The changing work of college advising

By Celine Gomes

As colleges face shifting enrollment patterns, resource cuts, and the lingering impacts of the pandemic, academic advising must evolve quickly.

That was the focus of a recent Chronicle of Higher Education webinar titled The Evolving Work of College Advising, where Jennifer Stephan, Dean of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies at the Tufts School of Engineering, joined a panel of national thought leaders in higher education. Alongside experts like Scott Carlson (Senior Writer, The Chronicle), Ned Laff (Co-author, Hacking College), Kyle Ross (Executive Director, NACADA), and Ruth Baer (President, InsideTrack), Stephan helped unpack key questions including: How can advisors adapt to growing caseloads while still delivering meaningful support to students?

At Tufts, Stephan pointed to an approach that has seen real success: intentional collaboration with faculty. “We’ve found a lot of success with building strong partnerships with our faculty who are an extraordinary resource for our students,” she said. Faculty have the unique capability to mentor students within their major whereas professional advisors advise outside the major. By letting faculty do what they do best, advisors can do the same. The key is to create space for high-quality conversations.

Stephan also championed the Research Investigative Inquiries (RII model) highlighted in fellow panelists’ Carlson and Laff’s book. RII challenges students to explore the world beyond academic labels and institutional silos. Rather than simply aligning their ambitions with a declared major, RII encourages students to ask deeper, more nuanced questions such as: What do I truly want to do? What problems do I want to solve? It's about discovering the "granularity" of the real world, as Carlson put it, and pursuing a purpose that may not fall neatly within a single discipline. As it relates to advising, RII offers a powerful framework to guide students in uncovering their deeper intellectual curiosities with intention. 

Good academic advising is too often accidental, Stephan said. So how do we make it intentional? Her answer: start with students. “At the end of the day, you’re the one walking across the stage at graduation,” she tells them. At Tufts, professional advisors are working to help students take ownership of their education by encouraging critical thinking, supporting self-advocacy, and fostering a culture where students are empowered to be active agents in their academic journey.

The panel didn’t shy away from tough questions, including how artificial intelligence could influence advising and job security. Stephan emphasized the enduring value of human connection. “Powerful advising is about relationships. AI can be useful—if it helps facilitate those relationships, not replace them,” she shared. The conversation made clear that while the advising landscape is changing, its heart remains the same: authentic, student-centered relationships.

Looking ahead, Tufts is exploring ways to integrate career advising with academic advising and expand experiential learning opportunities—a move that reflects the evolving needs of today’s students.

About Dean Jennifer Stephan

With nearly 30 years of experience in higher education, Jennifer Stephan has held leadership roles at Tufts University and Wellesley College and collaborated with colleagues at MIT and Olin College of Engineering to create innovative academic programs. At Tufts, she oversees academic advising of undergraduate engineering students, Arts and Sciences students majoring in Computer Science, and students pursuing internal transfer into the School of Engineering. She also supports ROTC students across schools. Her holistic advising approach integrates academic planning, personal development, navigating college policies and processes, supporting students through challenges, and connecting them with institutional resources.

In addition to her role at Tufts, Stephan is the founder of Lantern College Counseling, where she developed the Deep-Fit™ approach to college advising—an innovative framework that centers thriving and long-term success.

Schedule an appointment with Dean Stephan or a member of the engineering advising staff.