Miami University Academic Advising Project

For this academic project, our team investigated the challenges within Miami University's academic advising system, specifically for the Emerging Technology in Business and Design major. Utilizing brainstorming, research, and user interviews, we devised a solution that we believe has the potential to significantly enhance the existing system.

Pre Research Stage

To start off my research I had to identify the key players in this problem and the relationship between these players. These are the academic advisors and the students. From there, I had to decide what the potential problem spaces were which I identified as communication, procrastination, and students not checking their email.

With all of this information considered I came up with a couple key questions:

  1. How can the advising system be improved?

  2. Is Miami using the right advising method?

  3. What are the pain points of advising: scheduling and/or career advice? 

Additional Research

I looked into a study FGCU did on their academic advising. Locksley Knibbs, the lead academic advisor of natural sciences at FGCU has a lot to say about academic advising. He said, ““It’s a core responsibility to teach students about how to navigate the curriculum and our main function, regardless of how many hats we’re going to wear,” says Knibbs, a governing board member of NACADA” (Flaherty 2023) You would think because of this advising would be widely available and easy to access with this statement . Some statistics I found prove otherwise.

  • “According to the Student Voice survey of two- and four-year students at more than 120 institutions, just 55 percent of respondents say they’ve gotten the advising Locksley describes as fundamental.” (Flaherty 2023)

  • “just 57 percent of students who intend to graduate this year say they’ve received guidance on required courses and course sequences needed for graduation via the advising process. “ (Flaherty 2023)

  • “one in three students say a class they need to graduate has filled up before they could register” (Flaherty 2023)

source: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/03/01/student-survey-reveals-gaps-core-academic-advising-functions#:~:text=%27Truly%20Appalling%27,advising%20Locksley%20describes%20as%20fundamental.

https://infogram.com/2023-q1-aclife-feature-graphic-3-on-registration-1hzj4o37xx5j34p

Issues with Miami University’s Advising System

Based on our research, our group pinpointed several significant issues within the academic system at Miami University:

  1. Insufficient post-university guidance.

  2. A lack of personalized academic planning.

  3. The absence of mandatory advisor meetings, potentially putting student success in jeapordy.

  4. Shortcomings in advising for career objectives and the relevant course selection.

Having identified these key issues, we aimed to conduct interviews with students and advisors to further explore any additional pain points we might have overlooked.

  • Kaylee

    ETBD transfer, current senior

    What has been your experience with academic advising?

    Kaylee feels a lack of consistent support from Miami University advising. She is uncertain about available resources and often feels overwhelmed by being a transfer student in the major with limited support. Additionally, she found her advisor to be too busy, making it challenging to schedule appointments. Kaylee believes she's the only one invested in her success, and attributes an advising oversight to her junior year, where she was advised to take a hefty 21 credit hours, leaving her with only a 9-credit load for her senior year. She expresses a desire for more education and guidance on advising to empower her to be more proactive in her academic journey.

  • Christian

    ETBD Sophomore

    What has been your experience with academic advising?

    Christian did receive an in-person orientation that provided assistance with class scheduling. However, when spring arrived, he found himself struggling to keep up with deadlines for scheduling. He felt cast off and forgotten after the initial meeting explaining how advising worked. He believes there should be a more proactive system in place, including regular reminder emails and a structured advising framework during the initial two years of college. Christian has never had discussions about internships or future career planning, which he believes should be an integral part of the advising process. He envisions a more personalized system that fosters accountability for both the advisor and the student, ultimately enhancing the overall experience.

  • Olivia

    ETBD Junior

    As a junior, Olivia strongly desires more one-on-one interaction with her advisor to discuss internships and seek guidance, but she encounters difficulty in scheduling meetings. She is frustrated with the lack of personalized support, often feeling like just another face in the crowd to her advisor. Olivia's Miami University experience was further complicated by the onset of COVID, as she did not receive the onboarding experience freshman year that Christian did. In fact, she remained unaware of her advisor's identity until her sophomore year. Olivia struggles with a sense of isolation throughout her academic journey, particularly as a first-generation college student. She wants the kind of advisor support that can help her navigate the complexities of internships and job opportunities.


After considering these various perspectives, we formulated a question to direct our efforts.

Focus Question: How might we help ETBD students take advantage of the resources available to them so that they can get the most out of their entire academic experience?

Journey Maps

In an effort to enhance our empathy for users, I created journey maps for both upperclassmen and underclassmen. This method effectively combines our ideas and provided our audience with an insight into the experiences of Miami students regarding advising.

https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVMlARvOw=/?share_link_id=138352746263 -underclassmen

https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVMjkqfIs=/?share_link_id=375545073389 - upperclassmen

“Academic Advising is an opportunity to exchange information designed to help you reach your educational and career goals. Advising is a shared responsibility between an advisor and the student.” (Rutgers 2023)

Advisor Interviews

  • "When you get a new student, you don’t know where they are at in the advising process from an advisor point of view."

    Tim Demarks, ETBD professor and advisor

  • “It is hard to introduce Navigate in orientation to freshman because there are so many other things going on we do not want to overwhelm them."

    Eric Hodgson, Lead Departmental Advisor

  • "Faculty are not required to use Navigate, so we need something that both students and advisors will use to streamline the advising process"

    Chad Reynolds, Assistant Dean & Lead Divisional Advisor for the College of Creative Arts

What Currently Exists:

Visually monotone, Lacks gamification or incentive to participate, Cannot have advisor comments in the to-do list

Our Solution…

Roadmap to Success by Alyssa Garrison

We've developed an interactive roadmap designed to engage both students and faculty in their academic goals. This game board will be integrated into Canvas, a widely used platform for students to manage their assignments, thus minimizing the learning curve associated with new advising systems. Each section of the game board corresponds to a grade and represents a milestone to help students progress toward graduation. Students and advisors can add notes to each segment of the board, facilitating communication and tracking progress. When meetings are completed, the game piece advances, aiding advisors in maintaining productive discussions with students and ensuring students are well-prepared for their appointments. In cases where advisors change, the next advisor can access the student's game board along with notes from the previous advisor, fostering a collaborative note-taking platform. It's common for freshmen and sophomores to be uncertain about their four-year plans, and that's perfectly fine. This system offers a playful approach to keep everyone aligned and make strides towards a four-year plan in a straightforward manner. By doing so, we anticipate significant enhancements to the advising system, empowering ETBD students to leverage available resources and maximize their college experience.