Communication between Freshman Students and their First-Year Advisors:

An Analysis of Focus Group Findings

Developed by Chelsea Woods on Behalf of the Office of Career and Academic Planning at James Madison University

February 2016

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Executive Summary

Background. This report includes findings from focus groups conducted by graduate student Chelsea Woods on behalf of Career and Academic Planning at James Madison University. Findings are based on two focus groups that took place on February 9th and 10th, 2016 in the Student Success Center. The purpose of these focus groups was to understand how academic advisors are already communicating with their advisees and to determine advisees’ preferences, needs, and habits regarding communication with their advisor; ultimately, the goal of this research was to use these findings to make communication more efficient and effective for both advisors and advisees. Participants included nine freshman advisees from various academic programs.

Method. Participants were contacted via email sent out through JMU’s Recruit-A-Duke system. Interested individuals followed a link in the email to an anonymous sign-up page. Each focus group was audio recorded and then transcribed verbatim by Woods. Based on a qualitative analysis of the transcribed data, seven primary themes emerged between the two focus groups.

Results. Qualitative data displayed seven themes among the two focus groups. Theme topics range from communication platforms and content to frequency, format, and tone of communication. The seven themes are listed and briefly described below:

Theme #1: Small Screen Reading: Advisees reported that their phones are their main method of checking their email communication. This reality has implications for how some messages written on larger computer screens by advisors are then displayed and read on advisees’ mobile devices with smaller screens. For instance, messages that are lengthier seem even longer when downsized on a phone screen, and content written in paragraph form creates more scrolling for the user. One advisee described this scrolling as “a lot of thumb work,” which they viewed as a deterrent in reading longer email communication from their advisor. Another advisee advocated for her advisor’s formatting methods, where the advisor had more of a list-oriented layout with topic sentences bolded and regular explanatory text to follow. Advisees agreed that lists were preferred over paragraph reading.

Theme #2: Consistent and Frequent Communication: Several advisees that reported receiving communication from their advisor only a few times a semester expressed that they would like to hear from their advisor more often than that. Advisors that communicated more rarely typically only communicated with students around add/drop deadlines, enrollment dates, and other important academic-related deadline times. These advisees, however, wished to have more communication from their advisors, specifically about campus events and opportunities that pertained to their major, minor, or pre-professional programs. Advisees that received communication more frequently were satisfied with their advisors’ communication with them, feeling as though they were being “kept in the loop.” Another advisee suggested that having more frequent and

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consistent communication from their advisor would help them remember upcoming deadlines. Consistency in content among advisors within specific majors was another issue brought up. One advisee reported that her friends in the same program received information about a specific opportunity that she did not receive. This concerned the advisee, as she reported that she didn’t want to feel as though those peers had an advantage over her due to differences in advising communication.

Theme #3: Conversational Tone: Overall, advisees agreed that they preferred their advisor to have a more conversational tone in their communication. Conversational tones made advisees feel like their advisors are approachable and accessible, and they felt that they could go to their advisors with their questions. Advisees with more formal-sounding advisors reported that they sometimes felt that their advisors’ formal tone was “intimidating” or “scary,” deterring them from asking questions or seeking out their advisor.

Theme #4: Applicability: Advisees reported that they liked when their advisors sent them additional information beyond academic advising, if they perceived the information to be relevant to themselves or their academic program. They were open to the idea of advisors sending information about campus events and involvement opportunities, as long as those events and involvement opportunities were applicable to their interests and academic success. One advisee reported that her advisor frequently sends tips and tricks for college (e.g., study tips), which made other respondents in the focus group respond positively. However, the idea of advisors sending random or seemingly unrelated information to advisees was unappealing, and one advisee reported that she was concerned that would make her advisor’s emails seem like the JMU informational emails, ‘which she already ignores.’ Overall, advisees were open to receiving information from their advisor beyond academic dates and deadlines, as long as that information was applicable to them in some way.

Theme #5: Quick Visual Learning: Advisees responded positively to both video and written how-to instructions, as long as they were quick and intuitive. They were displeased with the length of the videos they watched before Summer Springboard, reporting that they were too long with some details that seemed too obvious (e.g., like opening a Web browser); advisees suggested 2-5 minute videos would be more appropriate and helpful. Respondents were also open to the idea of written how-to instructions, given that they included screenshots of step-by-step instructions. Such a method would allow students to skip around the instructions and go their own pace in a way that the videos would not allow.

Theme #6: Reference Storage and Accessibility: In comparing email to Canvas as a platform, advisees reported that Canvas seemed to be a better platform for storing resources related to academic forms and instructions. They wanted to have how-to resources regarding scheduling classes, using Canvas, navigating MyMadison, etc. in one easily accessible location. Advisees also reported that they felt overwhelmed by the amount of information they received at the beginning of the year during Summer

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Springboard, as well as 1787 Orientation, and that it would be helpful to have some kind of reference with all of that information that they could go back to.

Theme #7: Subject Lines: Based on focus group responses, it seems that advisees are reading advisor communication for the most part. Advisees felt less strongly about the subject line of a message than they did about the sender (i.e., their advisor). In other words, advisors’ ethos seemed to overpower a bad subject line. For instance, one advisee reported that, when she receives an email from her advisor, she knows that it’s important. However, some advisees reported that they were more willing to read messages when they could tell from the subject line that the content of the message would apply to them, and they preferred when their advisors would explicitly state the content of their message in the subject heading. Messages that carried the attachment paperclip symbol were reported to receive more weight, where advisees said they often think that the attachment is a form they need to complete. Overall, it seemed that communication from academic advisors is regarded as important by advisees.

