Transformative Learning

Troy Boquette

December 7th 2014

Ferris State University

Idsl 880

Transformative Learning

Mott Community College (MCC) is located in Flint, Michigan. Flint is a

city that has seen its population and economic stability decline over
the past ten years. This city had a population of about 120,00 ten
years ago. However, this manufacturing city was negatively impacted
when manufacturing companies such as General Motors withdrew from
the community. This caused thousands to lose viable careers with
those companies causing economic devastation. The Flint Journal
reported that Flint and Genesee county has been the hardest hit
communities economically in the state of Michigan.

This economic collapse has caused many educational issues in the

county. High rates of foreclosure and diminishing property values has
equaled lowered property taxes going to K-12 school systems including
Mott Community College. According to the Achieving the Dream (ATD)
data on MCCs website, 39.8% of the students entering the college test
into all three developmental areas of reading, writing and
mathematics. With almost 40% of the entering freshman being less
than college ready, MCC has had to reengineer the way programs are
offered and the support services needed to help these students
succeed. To further emphasize this point, the ATD data shows that
80% of incoming freshman are testing into developmental reading,

68% are testing into developmental math and 44% are testing into
developmental writing. These high percentages indicate that the K-12
system is not preparing students for college.

The college annually has a student body of 17, 000 unduplicated

students which equates to the Fall and Winter semesters having
approximately 9,500 students. The college has seen a steady
decrease in enrollment over the past three years in the number of
students attending the college. In 2011, the college had over 12,000
students enrolled in their fall and winter semesters. The college
employs about 500 full-time faculty and staff with a yearly operating
budget around 65 million dollars. About 80% of the college budget is
dedicated to wages and benefits offered to the employees. One group
of these employees is a new set (10) of faculty advisors. The college
developed this group of positions because of decreased enrollment,
higher needs of students, low quality scores on student surveys
regarding advising and a new concentrated emphasis on retention.

DISSERTATION OVERVIEW

This research study will evaluate the effectiveness of a new advising

system developed and implemented at Mott Community College over

the past two years. Students are currently randomly assigned to either
a full-time advisor (new positions) or a part-time faculty advisor. This
study will survey currently enrolled students, immediately following
their contact with an advisor, to identify the breadth of advising
information, as well as the students perceptions of the advising
experience.

OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH:

Approximately 2 years ago Mott Community College hired 10 full-time
faculty members (SSS/ACSS) to advise students. This was to
supplement the more than 40 part-time faculty members who were
already advising students. Recently, because of budget cuts, the parttime faculty members were cut to 15 hours per week. The research will
indicate whether or not the move to full-time faculty offers a more
holistic approach to advising regarding career exploration, financial
planning, accurate program course registration, and life skills advice.
Specifically, the questions that will be asked in the survey are:
1.

Which of the following topics did your advisor discuss with you?

My current / future career plans

My options for completing a degree or certificate

The process for transferring my Mott credits, if I decide to

transfer

How to register for classes

Which classes I need to take this semester

Which classes I should take next semester

Ways to be more successful in college

Services that are available to me at Mott to help me succeed

Financial planning, financial aid, or ways to pay for college

Graduation information

I expected to discuss the following information that we did not

talk about:

Text box will be included to solicit responses.

2.

Please rate your satisfaction with the information you received

about each of the following (scale of 1-to-5, w/ NA option: Very

Satisfied, Satisfied, Neutral, Dissatisfied, Extremely Dissatisfied, Did
not Discuss)

Degree and course options available at Mott

The registration process

How to succeed in my classes

The costs of attending college

3.

On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your agreement with the

following statements (Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree,

Strongly Disagree)

The advisor was friendly and expressed interest in my

educational plans.

The advisor had an excellent knowledge of Mott courses,

programs, and services.

Following the advising session, I feel more comfortable about my

educational plans.

The advisor seemed rushed or disinterested in my questions.

I would recommend this advisor to other students.

The advisor was unable to answer my questions about Mott

programs and courses.

Overall, I was very satisfied with the advising session.

I feel confused about my future education plans.

I think if I saw a different advisor, I would have better information

about my educational plans.

4.

If you have additional comments about the advising session,

please feel free to add them in the comment box below.

Text box will be included her to solicit responses.

SUBJECTS:
I am going to survey currently enrolled students at Mott Community
College after they have physically met with an Academic Advisor or
Student Success Specialist/Academic Success Specialist during the
Winter enrollment first week. A survey will be deployed by email and
all subjects will have the opportunity to opt out at any time. I will
exclude anyone who is under 18 years old. This group of students will
complete the survey giving me the insight to draw conclusions from.

RECRUITMENT:
Students check-in through a queuing system that records their
personal information before seeing an advisor or SSS/ACSS. The
queuing database will filter the students by the type of advisor each
student saw and an email will be sent to them asking them to
participate in a survey. The students who complete the survey will be
entered in a drawing for a $50.00 gift card.

RESEARCH METHOD:
The method to collect data will be a survey produced and administered
through SurveyMonkey. All data collected will be scrubbed of student
personal information for purposes of this research. If the students self
select to be entered into the $50 gift card drawing, they will provide
their email address. This contact information will be kept separate
from any of the research data collected.

