in becoming competent and confident professionals is a key responsibility for colleges and universities. Academic and career advisors play a crucial role in this process, yet many students feel they are not receiving the support they need. While advisors are passionate about helping students, their ability to provide personalized guidance is often limited by large caseloads and insufficient tools. AI-powered solutions like Advisor.AI aim to address these challenges by streamlining the advising process and offering students the real-time, personalized guidance they need to succeed.
Many students enter university expecting personalized guidance to help them navigate their academic and career journeys but often find themselves frustrated by the advising system.
Timely Support and Access
One common complaint among students is the difficulty in scheduling timely appointments with advisors. Many students report that by the time they can meet with an advisor, key deadlines for course registration or degree changes have already passed. This leads to significant stress and frustration. In fact, the 2023 Student Voice survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed in collaboration with College Pulse revealed that only 52% of students feel they’ve been adequately advised on their degree progress to ensure they are on track to graduate. Expanding on this, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) reported similar trends, with students often feeling disconnected from advising services when they need them most.
Career Services Disconnect
Some students only discover their university’s career services too late in their academic journey, missing crucial opportunities for internships and career planning. One student shared that they didn’t even learn about career services until their third year, leading to missed chances for early preparation (University Affairs).
A report on the value of career services by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) revealed that the majority of students don’t take full advantage of career services, with only 25.6% seeking help with internships and even fewer engaging in mock interviews or networking preparation. This underscores the need for greater visibility and access to these services from the start of students’ academic journeys.
Overburdened Advisors
Another major issue is that advisors are often stretched too thin. Some advisors manage up to 1,000 students, leaving them with as little as 10 minutes per student to cover complex issues such as course registration, internships, and career planning (Civitas Learning). This lack of time limits meaningful engagement and prevents advisors from offering the holistic support students need.
Advisor.AI takes a different approach by offering intuitive, easy-to-use tools that require minimal training and allow advisors to focus on what they do best: guiding students. The platform’s automated systems help advisors identify at-risk students and provide real-time interventions, freeing up time for more personalized, in-depth advising sessions.
Unlike many complex advising systems that require weeks of training, Advisor.AI can be implemented in just a few hours. Its user-friendly design enables both students and advisors to start benefiting from its features immediately. This simplicity ensures that students receive guidance without long wait times, and advisors spend less time dealing with system inefficiencies. The platform enables more proactive advising, ensuring no student falls through the cracks.
Training and implementation of Advisor.AI are designed to be quick and user-friendly. Most institutions can have the platform operational within a few hours, thanks to its intuitive interface and minimal need for extensive training. This ensures that advisors can immediately focus on their core responsibilities—guiding students toward success—rather than grappling with a complex system.
Dr. Soojin Kim, Department Chair at Kutztown University, commented on the platform: “The intuitive design and comprehensive features facilitate effortless tracking of student progress, leading to more efficient and meaningful interactions.” This reflects the core benefit of Advisor.AI: ease of use and streamlined operations that allow for better outcomes.
Advisor.AI helps students by providing the tools they need to make informed decisions about their academic and career paths. Here’s how the platform stands out:
1. Real-Time Insights for Informed Decisions
Students often need immediate information to make important academic decisions. Advisor.AI’s Program & Career Explorer offers real-time insights into career pathways, compensation trends, and university-specific programs. One student shared, “Degree selection and career exploration features of the platform are really great and simple to use.” This ease of use allows students to make informed decisions faster, reducing anxiety and helping them stay on track for graduation.
2. Career Readiness Made Simple
Preparing for a career is a major source of stress for many students, especially when they’re unsure about how to connect their degree to potential job opportunities. Advisor.AI’s Resume & Career Builder simplifies this process, enabling students to craft personalized resumes and explore degree-specific career pathways with ease. By offering pre-built templates, real-time feedback, and data-driven insights, the platform shortens the time spent on career planning and allows students to focus on building the necessary skills for future employment.
While many advising systems add to advisors’ workloads, Advisor.AI is designed to reduce it. With tools like Admin Dashboards, advisors can gain a comprehensive view of student engagement and identify areas where students need support most. Automated features like Case & Task Management streamline workflows, saving advisors valuable time and allowing them to focus on what they do best: advising.
As one university advisor shared, “Without the right tools, it’s nearly impossible to connect with all the students who need help. Too often, we’re left reacting to problems instead of being proactive” (Inside Higher Ed). With Advisor.AI, advisors can shift from reactive advising to proactive support, ensuring that no student falls through the cracks.
While other advising platforms focus on flashy features and complex systems, Advisor.AI delivers real, impactful solutions for both students and advisors. By providing easy-to-use tools that enhance competence and confidence, Advisor.AI ensures that students can navigate their academic and career paths with clarity. And by simplifying workflows for advisors, the platform allows them to focus their time and energy on what truly matters: supporting students.
As colleges continue to look for ways to better support their students, it’s clear that solutions like Advisor.AI are the future of academic and career advising. It’s time to move beyond complex systems and focus on tools that genuinely improve student outcomes.
Originally published on LinkedIn on October 16, 2024.