Advice/Suggestions: At the end of each focus group, advisees were asked if they had any advice or suggestions for advisors as they plan communication for next year’s first-year students. Overall, advisees expressed the importance of advisors being approachable and accessible to their advisees. Other suggestions varied in topics from explanations of general terms (e.g., “office hours”) to thoughts on Orientation. Advisees offered insightful answers that demonstrated meaningful perspectives on the first-year experience.

Discussion and Implications. The main themes gleaned from the focus group findings can be divided into three categories for discussion: 1) Devices & Platforms (#1, #5, and #6), 2) Communication Characteristics (#2 and #3), and 3) Message Content (#4 and #7). Advisees’ reading habits were arguably the most significant finding from this study, where advisees overwhelmingly expressed reading communication on their smartphone devices. Smartphones—where advisees are reading communication—have much smaller screens than laptops or computers, where advisors are creating communication. Thus, how the message appears to an advisor creating communication is different than how the message appears to an advisee reading communication. This largely affects readability, in that advisees may be less inclined to read communication from their advisor if that communication is not written in an accessible format. Advisees also preferred communication that is frequent and conversational. They acknowledged the important role that advisors play in their first year, as well as the stressors that come along with this transition. Thus, hearing from their advisors more often made them feel more informed, and messages written in a conversational tone made them feel like their advisors were accessible and approachable. Finally, advisees were open to and enjoyed receiving non-academic information (e.g., events around campus, opportunities, etc.), as long as that information was still relevant to their academic program. Overall, advisees suggested that advisors should strive for accessible, frequent, consistent, and relevant communication.

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Conclusion. These focus groups highlight the importance of audience analysis and the need to keep up with evolving technology’s effect on reading habits, particularly among younger generations like college freshman. Understanding advisees’ reading habits will assist advisors as they craft communication for future advisees. In addition, acknowledging the complexities of the new college environment from the perspective of a first-year student reminds advisors that, while encouraging autonomy and self-responsibility among their advisees is important, first-year students are vulnerable to the major transition from high school to college and can significantly benefit from advisors’ guidance and involvement in the first-year experience.

Background

Academic advisors serve an essential role in undergraduate students’ success, particularly in their freshman year. In an effort to understand online communication practices between freshman advisors and advisees, focus groups were conducted with undergraduate freshman students. This report includes findings from focus groups conducted by graduate student Chelsea Woods on behalf of Career and Academic Planning at James Madison University. Findings are based on two focus groups that took place on February 9th and 10th, 2016 in the Student Success Center.

The purpose of these focus groups was to understand how academic advisors are already communicating with their advisees and to determine advisees’ preferences, needs, and habits regarding communication with their advisor; ultimately, the goal of this research was to use these findings to make communication more efficient and effective for both advisors and advisees. Advisees were asked about communication platforms, content, formatting, and tone, and they were given a chance at the end of the focus groups to offer general advice to advisors as they plan communication for next year’s freshman advisees.

Participants included nine freshman advisees (four in 1st focus group; five in 2nd focus group) from various academic programs. There were eight female students and one male student. Eight advisees began their first semester at JMU in Fall 2015, and one advisee started in Spring 2016. Among the participants, there were eight majors and nine minors or pre-professional programs represented.

Seven major themes emerged from the advisees’ responses, in addition to advice and suggestions for freshman advising. Findings from this report will be used to make recommendations to freshman advisors regarding their communication with their advisees.

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Method

Participants were contacted via email sent out through JMU’s Recruit-A-Duke system; the email was specifically sent to freshman students. Interested individuals followed a link in the email to an anonymous sign-up page. Fourteen students originally signed up online; however, three did not attend the actual focus groups, and the remaining two were notified that the originally scheduled third focus group on February 11th was cancelled due to low attendance and weather.

Email Sent to Freshman Students

Subject: Pizza for your thoughts?

Come tell us how your freshman advisor can help you and future Dukes!

Attendees will get free pizza and JMU swag. :)

What do you want to hear from your freshman advisor? How can their emails, blog or Canvas posts be more effective? What resonates with you?

We're taking a look at those questions by running focus groups on campus. We want to hear FROM YOU!

Take part in a conversation with a few peers and a fellow student facilitator. These focus groups will be informal, anonymous, and last less than an hour.

Spaces are limited, so SIGN UP today! http://tinyurl.com/FreshmanAdvising

Brought to you by JMU Career & Academic Planning. Questions? Email woodscm@jmu.edu.

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The first focus group on February 9th lasted approximately 50 minutes, and the second focus group on February 10th lasted approximately 30 minutes. Demographics, including major, minor/pre-professional program, gender, and first semester at JMU, were collected at the beginning of each focus group, and participants were asked nine questions to generate focus group discussion.

Focus Group Questions

1. What format do you receive information in (email, blog, Canvas, etc.)? a. What are the pros and cons of getting info in this format?

2. If your advisor posts info to Canvas or a blog, how do they let you know that a new post has been written?

a. What would make you more likely to then go seek that post out? 3. Which posts from your advisor have gotten your attention the most? (If your

advisor hasn’t emailed about these things, just rank them in terms of your order of preference.)