RESEARCH ANALYSIS:
Analysis of the research data will be conducted using the IBM SPSS
software.
CURRENT LITERATURE REVIEW
According to a report from NACADA (2004), organizational structure is
the framework for delivering advising services to students. As such, it
is one of the important building blocks for an effective advising
program, regardless of whether the program is defined at the
department, college campus or institutional level. In an economic
climate where resource allocation to student services is scrutinized,
and where programs are evaluated for their contribution to student
retention, the organizational structure for advising takes on new
significance. Academic advising takes place in situations in which
an institutional representative gives insight or direction to a college
student about an academic, social, or personal matter. The nature of

this direction might be to inform, suggest, counsel, discipline, coach,

mentor, or even teach Kuhn, T. (2008). A NACADA task force studied
the comprehensive and complex task of defining academic advising.
Their efforts have garnered the NACADA concept of academic advising.
Below, are some of the definitions compiled by the task force:

Advising is a process in which advisor and advisee enter a

dynamic relationship respectful of the students concerns.
Ideally, the advisor serves as teacher and guide in an interactive
partnership aimed at enhancing the students self-awareness and

fulfillment. OBanion, T. (1972)

Burns Crookstons definition of developmental advising:
Developmental counseling or advising is concerned not only with
a specific personal or vocational decision but also with facilitating
the students rational processes, environmental and
interpersonal interactions, behavior awareness, and problem-

solving, decision-making, and evaluation skills.

Developmental Advising A Definition A systematic process
based on a close student-advisor relationship intended to aid
students in achieving educational, career, and personal goals
through the use of the full range of institutional and community
resources.

These definitions and research is supported by Noel-Levitz as

presented by Crockett (n.d.), which states that administrations must

set goals for their advising systems. The following are some goals that
have been identified:

Assisting students in self-understanding and selfacceptance (value clarification, understanding abilities,

interest, and limitations.

Assisting students in their consideration of life goals by
relating interest, skills, abilities, and values to careers, the
world of work and the nature and purpose of higher

education.
Assisting students in developing an educational plan
consistent with life goals and objectives (alternative
courses of action, alternate career considerations, and

selection of courses).
Assisting students in developing decision-making skills
Providing accurate information about institutional policies,

procedures, resources, and programs.

Making referrals to other institutional or community

support services
Assisting students in evaluation or reevaluation of progress

toward established goals and educational plans

Providing information about students to the institution,
colleges, and/or academic departments.

According to Allen and Smith (2008), they found that 21% of faculty
indicated that they did not provide accurate information to students
about degree requirements and 26% indicated they did not assist
students with understanding how things work at the university. Both of

these information functions involved requirements, policies, and

procedures that assume a certain level of up-to-date knowledge and
expertise, which faculty may not have occasion to use often enough to
recall from memory or to keep abreast of changes.
TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING
Clark (1991), defined transformative learning theory as the process of
perspective transformation with three dimensions: psychological
(changes in understanding of the self), convictional (revision of belief
systems), and behavioral (changes in lifestyle). While there may be
minimal benefit to the participants, in my study their participation will
identify strengths and weaknesses in the advising system. This could
help improve the advising model in which they may benefit in the
future. By assessing the effectiveness of the new advising model, the
administration can confirm that the changes were effective and/or
make changes so that students can see the changes being made in
their self, their belief systems and in their lifestyles.

Since the full-time faculty model has been implemented at Mott

Community College there has been no research in its effectiveness or
ineffectiveness. Community Colleges and universities across the
nation could benefit by seeing the results of this comparison and the
entire MCC community can benefit from this study by seeing the
results of the research. Students may be better prepared by the

holistic effectiveness or less prepared by the ineffectiveness of this

model. The broader community may benefit if students are better
prepared in terms of financial planning, career exploration, accurate
course registration, and life skills preparation.
References:
Allard, F. (2012). Higher education: a conspiracy? How students view their chances at a
four-year institution. The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal. Retrieved from
http://dus.psu.edu/mentor/2012/08/higher-education-conspiracy/
Allen, J.M., & Smith, C.L. (2008). Importance of, responsibility for, and satisfaction with
academic advising: a faculty perspective. Journal of College Student
Development, 49, 397-411.
Brooks, S. (2013). New office supports the academic advisors who support students.
Retrieved from http://www.news.wisc.edu/21609
Burton, J., Wellington, K. (1998). The OBanion model of academic advising: an
integrative approach. NACADA Journal, 18 (2), 13-20. Retrieved from
https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/portals/0/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/documents/1
8-2-Burton-Wellington-pp13-20.pdf
Community College Research Center. (2014). Community college FAQs. Retrieved from
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Community-College-FAQs.html

Crockett, D. (n.d.). Modes and models: designing and implementing a successful

academic advising program. Noel-Levitz. Retrieved from
http://www.dixie.edu/reg/SEM/DCrockettModesandModels.pdf
Habley, W. R. (Ed.). (2004). The Status of Academic Advising: Findings from the ACT
Sixth National Survey (pp. 14-26). National Academic Advising Association.
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Miller, M.A. (2012). Structuring our conversations: shifting to four dimensional advising
models. In Carlstrom, A. & Miller, M.A., 2011 national survey of academic
advising. (Monograph No. 25). Manhattan, KS: National Academic Advising
Association. Retrieved from the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising
Resources Web site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/ViewArticles/Structuring-Our-Conversations-Shifting-to-Four-Dimensional-AdvisingModels.aspx

Noel-Levitz. (2011). National student satisfaction and priorities report: four-year public
colleges and universities-Form A. Retrieved from
http://dus.pus.edu/mentor/2012/10/advising-satisfaction/#sthash.bDkJZpfL.dpuf
OBanion, T. (1972). An academic advising model. Junior College Journal, 42, 62-69.
Retrieved from http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/ViewArticles/The-definition-of-academic-advising.aspx#sthash.daeUyxuI.dpuf
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition.
University of Chicago Press.