Effective Student-Advisor Engagement and Relationship Building in Online Graduate Programs

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to discuss the importance of advisor-student engagement as a critical component of student success. Much has been written about advising undergraduate students and strategies for working with first generation students and other challenges specific to undergraduate students, and this chapter will focus on working with online graduate students. Heisserer and Parette noted that contact with a significant person within an institution of higher education is a crucial factor in a student's decision to remain in college. The focus on this chapter is on how advisors can be the significant person within the institution for their graduate students, and how advisors can help students successfully integrate into the institution academically and socially to increase their likelihood of retention and success.