4. Rank these from most important (1) to least important (6): a. JMU dates and deadlines b. Info about majors and minors at JMU c. Campus events or involvement opportunities (e.g., Study Abroad Fair,

Student Org Night) d. How to use campus tools like Recruit-A-Duke, BeInvolved website, etc.? e. Tips for success in freshman year (studying, dealing with homesickness,

roommate conflicts, etc.) f. Academic policies (e.g., academic probation, repeat/forgive)

5. Do you want to receive information from your advisor about things going on around campus? Do you feel like that is part of your advisor’s role?

6. How frequently does your advisor post info (by email, Canvas, a blog, etc.)? (e.g., weekly, biweekly, monthly)

a. Are you satisfied with how often your advisor posts information? Why/why not? How often would you like to hear from them?

7. Do you tend to read communications from your advisor? a. If not, why not? b. How do you feel about the length of the posts from your advisor?

8. How would you describe the tone that your advisor uses in their posts? Formal? Conversational? Somewhere in between?

a. How does your advisor’s tone influence your willingness to read their message?

9. What advice would you have for freshman advisors as they are trying to plan their messages to next year’s freshmen?

Each focus group was audio recorded and then transcribed verbatim by Woods. Based on a qualitative analysis of the transcribed data, seven primary themes emerged between the two focus group discussions.

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Results

Qualitative data displayed seven themes among the two focus groups. Theme topics range from communication platforms and content to frequency, format, and tone of communication. In addition to information and suggestions gleaned within the seven themes, advisees also had a chance to offer general advice and suggestions to advisors as they plan communication for next year’s advisees. The seven themes, as well as advisees’ advice and suggestions, are listed and described below with verbatim samples of advisees’ representative responses:

Focus Group Themes

1. Small Screen Reading 2. Consistent and Frequent Communication 3. Conversational Tone 4. Applicability 5. Quick Visual Reference 6. Reference Storage and Accessibility 7. Subject Lines

Theme #1: Small Screen Reading

Advisees unanimously reported using their phones as their main method of checking email communication. When asked about typical length and format of messages from their advisors, advisees generally preferred shorter messages, or messages that were at least written in an accessible list format. They made the observation that lengthier messages seem even longer when downsized on a phone screen, and content written in paragraph form creates more scrolling for the user. One advisee humorously described this scrolling as “a lot of thumb work,” which they viewed as a deterrent in reading longer email communication from their advisor:

Yeah, no mine takes me three or four scrolls to get to the bottom.

Oh my gosh, whoa…

Well, also like in terms of reading it on our phones, which I think most people do, really long paragraphs—they’re longer than a normal paragraph would be and it’s a lot of thumb work. I don’t want to say that, but it definitely feels longer.

Thumb work? (laughter)

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As an alternative to paragraphs, another advisee advocated for her advisor’s formatting methods, where the advisor had more of a list-oriented layout with topic sentences bolded and regular explanatory text to follow:

So lists are easier when phones are a thing.

My advisor, I like what he does. He puts the important stuff or the topic sentences in bold, and I’ve found that you don't necessarily have to read the regular print under the bold, it’s just kind of elaborating on what he said in bold in case you didn’t understand the wording or something like that. So I can just go through and read the bold type and that cuts down the time. I still get the message and that cuts down on my reading time a lot. And that also makes it a lot easier to navigate if I’m going back and looking for something that he said in an email. It’s like bulleted points, but it’s just easier to see. It’s less of a list. It makes the paragraphs a lot less tedious to read.

Advisees agreed that lists were preferred over paragraph reading, given the smaller screens on which messages are primarily read.

Theme #2: Consistent and Frequent Communication

Communication frequency and consistency were important to advisees. Frequencies ranged from weekly to a few times a semester. Advisees who reported hearing from their advisor more often generally enjoyed that higher frequency because it made them feel more informed about what was going on around campus and within their program:

I’d say I get my emails probably like weekly. She sends them out pretty frequently I think. And I personally like that because it keeps me in the loop. I always check my emails and I read all my emails, so I think that’s a good medium. I don’t think more than that is really necessary, but I definitely like it being weekly. I wouldn’t want it just sporadically because I like to keep in the loop and she does a pretty good job of doing that.

Advisees were generally open to weekly or biweekly communication. One advisee expressed that, even if something wasn’t going on that particular week, it would still be helpful to receive communication from their advisor that reminded them of upcoming events or deadlines:

I don’t know if it’s necessarily stuff going on around campus. I mean even if it’s just like a weekly update or something just about things in my specific major, I would appreciate that. I’m not really necessarily that interested in like things that don’t apply to me obviously, but I would like to have, even if it’s just like a weekly reminder about something that’s coming up in three weeks, I would like to have just something to keep me in the loop. Because deadlines, if you’re not

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constantly reminded of them and you don’t remind yourself about them, they come up faster.

Advisees that received communication from their advisor a few times a semester around major academic deadlines generally wished that they heard from their advisor more often. Those who declared a major, minor, or pre-professional program were particularly interested in hearing about events and opportunities related to their program of study, especially if it helped prepare them for future steps:

I think for me being in a pre-profession I would like to hear from mine more just because I’m constantly having to think about, between classes and organizations to get involved in, and, even as a freshman, I have to think about applying to grad schools and what I need to do to qualify for that, or things like that. So I would like more information on that.

