Advising Fellows Archive
Learn more about our previous Advising Fellows and their projects.
2025 - 2026 Fellow Projects
Executive summary
The Communications Project Team partnered with OVPUE to support the development and launch of studentsuccess.umich.edu and the next iteration of advising.umich.edu (with primary focus on the advising site). The team conducted benchmarking, refined site tone, provided design suggestions, and contributed to writing and editing web content. The team also developed outreach messaging to promote the sites and content needed, build community and learn more about Slack using Slack Advising Fellows team channel, and identified opportunities to strengthen advising communications.
Key work and deliverables included Fall 2025 benchmarking and a Slack communication plan for the Advising Fellows (including a “Know the Lingo” resource), and Winter 2026 advising-site content development, accessible marketing materials, and an initial plan to strengthen ACUM’s Slack presence. The team recommended establishing an ongoing workflow for website updates and promotion, partnering with marketing/design/social media specialists, and expanding advisor engagement through the larger Advising Fellows team and ACUM.
Project team scope and milestones
Scope of work:
- Partner with the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education on:
- Developing studentsuccess.umich.edu and the next iteration of advising.umich.edu (e.g., benchmarking, writing & editing content, making design suggestions, helping us get the tone right).
- Outreach messaging related to the Student Success Initiative and Network, academic advising, and the Advising Fellows program (i.e. how OVPUE communicates with students, advisors, and the U-M student success community broadly).
- Identify areas of opportunity and propose ideas related to other forms of advising communications
Primary milestones/goals:
- Fall 2025: Primarily focused on benchmarking and providing feedback for the new advising and student success websites. Designed and implemented a Slack communication plan for the Fellows.
- Winter 2026: Create content for the new advising website and promote awareness of new student success and advising websites. Collaborate with ACUM to develop their underutilized Slack channel.
Team deliverables/accomplishments
- Fall 2025: Completed an initial “Know the Lingo: College Terms Explained” document. We also completed a communication plan for #ovpue-advising-fellows Slack channel, including weekly Slack challenges.
- Winter 2026: Introduced marketing materials (flyer, slides, banner, diag board etc.) with digital accessibility in mind. Drafted an initial plan for ACUM Slack.
Key Recommendations
- Establish a repeatable workflow to continuously review/update website content and sustain promotion (orientations, diag boards, social media, ACUM newsletter, outreach to advising units).
- Build partnerships with teams specializing in marketing, design, and social media.
- Expand advisor engagement opportunities (ACUM/ACUM Slack, NACADA watch parties, and other campus events).
Project Goals:
On the evaluation team, our goal is to gather and evaluate data on student experiences in advising/coaching meetings from both staff and students.
Progress:
In the Fall semester, our main goal was to collect data from both staff and students through surveys and focus groups. Looking ahead to the Winter term, we will work to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data and report our findings to the campus community.
Project Goals:
The Faculty Advisor Project has three sequential goals: first, to identify the faculty advisors working with undergraduates across the University; second, to survey these advisors about their experiences, insights, challenges, and needs; and, finally, to develop new resources, opportunities, practices, or other deliverables in response to emergent themes from the survey data.
Deliverables:
The deliverables for this project include:
1) A comprehensive list of the current faculty advisors working with undergraduates across U of M
2) A survey asking faculty advisors about their experiences, insights, challenges, and needs
3) A report documenting emergent themes from the survey data
4) Recommendations and the initial creation of new resources, opportunities, practices, or other deliverables based on faculty responses to the survey
Progress:
During the Fall 2025 semester, we were able to compile a list of 196 current faculty advisors working with undergraduates at U of M; create and disseminate a survey to these advisors, asking about their experiences, insights, challenges, and needs; and begin reviewing and summarizing key findings from survey results.
We are grateful to everyone who has contributed their time and expertise to this project, including the Undergraduate Advising Leads in the U of M schools and colleges; the evaluation specialists at OVPUE; and the faculty advisors themselves, who have taken time during a very busy part of the semester to share their experiences, insights, and needs, thus enabling us to move this project forward.
Executive summary
The Training and Development Advising Fellows team is focused on building a scalable, campus-wide framework for academic advisor and academic coach training at the University of Michigan. Grounded in NACADA Core Competencies and the Ecological Validation Model for Student Success, the project aims to create a structured and accessible professional development system that supports new advisors and academic coaches.
The work began in Fall 2025 with research and discovery—synthesizing findings from the AACT Training and Development Subteam Report, benchmarking peer institutions, and analyzing current training practices across U-M advising units. These insights informed the development of a tiered training roadmap outlining onboarding, intermediate, and advanced competencies by role.
In Winter 2026, the focus shifted to implementation through the creation of a Canvas-based training site (Version 1.0), designed primarily for onboarding new advisors. This included the creation of core training module content, gathering feedback on the modules and course outline, and the functional building of the course on the Canvas platform.
Beyond the initial launch, the fellowship also lays the groundwork for long-term sustainability and growth, including exploring credentialing or certificate opportunities, establishing continuous improvement processes, and building institutional buy-in for a shared advising development model.
Overall, the fellowship moves U-M toward a more cohesive, consistent, and professionalized approach to advisor and coach training, reducing duplication across units while improving the quality and impact of student support.
Project team scope and milestones
Scope of work:
The scope of this work centers on creating a structured approach to advisor development by combining research, framework design, and initial implementation.
The project begins with understanding the current landscape, reviewing existing reports, gathering insights from U-M units, and looking at peer institutions to identify gaps and opportunities. From there, it establishes a tiered model that outlines training needs across different roles and experience levels.
The work then moves into building a first version of a Canvas-based onboarding experience for new advisors.
Alongside this, the project considers how the training can evolve over time, including opportunities for expanded content and longer-term professional development pathways.
Primary milestones/goals:
Fall 2025
- Synthesize AACT Training and Development Subteam Report findings
- Benchmark peer institutions and U-M advising units
- Develop a training and development roadmap
Winter 2026
- Build Version 1.0 of the Canvas-based onboarding training site
- Gathering feedback from the ACUM Advising Admin and Training Committee on the outline of the course
- Conducting a focus group of CSHPE students on Canvas best practices
- Connect with CRLT on the foundations needed to build a useful and successful training course
Team deliverables/accomplishments
Fall 2025
- Synthesis report of AACT Training and Development Subteam findings
- Benchmarking analysis of peer institutions and U-M advising units’ training systems
- Benchmarking was also conducted on training program incentives
Winter 2026
- CSHPE Focus group for reflection and feedback on Canvas best practices
- Gather and conduct analysis of feedback from the ACUM Administrations and Training Committee.
- Canvas-based onboarding training site (Version 1.0)
- Writing of content
- Canvas shell construction/design
- Translation of module content writing to the Canvas course
Key Recommendations
1. Continue to establish a campus-wide tiered training framework for advisors and coaches
Develop a shared structure that defines onboarding, intermediate, and advanced development pathways by role, grounded in NACADA Core Competencies and aligned across units.
2. Build toward a formal credentialing and advancement pathway
Explore opportunities for a certificate or credentialing program that recognizes advisor development and supports career progression across the institution.
