Diverse Students...Diverse Expectations

TC3 has a diverse student population. Our students range widely in age as well as in academic preparedness. Some have very clear plans for their future; others are at the beginning stages of exploration. Because of this diversity, advising community college students can be a challenge. Therefore, you may find that you will need not only to employ a variety of advisement techniques, but also to make use of the various student services, such as transfer and career counseling and/or tutorial services that are available on campus.

Many of our students are the first in their family to attend college. Often, they do not have anyone at home who can answer their questions about college. The vocabulary of academia may be unfamiliar to them. We take for granted the meaning of such phrases as “matriculated student,” “credit hour,” and “liberal arts,” but many of our students have no idea what these words mean – and may be reluctant to ask. Some of our students are recent graduates from high school where they may have experienced an ‘intrusive advisement’ approach by their guidance counselor. They may expect this sort of relationship to continue in college with their advisor. For example, they may assume that you will take the initiative to contact them, will monitor their academic progress, and will notify them of any problems. This may also be true of the nontraditional student, but often these students expect you to work with them more as a mentor than as a “guidance counselor.”

Tompkins Cortland Community College is strongly committed to providing a variety of academic advisement services to its students. Advisement at the College is considered to be a decision-making process by which students are enabled to realize their maximum potential. It is ongoing, multi-faceted, and the responsibility of both the student and the advisor. Because of the diversity of the student population, you may find it necessary to develop a repertoire of advisement techniques and approaches so that the needs of all of your advisees are met.