Having advisors send specific program information concerned some advisees, however, as communication consistency among advisors in the same program seemed to be somewhat lacking:

And even just like a consistent like—every advisor using the same one. Like, I know that’s a lot to ask, but I know sometimes my friends will be like, “I got this,” but then the other friend’s like, “Oh, I didn’t get that.” I don’t know if that makes any sense, but there are advisors who have—I don’t know if you guys heard—but they had like smaller group meetings once the semester started. Like some advisors would email out and be like, “Oh, we’re just gonna make sure everybody’s okay.” But then friends that were in the same program missed it because they didn’t see the email or something like that.

The same respondent later reported:

I also feel like it could be more than just your advisor, but for that entire major because how do you make sure that one advisor is sending it out and the others? Like I know for you, you have one advisor for your entire major, but for Communications, there’s a whole bunch of them. So, I would want to make sure that I’m getting the same information as someone else because I don’t want to feel like someone else has a better advantage of something I didn’t do just because I didn’t find out about it.

Advisees didn’t want to feel like their peers had an advantage over them due to inconsistencies in communication among specific program advisors. Thus, specific program advisors that provided more information more frequently were viewed as having preferable communication habits, based on advisees’ perceived needs.

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Theme #3: Conversational Tone

When asked about their advisor’s tone, overall, advisees preferred a more conversational tone. Advisors who used conversational tones were perceived as providing clear information and answering questions before they were even asked:

Yeah! She is very wordy. It’s nice though because it’s like you’re talking to her, like you can literally hear her voice in the email and she’s very animated and she’s really good at staying connected with us. So she’ll type us a book, but it’s everything you need to know and some jokes or something. (laughter)

While some advisees said that they didn’t mind that their advisors used a more formal tone as long as the information was clear, others felt that more formal tones made their advisor seem less approachable and more intimidating:

...a lot of his emails are short and sweet and to the point. Sometimes that can come across as kind of like, I don’t know if intimidating is the right word. But just kind of like, scary…

Overall, advisees preferred a more conversational tone, which came up again at the end of one of the focus groups when advisees were asked if they had any other suggestions for advisors. Participants reported the importance of advisors portraying themselves as accessible and approachable, given first-year students’ anxieties and concerns from their major transition to college life.

Theme #4: Applicability

Advisees were asked about their perceptions of their advisor’s role and whether they felt their advisor should be sending academic information only, or if their advisor should also send non-academic information (e.g., campus events, opportunities, etc.). Overall, advisees said that they would enjoy and have previously benefited from receiving non-academic information from their advisor; however, non-academic was and would be more well-received if it was relevant to the student, their specific major of study, or the freshman year transition:

...I’m a pre-profession, so if there was something going on around campus that involved me or would cater to my major or pre-profession program, then I would want to hear about it, but as far as everything else—I feel like campus does a pretty good job of getting things out there. Like we get tons of emails every day about all kinds of events going on, so it would be almost redundant for them to say everything again. But unless it pertained to me or my specific major, then I don’t think it’s necessary for them to announce it again.

...I don’t feel like it’s necessarily their role, but if they’re willing to, I don’t mind getting the emails, especially if they’re activities that can enhance the academic

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experience—things like, I’m a psych major, I know you said you were a psych major, too, so things like touring Western State, or activities that would be beneficial towards your major and things that would tie in with your major, which enhances your academic experience, then I’m all for it. Or just things to get you more experience, or internships, or things like that...

While students did seem willing to receive non-academic information from their advisors, they stressed the importance of its relevancy. Otherwise, they were concerned that they would not be able to differentiate the importance between their advisors’ messages and the informational emails sent out by the university:

To me, the negative side of that seems like it would turn my advisor’s emails into the JMU informational emails…which are the emails I tend to ignore......so then I wouldn’t be able to differentiate between important things about my major and things that I don’t necessarily like. Some things I am interested in learning about, but other things… I don’t want to have everything on the same plane…

First-year students were also interested in receiving success-related tips from their advisor. For instance, one advisee said that her advisor sent success tips, and the rest of the participants in the focus group responded positively, agreeing that having tips to ease the transition into college life would have been helpful for them, too:

But she always puts like tips and stuff like that in the email to kind of like help you get through your day, and like study tips, and stuff like that.

Aw that’s cute!

Yeah that is cute.

F: And do you like that?

I do. I do like it because I mean first semester, I didn’t have like a hard time adjusting—

I did.

...it was just like—

—an adjustment.

....like a different… like in high school, I never had to study and then coming here, everyone was just like, you’re gonna have to read, you’re gonna have to study. And then it’s just a reality check. Everybody says it to you—

—but then you actually have to do it, or else you’re like, Oh I’m going to fail this class.

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In satisfying advisees’ reported preferences for more frequent communication, advisees suggested that hearing about non-academic information would create more communication opportunities between them and their advisor.

Theme #5: Quick Visual Learning

Advisees expressed a preference for quick visual learning when it came to tutorial instructions (e.g., MyMadison navigation, scheduling classes, etc.). They were asked about their preferences for video instructions versus written instructions. Overall, they preferred visual learning, as it was clearer than written instructions. One advisee expressed a fondness for video instructions, explaining that they’re easy to follow:

I think I did watch some videos actually, and I think it was pretty helpful. The written ones are okay, but sometimes you’re just trying to find what you want, so you kind of miss something. So with watching someone, it’s like, oh okay, you click there, then you click there. You’re just mimicking what they do and you get right where you need to. I don’t know, the videos are just really easy to watch.

