In June of this year, CSN’s academic Counseling unit experienced extensive re-structuring, as did the 
former Retention operation which no longer goes by that name. Former advisors and retention specialists cross-trained over the summer and became Advisors/Success Coaches operating under the Advising and Coaching Services Department umbrella. Also notable is the fact that faculty counselors moved to the academic schools in the Division of Academic Affairs.
Advisor/Success Coaches assist first-time college students and students without a declared major in the selection of appropriate coursework, schedule building, and choosing of a suitable academic program based on skills and interests. They also reach out to students referred by the Faculty Early Alert System to help them assess academic strengths and limitations, learn academic success strategies, explore careers, navigate the educational system, access campus and community resources, and connect to campus life. Advisors/Success Coaches help students start on strong, organized, and better prepared to reach their academic goal. From that point forward, the student will meet with the faculty Counselor assigned to the academic school containing his/her major.
The core principles in this shared-split model of developmental advising include: 1) Early engagement of students; 2) Strong collaboration between Student Affairs and Academic Affairs as students confirm or declare a major and transition to a faculty counselor; and 3) Front-loading of critical academic and career information with tailored support services for new to college and undeclared students. Under the new model, all new students who come in contact with the Advising and Coaching Services Department – either from visiting the First Steps Desk for service assessment, meeting one-on-one with an Advisor/Success Coach, or from participating in orientation and/or an advising workshop – receive a Welcome Packet containing CSN’s:
• 15-step Intake Process for new students
• Placement test review and testing procedures information
• Orientation & Advising Workshop schedule
• Degree listing by year
• FAFSA application Roadmap
• MyCSN User Guide
• Math Course Sequence with Course Fundamentals
• English & ESL Course Sequences
• Career Exploration assessment and appointment directions
• Top Habits of a Successful Student
• 4-page Resources for Student Success
• The name and contact information for the Counselor(s) in the student’s academic school based on declared major.
In conclusion, CSN’s new operational model of advising incorporates steps from intake to goal completion, including practices and activities shared by Advisors/Success Coaches and Counselors that impact the student from application through degree completion
by Laura Latimer, Assistant Vice-President of Community Engagement Services
