Facilitating Graduate Advising Success by Developing Shared Expectations

Success in graduate education has traditionally been measured by student outcomes, such as achieving credit hour requirements, passing candidacy exams, turning in a dissertation, or completion of a project or internship. However, effective faculty advising relationships can be one of the most important factors leading to graduation. Positive relationships are transformative for students, while inadequate advising is a major reason cited for graduate student attrition. Though it can be difficult to standardize what good advising means, there are ways that student support offices can facilitate positive mentoring relationships.

During this session, discover how we used data and stakeholder-centered assessment as a catalyst to transform graduate advising experiences at The Ohio State University, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. We will outline our survey instrument, highlight institutional partnerships, and lead the audience through an engaging discussion about how to facilitate graduate advising success at your institution (including how to get buy-in from faculty and leadership). We will also introduce departmental and college-level tools and interventions that can support good mentoring relationships, such as a set of "Rights and Responsibilities" documents that were developed to create shared expectations for graduate students and graduate faculty members.