However, other advisees had differing opinions, saying that the videos they had to watch before Orientation, for example, were too long and subsequently difficult to follow:

I mean, I’m sure the videos are helpful to other people. Like, watching them, I was annoyed.

I think the problem was that they were so long. They did not get to the point until the end, but you really couldn’t skip because you were going to miss something, so I think if they were a lot more consolidated to like, max five minutes because that’s pushing it, they would be a lot more helpful.

Thus, videos between 2-5 minutes are likely the most ideal range for keeping students’ attention. Another advisee also suggested written instructions with screenshots to mimic:

Or even with the PDFs, for example, we’re in Computer Information Systems, and we have this big book and it has written steps for things with little pictures everywhere, like screenshots—that’s my favorite. I absolutely love that because you can skip it if you want, you don’t have to listen to the monotone…

You can go your own pace.

Advisees preferred quick and visual learning, in that video tutorials should be kept short and written instructions should include images. With the latter, advisees felt that they could go their own pace without having to skip around a video and potentially missing an important step.

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Theme #6: Reference Storage and Accessibility

Storing references and being able to easily access them was also important to advisees. As first-year students, they expressed an overwhelmed feeling in coming to college and having to learn about different habits, routines, and systems. Although all of the participating advisees received email communication from their advisors, they were familiar with Canvas from their classes and saw the benefits of this platform for reference storage:

And I remember in the beginning, we had worksheets of how to schedule your classes and stuff like that and having those go on Canvas might be nice. You know, so if you wanted to put it online, or if you lose the paper, that might be nice. But maybe not for a communication medium, more for like a, “Here’s papers that you can get in my office that are really helpful.”

They reasoned that, this way, Canvas would be more easily searchable than email, creating greater and easier accessibility:

But I feel like with Canvas, the upside of that would be having everything in one place...because I would get all these emails, and then I would have to go through and like search through them for something that he sent out. And with Canvas, I could just find it in one place, which would be really helpful… especially with all the emails we get on a daily basis.

One student described how having these stored references would have been nice to refer back to after first being introduced to new concepts:

I never got any sort of video information from my advisor and I feel like that would have been really helpful for me because I know when I was signing up for classes this summer, I almost had a panic attack because I was trying to figure out how to use MyMadison and figure out my schedule and get everything to balance and get all the credits I needed. I almost lost my mind because I couldn’t figure it out. And my advisor, the first week of classes we had a few meetings with his group of music students and he was just going over everything and it was just so much information at once that I didn’t retain any of it, and so having videos to go back to would be really helpful for me. And I learn a lot better from auditory and video material than written material.

Other students agreed, saying that they would have liked to have some sort of summary of their initial meeting with their advisor:

Yeah, like if they advisors had gone, Hey, do that. Then that probably would have been nice. I didn’t do the Summer Springboard thing, but the first meeting that we had with our advisors at the beginning of last semester, that was a lot too. It would be nice to have some kind of breakdown or write up from that to go back to as well.

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Overall, students expressed feelings of being overwhelmed by their new college environment and having to learn a lot of new information. Having stored references as tools that were easily accessible to them when they confronted specific challenges or situations might have eased these anxious feelings.

Theme #7: Subject Lines

Participants were also asked what gets their attention the most regarding communication from their advisor. In response to the question, “Do you read communication from your advisor?” one advisee responded:

Yeah because when I get an email from my advisor, I know it’s important, so I actually read it.

Overall, it seemed that advisees cared less about subject lines or other rhetorically attention-grabbing tactics than they did about the messages being from their advisor. Advisees that received communication more infrequently seemed more inclined to read their advisors’ communications, since it was such a rare occurrence, usually around important deadlines. However, advisees did express a preference for messages with subject lines that explicitly stated related content, as this would also make searching for messages easier:

Maybe if the subject line, if there was a code or something. Or even if it said “important,” or “scholarship information,” or “deadline.” Or if there was some kind of abbreviation code for that then people who get the notification and don’t open emails just look at the subject line, and if they see something they should probably read, it would just make it that much easier. To just have explicitly what’s in that email in the subject

Another interesting point that one advisee brought up was how messages with attachments caught her attention:

I’m just looking at my emails now and if I see an attachment, like the little paperclip, I’m like maybe I should look at what’s attached.

Yeah, that’s true. When there’s attachments, I definitely look.

...There may be something that you need to fill out and you’ll get in trouble if you don't do it.

Other advisees agreed, assuming that if there advisor is sending them an attachment, then it’s likely something that they need to have signed or fill out. Regardless of the subject line or presence of an attachment, respondents’ answers made it seem like advisors carry a strong ethos that prompts advisees to read advising-related communications.

