Merging Academic and Career Advising to Offer Holistic Student Support: A University Perspective

Higher education in South Africa has focused extensively on widening access to further inclusivity and to economic development. However, as students need to persist and succeed in their studies, access alone is not enough. Furthermore, the responsibility of higher education to help students succeed does not end with graduation; institutions need to produce graduates who are ready to enter the labour market. Therefore, it is important to integrate career information and concepts into these practices when conceptualising holistic academic advising. Since academic advising is still developing as a professional practice in the South African context, no clear, practical framework has been used uniformly at universities. Career advice is also not necessarily integrated into academic advising in a conscious manner. This may result in students who are struggling to integrate all the academic and career information provided to make informed decisions regarding their studies and career paths. This paper argues that the 3-I Process is an appropriate framework for the integration of career and academic advising in the South African context. In this case study, we draw from the experiences of nine advisors from the central advising office, faculties, and the career office at the University of the Free State to understand the extent to which they have been incorporating the elements of the 3-I Process into their existing academic advising practices and how they view the possibilities of following a more integrated approach. We also map how the framework can be adapted to the broader South African context to inform and develop more holistic and professionalised advising practices, as well as to contribute towards students’ success beyond university.

Influences on the career intentions of millennials; a view from the United Arab Emirates

PurposeThe study aims to discover influences on the career intentions of millennials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Design/methodology/approachQualitative data about career intentions were collected from a sample group (#50) of students at an international university in the UAE. Participant's responses were recorded in five groups, composed of undergraduates, males and females, expatriates and citizens. Transcripts were formed of these data, which were thematically analysed to identify influences on career intentions.FindingsFour emergent themes were identified of influences on career intentions: (1) influenced by societal obligations, (2) influenced by a traditional approach to career plans; (3) influenced by own aspirations; (4) influenced by country considerations. Findings recognised career intentions for this sample group resulted from cultural orientation and millennial's characteristics.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited by the one country/one university context and a direction is to replicate for an expanded sample group and/or to extend this research scope to other countries.Practical implicationsThese findings have implications for university career advising, and the recruitment and retention of millennials in the UAE by international companies.Originality/valueThis is an original study in its exploration of influences on millennial's career intentions in the UAE. Research value lies in the addition of academic knowledge about those millennials' future career intentions.

LGBT College Student Career Development

LGBT college students need mentorship regarding their career development from their faculty members. This paper provides an informed approach, grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory and supported by empirical research, for faculty members to provide effective career guidance specifically tailored for LGBT students. Goals and recommendations for career advising with LGBT students are provided using an SCCT-informed approach, given the unique needs and experiences of LGBT students. Explanations of how SCCT offers a relevant understanding to faculty members, as well as instructions for how to appropriately advise LGBT students in their career development is provided. Conclusions and future directions are also discussed.

Prototyping and Student Engagement

Design thinking strategies are used to engage stakeholders to define a problem, inspire creativity in solution designs, prototype, iterate together, and implement solutions that reflect the community for which they were designed. Increasingly, these strategies are being used within student success and innovation work in higher education. The primary purpose of this chapter is to explore the importance of the “prototype” phase of the design thinking process when applied to designing co-curricular experiences through a case study of an institution that utilized design thinking and service improvement frameworks to design an academic and career advising system to best serve students.

Attitudes Toward Family Medicine Among Students Choosing Other Primary Care Specialties

Background and Objectives: Little is known about how medical students choose between primary care specialties. We compared the attitudes toward family medicine of medical students intending to practice primary care but not family medicine (PCNFM), with students intending to practice family medicine (FM) and those intending nonprimary care (NPC) careers. Methods: The Family Medicine Attitudes Questionnaire (FMAQ) was distributed to 2,644 fourth-year medical students at 16 medical schools in spring 2017. Respondents were stratified by career intention. In this secondary data analysis, we used descriptive statistics to characterize responses to each questionnaire item and FMAQ total score, and analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc analyses to compare category and item mean responses. Results: Of 2,644 fourth-year medical students who received the FMAQ, 1,188 (41.8%) submitted usable responses. The 14-item FMAQ has a maximum score of 70. Mean total scores differed by category: 59.05 for FM, 52.88 for NPC, and 54.83 for PCNFM (F=108.96, P<.01); the differences between each possible pairing were significant (P<.05). Comparing the responses of students intending PCNFM careers with those of students intending NPC careers, there were no differences in mean responses for 8 of 14 FMAQ items. Responses of students intending PCNFM careers were similar to students intending FM for only 4 of 14 items (P<.05). Conclusions: Fourth-year students intending to match into PCNFM have attitudes toward FM that more closely approximate the attitudes of NPC students than the attitudes of FM students. Future research should explore implications for curricular development, student mentorship, and career advising.

LGBT College Student Career Development

LGBT college students need mentorship regarding their career development from their faculty members. This paper provides an informed approach, grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory and supported by empirical research, for faculty members to provide effective career guidance specifically tailored for LGBT students. Goals and recommendations for career advising with LGBT students are provided using an SCCT-informed approach, given the unique needs and experiences of LGBT students. Explanations of how SCCT offers a relevant understanding to faculty members, as well as instructions for how to appropriately advise LGBT students in their career development is provided. Conclusions and future directions are also discussed.

The Premedical Years

The premedical baccalaureate period is critical to shaping a high-achieving, diverse, and service-oriented medical school applicant pool. The focus on achieving superior academic performance in premedical coursework captures the attention of most premedical students, but equal attention must be paid to developing the personal qualities and experiences that will form the foundation of their future capacity to understand and communicate with patients. Premedical students are best served to major in a field for authentic intellectual reasons regardless of the field's immediate connection to the health care field. There is a growing trend for applicants to have a gap year or more between the undergraduate period and medical school. The authors discuss the role of letters of evaluation and the premedical committee in the application process. The authors have more than 40 years of combined experience in premedical academic and career advising at a large, research-focused public institution.