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Advising Plan for The Department of Public Administration

(Revised 9/13/2004)

Overview of the Advising Plan
The Advising Plan for the Department of Public Administration identifies several points of advising intervention and strategies for advising students to ensure that they receive the best possible information about the Department of Public Administration.

In the past two years, we have completely redone our advising system, after receiving student feedback that they were not being adequately advising. This Plan refines the changes we have already made, formalizes other elements, and includes our new portfolio process.

The plan focuses upon advising at four points:

• Admission into the department
• The point at which students select a department emphasis
• The point at which they are deciding upon their culminating experience requirement
• The point at which they are preparing their Graduate Approved Plan (GAP) in preparation for graduation

In addition, the plan also encourages students to see an advisor at regular intervals to:

• Advise on each semester's planned coursework
• Advise on each student's progress towards completing the portfolio of activities now required of each student.

The advising at the six points discussed above will be done face to face between faculty and students. In addition, our students make very active use of email for immediate advising. Our faculty are very Internet-literate and students receive excellent advice in a very timely manner using this tool. The Department has a very well-developed and well-maintained web site which potential and current students use for many of their advising needs. The Department also has an active listserv which is used as a virtual bulletin board for department information. Finally, the department will develop a Public Administration Graduate Student Handbook which will outline department information, requirements and other information critical to our students. This Handbook will be available on the web site as well as in hard copy and will be automatically sent to all new students.

This plan will not require additional resources except for those needed to implement the new portfolio system; the department plans to submit a proposal for those start-up costs under the Vice President's Proposal to Implement Innovative Academic Assessment Projects.

The Advising Plan

The faculty believe that the Advising Plan for the Public Administration department is a sound one that will more than meet the needs of our students.

In order to track student progress and to ensure the effectiveness of our Advising Plan, the department will use a system of student files and student information databases.

Advising Tools

Have the appropriate advising tools is essential to the effective and successful advising process. In the case of the Department of Public Administration, these tools include the following:

Student files

Once admitted, a Departmental Advising Worksheet is prepared for each student. This Worksheet is kept in the student's file, which is also then upgraded from an admissions file to an active student file. From that point forward, whenever a student has contact with an advisor, that information is entered on the Worksheet in the student's file and any relevant information is entered into the database.

Student information databases

An extensive series of student databases has been developed to track each student's progress and enable faculty to discern trends and patterns among the students. These databases have already been used to send out letters to students who have not completed their prerequisites and to calculate the average department grade point average.

Electronic Communication Tools

It is important to our department that email and the department web site (http://thecity.sfsu.edu/~mpa) be used in our advising efforts. We are not only trying to inform our students, but to teach them about the workplace of the future; that workplace includes electronic tools and we seek to model their uses and potential uses whenever possible. Therefore, advising by email and the dissemination of information on the department's listserv (mpa@sfsu.edu) and the web site will be extensively used.

Graduate Student Handbook

It is critical to have all advising and department in one place for our students. To this end, a Graduate Student Handbook will be developed that will have information about the portfolio process, our culminating experience options, and all forms needed throughout the M.P.A. department. This Handbook will be sent to all new students, will be sold in Rapid Copy, and will be available on the web site.

Points of Intervention

There are several points of advising intervention that are important to successful advising of our students. These are:

Admission into the department

When admitted to the Public Administration department, each student receives a letter of welcome that lists the prerequisites they still need to fulfill and asks them to begin their department by making an appointment to see the department Director for advising. Approximately 90 percent of all incoming students follow through and contact the Director and do seek advising at this stage.

Orientation session

Once admitted, an orientation session is held for new students. Given the introduction of the portfolio requirement this year, the orientation session will be expanded and continuing students will be included. The focus will then be on the overall department and the portfolio session. To ensure attendance and to help create a sense of community in the department, refreshments are served and alumni are invited to attend.

Selection of department Emphasis

Another point at which students are encouraged to take advantage of advising opportunities is when they select their emphasis or decide to design their own. At that point, they are assigned an advisor according to their selected emphasis

Under this scheme, students receive the most focused and useful advising. The faculty member in their individual area is an expert and teaches the courses in the student's emphasis so can provide the most useful and relevant advising. This system compares favorably to the previous advising scheme where students were assigned an advisor according to their last name.

Culminating Experience

One point at which students commonly approach faculty for advice is when they begin to consider the scope and content of their culminating experience requirement. Typically, they seek the assistance of a faculty member in beginning to prepare for this stage of their department.

The Department proposes to take advantage of this interest to ensure that students receive additional advising at this point, to assess the student's overall progress, and to update student records.

Graduate Approved Plan (GAP)

Another point at which students must seek assistance is when they need approval of their Graduate Approved Plan (GAP). The Department plans to continue to use this opportunity to check on student progress and to advise on proper course selection, completion of department requirements, and the culminating experience process.

Advising on a Regular Basis

In addition to the intervention points discussed above, advising on a regular basis is also critical. There are several ideal ways in which this regular advising can occur.

Portfolio Process

On a regular basis throughout the department, students will be encouraged to seek advising on the completion of their department. As they complete tasks required in the department portfolio, they will need to be in contact with their department advisor to ensure that the portfolio elements are completed in a timely fashion. Full descriptions of the portfolio and its components will be included in the orientation sessions, special sessions on the portfolio process itself, on the web site, and in the Student Handbook.

Advising Each Semester

Students are also encouraged to seek advising each semester on course selection and the progress of their departments of study. This option will continue to be encouraged and advertised.

Summary

The faculty of the Department of Public Administration believe that this is an effective plan which will enhance the advising of our students, assist them in getting as much as possible out of our department, and ensure the timely completion of their degrees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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