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Advice/Suggestions

At the end of each focus group, advisees were asked to provide any other advice or suggestions for advisors as they plan communications for future advisees. These suggestions ranged from resources on campus to meanings of general terms to thoughts on Orientation. Overwhelmingly, advisees expressed the importance of advisors being approachable:

I feel like freshman advisors are so important because they’re the first face of JMU that the kids—us, me—see. And I think that they have to remember that even though they are professionals, we are just kids, and to come across as welcoming and as someone they can come and talk to. And don’t get so stuck up into being formal. They can be fun with it. Be welcoming and be excited to have us here. Because they’re kind of like our parents while we’re here almost—at least mine is, I don’t know…

Another advisee agreed, elaborating on the importance of meeting with their advisor in person:

I’d say be accessible, like my advisor, I felt like she was very accessible and I went to her office hours once or twice to go ask questions. So I feel like her making those very noticeable was good because I remember I had them written down and I was like, Okay cool, I can just go rather than email.

This perception was fairly unanimous among the group, where students believed that advisors played an important role in the first-year experience:

Yeah having a mandatory face-to-face time because one of the girls in my suite has never gone to see her advisor, she’s like, She’s just kind of useless to me, I don’t know who they are, I don’t know what they look like, I don’t need them. So I think having the face-to-face is so important in terms of actually succeeding. And knowing where they are and being able to know to go somewhere if you need help, rather than just flailing.

Another advisee agreed, suggesting that making a meeting mandatory would encourage students who may otherwise feel embarrassed to seek out their advisor to do so:

Yeah, and I also think that that gives the opportunity whether they have questions or not to be comfortable with having an excuse to going. Because I mean, at least the four of us I’m assuming are somewhat outgoing because we came here by ourselves, but I know some of my friends who would feel silly going to their advisor or something like that. So if it was mandatory and they had to go in there, they might as well ask their questions while they’re there. Because the worst that would happen is that they get there and they’re like, No I don’t have questions, and then leave.

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I would say on top of that, not only make it required at least once during the semester, but at least for the first semester, I would say during FROG week or the first week of classes, everyone should go see their advisor at least once face-to-face. Because I met with my advisor with 20 other people and so I never got a chance to really ask the questions that I was kind of embarrassed to ask—

Exactly.

Several other suggestions about FROG week came up when one advisee reported that they were still unfamiliar with how to use Canvas:

I feel like Canvas, too. My high school used Canvas, so I’m used to it, but…

Yeah I still have no idea how to work it.

I know so many people who have no idea how to use it. And since I had already had it for a year and in high school, since they spoon-feed everything to you, I learned how to use it really well. And I know so many people who were just thrown into it and I had to teach people how to use it.

Teach me. I’m not kidding. (laughter) I still don't know what I’m doing.

The same advisee that said they were still unfamiliar with how to use Canvas suggested having an optional “Canvas How-To session” during FROG week. In relation to Orientation, advisees also hoped that advisors would prepare students for information overload:

And also, maybe telling people to bring a notebook with them when they go to their advising meeting because I wouldn't have had to write down all this stuff on my phone if I’d known I was able to take notes. I just didn’t even think I was going to have to take notes.

When asked about perceptions of their advisor’s role, one advisee felt that their advisor didn’t necessarily need to send non-academic information; however, they suggested that the JMU Master Calendar could be included in one of the Orientation sessions. That way, students could explore those opportunities for themselves:

I feel like that’s not necessarily my advisor’s role, but it might have been helpful if some of the meetings during FROG week or Summer Springboard or that kind of thing, they showed us the Master Calendar. Because I didn’t know that was a thing and it shows you all the events that you could be going to for study abroad, or student org night, or things that different organizations are putting on. So, I think it’d be helpful during the orientation process to have them show us how to find that information on our own, rather than keeping up with it all throughout the year.

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In addition to the Master Calendar as a tool, one advisee wanted to know more about resources on campus that might be helpful for class assignments or future opportunities, like the Media Resources Library in Carrier or resume builders:

I said adding something about, like how you just mentioned that Carrier has the media resources—I didn’t know about that, so that would be helpful if they emailed you about resources like that, or like the interview practices or the resume builders, so if they emailed that, I’d definitely be interested in hearing about that kind of stuff.

Other advisees suggested that advisors define terms that former high school students would not be familiar with, like “office hours:”

—because I didn’t understand things about MyMadison or specifics of my major requirements and I didn’t—like coming into college—I didn’t really understand office hours because my high school teachers obviously never did that. And so I never went to my advisor’s office hours. I think he mentioned them like once.

But you didn’t understand what they meant.

Yeah. Like I thought office hours were for like crisis.

One other general suggestion that advisees felt freshmen needed clarity on was the differentiation between a BA and BS degree:

I think differentiating between BA and BS because I think—like I came in a BA because BS sounded scary with science and stuff, but then I found out it was actually a lot easier to do that with my major, so I’m switching halfway through. But I ended up having to drop a language because I wasn’t going for BA anymore. So my advisor did explain the difference…

Oh, BA means a language?

Yeah, BA means language and philosophy, and then BS is science and math. And what kept me from it was science, like I didn’t want to take chemistry or bio or anything like that, but what I didn’t realize was that science includes political science and…

Yeah, exactly, so I took it—not because I thought it’d be easier, but I thought, that’s more up my alley, like I’m more of a language person—I’m not like a statistics and math person. So, I wish I would’ve seen that there’s more options than just science in the science sector.

Overall, advisees had great suggestions that came up on the final open-ended question of the focus group. Their suggestions revealed meaningful perspectives of first-year students and how academic advisors might best communicatively serve their needs.

