Pioneer Pathways Projects

East Bay has invested heavily in technology and toward improving workflow and processes. We have yet to deploy all of the available features and tools to advisors. Technology exists on campus that we can use to greater potential.

Completed Projects:

• MyCompass Student Portal - this all-inclusive student portal is the new one-stop-shop for students to access enrollment, financial aid, advising, and more!
• PioneerChat - a 24/7 Virtual Assistant text support service for all current undergraduates with university questions.

Ongoing and Future Projects:

• Degree Planner:  For 2022-2023, we will be implementing a Degree Planner and Course Scheduler.  The goal is to optimize students' use of the planner; increase accuracy and adoption of advising plans; and streamline the advising appointment process.
• EAB Data Analysis Projects: Three analytical projects focused on advising appointments, early alerts, and key components of the advising operation are currently being conducted to better understand their impact. The goal will be both equity and to strengthen infrastructure of Advising here at East Bay.

CSUEB has worked to update our advising systems and added new advisors with a goal of reaching the appropriate range for student-to-advisor ratios. There is opportunity with consistent training and support for advisors to use proactive practices and analytics to help the advising process. 

Completed Projects:

• In partnership with the various advising centers on campus, we've set goals that represent our priorities as a community.
• The results of the campus wide Pioneer Pathways: Advising Surveys serves the Steering Committee to make data informed proactive decisions about how to improve advising for students.
• In May 2022, staff and faculty in Advising participated in a 2-day offsite retreat to reconnect in-person (and virtually).  These were 2 days that offered opportunities for morale and community development, technical development, and the exploration of meaningful development and enrichment efforts from participants.
• Spring 2022 Experience Surveys: A blitz experience survey, with less than 10 questions, will be administered to all students who saw an advisor during the spring peak advising period for Fall 2022 enrollment. This experience survey is intended to capture improvements in students’ perceptions of accuracy of information received, advisor availability, understanding of student needs, etc. 

Ongoing and Future Projects:

• Cohort Onboarding Pipeline for Advisors (COPA) The goal of the cohort hire program is to centralize recruitment, training, and onboarding efforts of advisors (SSPs) to help fill several vacancies over the next two academic years. Onboarded advisors will be in a learning community to learn university policies and procedures, case management techniques, and assigned between various advising offices to gain a panoramic understanding of advising at East Bay. COPA learning communities are designed to provide 3- 6 months of intensive training before advisors are matched and assigned to a specific department.  Our first cohort is in motion and we are currently hiring our second!
• Advising Retreat 2023:  This multi-day offsite will build off of what we learned in the first retreat and continue staff and faculty community development, technical development, and the exploration of meaningful development and enrichment efforts from participants.
• Pilot Career Launch Program for 120 Students beginning in Fall 2022 and will continue through Spring 2023.  This program will develop and implement career roadmaps that identifies key steps for various student milestones.  This program will unify academic and career roadmaps.

Assessments demonstrate a need for clarity and consistency across student support service areas on campus. Findings highlight how the campus can benefit from consistent training, program assessment, resources, and an understanding of the data, to create better spaces for our students that make the centers more supportive. 

Current Projects

• Intensive First Year Advising / Summer Transitional Empowerment Program (STEP) 
  A year-long advising initiative that kicks off with a two-week summer intensive experience (STEP) with a flexible residential component with shorter residential options for local students.  Students will be supported by the Student Equity and Access Programs (SEAS) and staff.  There will be collaborative and customized programs hosted by the various programs: EOP, EXCEL, GANAS, SANKOFA, and the affinity centers.

Completed Projects

• Project INSPIRE is a first-year learning community that offers the culturally-relevant curriculum and pedagogy embedded within key first-/second-year coursework (i.e., Oral Communication, Written Communication, and Critical Thinking). In parallel, advisors will be trained in the same academy as instructing faculty.  This project will continue into 2023.
• At the end of the Fall 2022 semester, the INSPIRE program held an all-day retreat to gather the faculty, leadership team, and desired future partners (SEAS) to collectively reflect upon these questions:

1. How have we experienced working in collaboration with each other in INSPIRE?
2. What success and challenges have we been finding?
3. What do we believe and value as a program?

At the retreat, we collected numerous data to answer these questions and are in process of summarizing the findings and presenting a working draft of our institutional core beliefs and values. We aim to use these findings to influence the expansion of INSPIRE to its 2nd year.

Across the university, there is a shared understanding of a significant and immediate need for change with a focus on breaking down silos for information and updating best practices, freely exchanging ideas and evaluating our processes for students.

Completed Projects:

• Educational Excellence Project - formerly known as the Black Excellence Project. This initiative documents student success stories, on college, university, primary, and secondary schools, through multimedia and film.

Current Projects:

• Advising Steering Committee - continue goals and initiatives including culture of trust, equity, and strengthening infrastructure of Advising
• Advising Professional Development - opportunities for Advising Staff to attend conferences, workshops, and more.

• Advisor Health and Wellness - This initiative invites internal advising staff to participate in gym memberships on campus, group activities in community, and ways to connect and energize after much time apart.