Lived experiences of academic advisors during a guided pathways implementation

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20412687

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