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Main Points from Themes

Theme #1: Small Screen Reading

Advisees are mainly reading email on their phones Mobile devices w/ smaller screens make lengthier

emails seem even longer Lists or bolded topic sentences are preferred over

paragraph formatting

Theme #2: Consistent and Frequent Communication

Advisees would like to hear from advisors more frequently (e.g., weekly to monthly, as opposed to only around important deadlines)

More communication beyond academic deadlines could include campus events and opportunities relevant to advisees’ programs of study

Some advisees worry that peers have an advantage over them due to communication inconsistencies between different advisors sharing/not sharing opportunities

Theme #3: Conversational Tone

Overall, advisees prefer a conversational tone over formal tone in advising communication

Conversational tones portray advisors as approachable and accessible

Formal tones can be perceived as intimidating

Theme #4: Applicability Advisees like and are open to advisors sending information beyond academic advising, as long as it is perceived as applicable to them or their program of study

Tips and tricks for college success are perceived as applicable

Extra, seemingly irrelevant information is unwanted with advisee concerns that advising communication could resemble the JMU informational emails

Theme #5: Quick Visual Learning

Both video and written how-to instructions are perceived positively, as long as they allow for quick reference

2-5 min video tutorials are preferred to longer ones Written instructions are preferred when they include

step-by-step screenshots

Theme #6: Reference Storage and Accessibility

Advisees like storing resources (e.g., how to schedule classes, use Canvas, navigate MyMadison) and knowing they can easily access them

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Canvas was perceived to be a good platform for storing resources

Advisees were overwhelmed by the amount of information received at the beginning of the year and wanted a breakdown of that information

Theme #7: Subject Lines Overall, advisees seemed to read communication from their advisor simply because it was from their advisor (i.e., subject lines were not as important)

Subject lines that explicitly state the content/main topics of the message are preferred

Messages with attachments were reported as receiving more attention and priority with advisee concerns that attachments are important forms to be filled out

Advice/Suggestions Be welcoming and accessible Share more information about campus resources

(e.g., Carrier media resources, CAP interview practice)

Show freshmen the JMU Master Calendar during 1787 Orientation Week

Have a “Canvas How-To” session during 1787 Orientation Week; provide more instruction on using Canvas, in general

Prepare freshmen for information overload by suggesting they take notes during first advising meeting(s) and providing a breakdown of information afterwards

Have mandatory face-to-face time with advisor at beginning of first year fall and spring semesters

Define/explain office hours (i.e., some students believed they were only for “times of crisis”)

Differentiate between BA and BS degrees and inform students of variety of science course requirements they can take

Discussion & Implications

The main themes gleaned from the focus group findings can be divided into three categories for discussion: 1) Devices & Platforms (#1, #5, and #6), 2) Communication Characteristics (#2 and #3), and 3) Message Content (#4 and #7).

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1. Devices and Platforms - Where are Advisees Reading?

Findings from these focus groups have communication-related implications for how advisors interact with advisees, beginning with advisees’ reading habits. Advisees unanimously reported using their phones as their main method of checking email communication. None of the advisees attending either focus group had an advisor that used Canvas, blogging, or another platform as their main method of communication. However, it is reasonable to infer that advisees may check these platforms on their phones as well, especially since they are typically notified of a Canvas or blogpost via email. Canvas and blog platforms offer apps for both Android and Apple devices, but it is unclear from these focus groups whether or not students check Canvas and blogs in an app or web browser. Regardless, each situation influences readability.

This reality has implications for how messages are read by the audience, since advisees are typically reading on smaller screens. Longer messages typed on a larger computer screen may seem readable by the author; however, the same messages appear significantly longer when they are displayed on advisees’ mobile devices with smaller screens. Thus, content written in paragraph form creates more scrolling for the user, or “thumb work” as described by one participant. Understanding where and how advisees are receiving messages, as well as the strengths and limitations of those mobile platforms, can help advisors craft messages that are responsive to and readable on smaller screens, potentially increasing advisees’ willingness to read the messages and decreasing the likelihood that the communication will be ignored. Thus, messages written in lists or bolded topic sentences are more mobile-friendly than longer traditional paragraphs.

Another implication regarding platform deals with the reference storage and accessibility theme. While having one solid conclusion that one single platform trumps the others in terms of storage and accessibility would be ideal, the findings suggest that the reality is more complicated than that. Advisees that primarily receive email communication may have an easier time accessing that communication on their phones and they may check email more regularly than Canvas; however, mobile devices can only sync a certain number of past messages. For instance, a mobile device may only be able to display 200 messages at a time, or 100 days at a time. Though they could still be accessed on a desktop computer or laptop, all other previous messages would not be easily accessible on a mobile device. This makes searching for past messages and resources from their advisor more complicated for advisees.

In terms of Canvas, advisees would have an easier time searching for past communication from their advisors, since Canvas displays announcements as a temporal feed of information and allows for resource storage in modules. However, it is important for advisors to consider how their advisees will continue to access that information once they are switched to a declared major advisor. Typically, advisees no longer have access to the Canvas site, so they lose access to all of that information. Blogging may be an alternative way to store and give access to information. However, a major shortcoming of blogging might be advisees’ habits and willingness to check for

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new posts or to click on reminder links. Regardless of the platform, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and how those translate to the reality of advisees’ environments and habits.

