What is relational advising and how does it benefit students?

This fall semester, OHIO Online's Advising Team will transition from a prescriptive advising model to a relational advising model. While the primary goal of prescriptive advising is to ensure that students register for classes and meet their degree requirements in a timely manner, relational advising takes a more holistic approach to student success.

Relational advising focuses on building relationships between advisors and their advisees, enabling advisors to provide students with more effective mentorship and guidance. Additionally, relational advisors receive training on how to support students' individual needs beyond academic advising. For students, this change to relational advising means they can expect more opportunities for career guidance, goal building, and personal support during their time at OHIO Online.

Recent operational changes have aided this upcoming transition to the relational advising model. With the new implementation of Slate, a Customer Relations Management System (CRM), Success Advisors are spending less time manually sending out emails and performing administrative tasks. These tasks, which previously took a lot of time and effort, are now automated, enabling advisors to spend more time serving online student needs. As a result of this change, the Advising Team can make an intentional shift to focusing on and better understanding the student experience.

According to Elizabeth Bonin, Senior Director of Student Success for OHIO Online, the Success Advisors underwent training to acquire new skills that will enable them to better understand online students' goals, thereby guiding them more effectively through their journeys. Some of the new skills advisors learned include interview training and various active listening techniques. Interview training refers to developing skills in conversational techniques and student-centered communications that helps advisors have effective advising sessions. For advisors, it’s less about interviewing in the traditional job interview sense and more about building rapport and asking insightful questions to help students articulate their goals, challenges, and plans.

These new skills are empowering advisors to connect with their students beyond creating class schedules. One advisor and the Director of eLearning Student and Academic Services, Joseph Carver, said: “I’m excited that we now have more time to devote to our students and that we’re learning new ways to connect with them. I can’t wait to see how our new training and tools will benefit our students and their online learning experience.”

The RN-BSN Retention Specialist, Megan Almeida, also praised the upcoming change for focusing more on individual student needs: “Establishing a good rapport with students is essential for building a strong foundation of trust and respect. Providing services to students that foster the sense of belonging, visibility, as well as individuality, allow students to feel fully supported and that they are not alone.”

These staff perspectives highlight the value of OHIO Online’s shift to relational advising, ensuring that students feel seen, heard, and valued throughout their academic journey.

With these new skills and training, OHIO Online’s advisors are equipped to serve online students beyond course enrollment. Our advisors can serve as mentors who support students through academic, personal, and sometimes emotional challenges, referring them to appropriate resources as needed. For example, students who are struggling with their coursework due to personal life factors may benefit from consulting their success advisor to develop a solution. Depending on the life factors, advisors may refer students to specialized support resources, such as free virtual counseling. Other students may be unsure if their major aligns with their career goals. Those students’ advisors can use interview training to help guide them on the right path in addition to connecting them to OHIO's virtual career support services.

If you're a student at OHIO Online, know that you can reach out to your Success Advisor about anything and at any time. Carver echoes this sentiment: “Our virtual office doors are always open. Feel free to send your Success Advisor an email or set up a Teams video meeting with us outside of enrollment season. Whether you want to chat about your life or need academic guidance, we're always here to help!"

This change to relational advising will set OHIO Online apart from other online schools who are still using a prescriptive advising system. Additionally, the change will promote retention and enrich the student experience. Studies show that when advisors only address academic issues, students are at a higher risk of dropping out. By addressing personal and non-academic issues in addition to academics, students are more likely to feel connected to their advisor and the university as a whole. They are also less likely to drop out as a result.

OHIO Online continues to invest in its advisors, encouraging them to refine their craft. When talking about the change to relational advising, Bonin mentioned that ongoing training is part of their ethos. The advisors all hold National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) memberships, which enables them to participate in training sessions. There are monthly offerings where our advisors can learn about new topics and try out new advising techniques.

OHIO's Success Advisors already play an integral role in promoting online student success. We are excited to see how students will continue to benefit from their expertise, in addition to the mentorship opportunities they will start providing this fall.