2022 First-Year Engineering Experience

WIP: Wrap-Around Advising: A Collaborative Effort Between Faculty Members and Student Success Professionals

Presented at Technical Session M1

Wrap-around advising involves a holistic methodology that puts the student at the center of attention with support from a team of academic and advising professionals. In recent years, an increasing number of academic units at universities have employed wrap-around advising practices to increase student persistence at the university and in their chosen major. To implement a successful wrap-around student advising process, it is pertinent that the faculty members and student success professionals embrace a collegiate and collaborative outlook and remain student-centric with regards to student academic success and well-being. Within a civil engineering program, a wrap-around advising model has been developed by a faculty member and a student success professional and implemented in a first-year civil engineering course. This wrap-around advising model involves a collaborative and intensive process of fluid communication among the faculty member, the student success professional, and the students. In this work, the authors discuss the history of development of this advising plan, some challenges, early results, and long-term goals.

Authors

Dr. Andrew Assadollahi, P.E. Christian Brothers University [biography]

Dr. Assadollahi is a native Memphian and a 2005 graduate of Christian Brothers High School. Dr. Assadollahi earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering with a concentration in structural engineering from Christian Brothers University in 2009. He also earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Christian Brothers University in 2009, concentrating in applied differential equations. He earned a M.S. in Civil Engineering from The University of Memphis in 2010 with a concentration in structural seismic engineering. Dr. Assadollahi completed his Ph.D. in Engineering from The University of Memphis with a concentration in geo-structures in 2013. He currently an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Civil and Environmental
Engineering at Christian Brothers University. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Tennessee.
Mr. Mardarius Liddell Thomas Christian Brothers University [biography]

Mardarius Thomas is a student affairs practitioner, higher ed and career consultant, and retention strategist. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Communicative Disorders. He furthered his education at Mississippi College and received his Master of Science in Higher Education Administration. Mardarius is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia of America, and NACADA.

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