2. Communication Characteristics - What Kind of Communication Do Advisees Prefer?

In terms of communication characteristics, advisees expressed a desire to hear from their advisors more frequently and they preferred those messages to be written in a conversational tone. Some advisees expressed that their advisors seldom contact them, only around important academic deadlines, such as add/drop deadlines or major declaration deadlines. While advisees acknowledged the importance of these deadlines, they also preferred more preliminary notice of the deadlines in the form of several deadline reminders, for example. They also added that having more frequent communication could also encompass events going on around campus or opportunities related to their specific major of study. For advisees that did receive the latter content, some advisees were concerned about communication inconsistencies among advisors, where their peers were receiving information about opportunities that they did not personally receive. Knowing that others might have an advantage over them due to communication characteristics like frequency and content worried advisees, and specific majors of study may want to consider a more streamlined approach in terms of what information gets sent to members of their programs of study.

Advisees also showed a preference for conversational tones in communication versus formal tones. They situated their freshman population as a particularly vulnerable population, dealing with new environments and experiences, including but not limited to making new friends, confronting roommate issues, struggling with homesickness, experiencing anxiety, and figuring out how to learn in the college classroom. Overall, advisees demonstrated the huge learning curve that happens in terms of academic, social, emotional, and psychological development when students transition from high school to college. This transition raises many questions, as well as insecurities, which are more comfortably addressed when the advisee has an advisor who is perceived as approachable and open. Using a conversational tone in emails, Canvas announcements, and/or blog posts, among other communication forms, may make advisees feel more comfortable asking important questions related to their academic performance and success, and it may also make them more willing to seek out their advisor in person. Participants reported that a more formal approach can sometimes be interpreted as intimidating, deterring advisees from using their advisor as a resource, subsequently increasing the possibility of students performing at a level lower than their potential. In sum, advisees acknowledged the important role that advisors play and the subsequent effects they can have on the freshman year experience.

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3. Message Content - What Information Are Advisees Interested In?

Advisees were more interested in information that they perceived as applicable to them and their specific major of study. Participants were asked about their perceptions of their advisor’s role and whether or not they felt it was out of the scope of that role to send non-academic information (e.g., events around campus, opportunities, etc.). Overall, advisees expressed a preference for additional information beyond academic information, as long as it was relevant to their major of study. However, they did not want to receive information about any and all other on-campus events, as they felt communication from their advisor would unnecessarily mimic JMU informational emails that they already receive. Thus, specific advisors may want to consider making an effort to send information that is relevant to their advisees’ programs of study, and undeclared advisors may want to send information that may help their advisees explore options for declaring a major.

While advisees noted that having a clear, explicit subject line that explained message content got their attention, they also reported that they regarded nearly any message from their advisor as important (and worthy of reading), simply because the message came from their advisor. Related to the above information, it is important for advisors to send additional information sparingly so that this perception of importance does not fade. In other words, advisees were concerned that if their advisor sent too many emails, advisees may begin to ignore advisor emails that could contain important academic information or an upcoming deadline. Additionally, advisees said that they were more likely to open a message that had an attachment, as they frequently assumed that the attachment was an important form to be completed and/or signed. The paperclip attachment icon was attention-grabbing, as well as titles that were perceived as clear and relevant.

Conclusion

These focus groups highlight the importance of audience analysis and the need to keep up with evolving technology’s effect on reading habits, particularly among younger generations like college freshman. Understanding advisees’ reading habits will assist advisors as they craft communication for future advisees, making that communication more accessible to smaller devices. This includes the use of larger font sizes, particular font styles, clear information architecture, and more bulleted lists. Regardless of the content, advisees may be less inclined to read information that is not made accessible to their devices. To avoid this, another extra step that advisors could take in crafting their messages is to perform a small usability test on their own smaller device (assuming they have a smartphone with standard communicative capabilities). This way, advisors could see how the messages would appear to their advisees.

In addition, acknowledging the complexities of the new college environment from the perspective of a first-year student reminds advisors that, while encouraging autonomy and self-responsibility among their advisees is important, first-year students are

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vulnerable to the major transition from high school to college and can significantly benefit from advisors’ guidance and involvement in the first-year experience. Overall, advisees reported that they felt their advisor did or could have played a significant role in their first-year experience as a resource for academic information, among other transitional elements. While an advisor that formally communicates important deadlines is advantageous, an advisor that uses a conversational tone with more frequent communication, including not only academic information but also relevant non-academic information, is preferred. Though it is impossible for advisors to always know if a student will perceive a particular message as relevant or irrelevant, it is important that advisors communicate in a way that makes them accessible and approachable to their advisees.

These focus groups were beneficial in that they provided the Office of Career and Academic Planning with qualitative data based on nine freshman students’ perceptions of their first-year advising experience. In addition to understanding advisees’ reading habits and communication preferences as gleaned from the focus group questions, the conversations also allowed a space for advisees to report other suggestions, related and unrelated to freshman advising. These recommendations ranged from tone and content of advising communication to questions about the definition of specific terms like “office hours” to thoughts on improving the First-Year Orientation experience. Talking with freshman students in person is valuable in that researchers are able to ask for further elaboration and/or clarification on thoughts, and students are able to share their firsthand experiences and perceptions, offer insights into how communication could be improved, and provide richer responses than what might be gleaned from survey research.