FRACTAL

McGill's Macdonald Campus FRACTAL program is a relatively new initiative that provides freshman (U0) students with the structure and academic skills necessary for a smooth transition into all aspects of university life. Central to this initiative are three leading factors: (a) the program director and the academic advisor are also professors for the majority of the freshman courses, (b) the freshman seminar course combines academic advising with study and life skills coaching, (c) an exhibition-style Majors' Fair at the end of freshman year displays the available programs of study. This integrated approach of teaching and (intrusive) advising, the use of STEM research-based best-practices, along with the latest teaching technology in the classroom, has drastically reduced the number of students on academic probation, while also increasing retention.

Using Intrusive Advising to Improve Student Outcomes in Developmental College Courses

Using intrusive advising principles and the four Cs framework, the Strong-Start Program was developed and implemented to improve student outcomes in developmental math, reading, and writing courses. An intrusive advising protocol was used to help students recognize, adopt, and engage in the behaviors needed to complete instructor-assigned outside-of-class work. The intervention focused on two aspects of intrusive advising: (a) the objective to increase student academic success and (b) a set of predetermined goals to be accomplished in each academic advising session. The proportion of students who passed Strong-Start supported developmental math courses was significantly ( z = 2.0, p = .02) greater than the proportion who passed Instructor-Matched comparison developmental math courses (49.33% vs. 33.67%), with a percentage difference of 15.66%, a 46.5% increase relative to the comparison group. The odds ratio ( OR = 1.91, 95% confidence interval: 1.01–3.64) of students passing a Strong-Start supported developmental math course were 1.9 times ( p = .03) that of students in unsupported Instructor-Matched Comparison courses.

First-Year Community College Students' Perceptions of and Attitudes Toward Intrusive Academic Advising

For this study, we analyzed the relationship between intrusive academic advising and community college student success. Utilizing a qualitative, single-case study design, we conducted interviews with 12 students who participated in an intrusive advising program at a large, urban community college in Texas. Analysis of the interview data revealed the benefits, limitations, and contributions to success of intrusive advising. This study addresses a notable gap in the extant literature, as few researchers have published empirical examinations on the impact of intrusive academic advising within the community college context. The findings can be used to improve the delivery of academic advising and student support services at community colleges.

A Real PLUSS: An Intrusive Advising Program for Underprepared STEM Students

Increasing numbers of underprepared students are admitted to colleges and universities with aspirations of earning a degree in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline. Transitioning to college is difficult for all students, but can be especially challenging for the underprepared STEM student. Many of these students are capable of completing STEM degrees if given additional support during their first-year advising sessions as well as opportunities to strengthen their foundational knowledge prior to enrolling in major-level course work. Pathways Leading to Undergraduate Success in the Sciences (PLUSS) is an intrusive advising program the University of Southern Indiana designed to provide at-risk undergraduate STEM majors with increased academic support. The PLUSS program is associated with increased retention rates.

Efficacy of Intrusively Advising First-Year Students via Frequent Reminders for Advising Appointments

Intrusive advising has been frequently used to encourage or require at-risk or probationary students to attend advising sessions. The efficacy of intrusive advising targeted to all students has received little attention. We implemented a case-control experiment with 501 first-year students at a large, urban, state university to test the efficacy of nonmandated intrusive advising designed to encourage advising session attendance. Students in three academic units were randomly assigned to outreach or no outreach conditions. Those in the outreach group received a series of reminders to schedule advising appointments. Results suggest intrusive advising was successful in increasing the probability students would schedule and keep an advising appointment during their first semester of college enrollment and in shortening the time until that appointment was held. Implications for broad implementation of intrusive advising are discussed.

Adding Insight to Intrusive Advising and Its Effectiveness with Students on Probation

In this study, I examined the effectiveness of adding insight-oriented strategies to an intrusive academic-advising approach with students on academic probation. Twenty males and 22 females at a comprehensive private university participated in the study. Students who attended three to eight meetings had a significant improvement in semester GPA compared to students who attended one or two meetings or no meetings. This study suggests that insight-oriented intrusive advising had a positive affect on academic achievement; however, other factors, such as motivation, may also play a role and are worthy of future investigation. Relative Emphasis: research, practice, theory