Reaching students to help them achieve their academic best can be challenging. What the Council of Academic Advisors at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa hoped to do is gather advisors and educators from around the Pacific to share what works best and what can be done in the future. On July 11, about 160 participants from all 10 UH campuses and other institutions across the Pacific, such as Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and the Marshall Islands shared insights, strategies, and best practices in academic advising at the virtual Pacific Area Academic Advising Conference.
“The theme for this year’s conference was ‘Bridging Islands of Knowledge’ and highlights how we often focus on our own isolated areas of expertise,” said Derek Furukawa, director of the UH Mānoa Advising Center in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters. “Whether geographically or within different divisions at our institutions, being in the same ‘space’ can spark communication and collaboration, bridging these islands of thought.”
Technology tools, wellness
Participants chose from professional development sessions, and topics ranged from bridging cultural learning and core advising values to strategies for supporting students at risk. An advisor from Honolulu Community College presented how UH uses technology to connect at-risk students with academic and support services. They demonstrated how advisors are alerted about at-risk students through UH’s online registration app, STAR (Student Tools for Academic Registration).
“Utilizing early alert systems to support students in making adjustments to their academic approaches (before it’s too late in the term to recover) has been proven to make a significant impact on students’ timely completion of their programs,” Furukawa explained.
The conference also featured sessions on promoting health and wellness among academic advisors. “Nurturing the Nurturers” highlighted wellness programs implemented across four different institutions: UH Mānoa, UH Hilo, Kapiʻolani Community College and University of Guam. Advisors at these campuses engaged in activities such as outdoor exercise and face-to-face interactions to promote well-being.
Bridging islands
For the first time, UH Mānoa’s 14th annual summer conference was attended by advisors from a wide geographical range in the Pacific. Traditionally, the cost and time differences make it challenging for these advisors to attend professional development events. The virtual sessions were scheduled synchronously to accommodate participants from various time zones, from Chamorro to Hawaiʻi.
