| Summary: | Community college completion rates are critical metrics that need attention to
improve the lives of the millions of students who attend community college annually. Many
college administrators have instituted a highly structured student experience using the
guided pathways framework to help students get and stay on a path to degree completion. In
the framework, advising plays a critical role in the student experience. The purpose of this
study was to explore how college advisors make sense of and respond to a change in their
role at a guided pathways early adopter community college in the Southeastern United States.
The researcher used interpretive phenomenological analysis methods to collect perceptions of
individual experiences from seven advisors at Southeastern Community College. The data
yielded three superordinate themes: feeling on top of the world, reserving judgment, and
fumbling in the dark. The data suggested advisors experienced a wide range of cognitive and
emotional responses to the implementation of guided pathways, impacting their sensemaking
around their role and lived experience. Overall, advisors supported the framework and its
effects on their role and the student experience, but they struggled with technology and
communication. These findings are relevant to institutional leaders implementing change,
particularly related to student services initiatives and those considering adopting the
guided pathways framework.--Author's abstract
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