73. Increase the availability of campus services, such as advising and tutoring, by adapting to flexible hours and locations.
Here’s what the federal government can do:
- The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on the availability of student support services, such as advising and tutoring, outside of traditional hours.
Here’s what institutional leaders can do:
- Higher education institutions should hire faculty and staff to offer greater flexibility in hours and locations of academic support services, such as advising and tutoring.
- Higher education institutions should conduct surveys and gather input from students of color, first-generation students, and students with lower incomes to identify barriers to accessing campus services. Higher education institutions should appropriately compensate students who provide input.
- Higher education institutions should gather feedback from faculty and staff to identify campus services that can be adapted to better serve all students.
Higher education institutions should meet students where they are and increase the availability of campus services through flexible hours of operation (weekends or after-hours) and locations (remote and virtual).
Today’s students experienced shifts in flexible service models through the COVID-19 global pandemic and continue to navigate full- or part-time work and caregiving responsibilities along with their academic pursuits. A 2021 survey of 2,000 undergraduate students found that 20 percent wanted expanded hours of student services offices beyond the pandemic. [i] Research suggests that students of color who receive continuous and dedicated support, such as advising and tutoring, will have more positive completion and graduation rates. [ii] To identify ways to serve their students, Weber State University conducted a campus-wide survey and found that the hours of operation of support services — such as tutoring — were too limited, and students often didn’t receive the support they needed. In response to their campus needs, Weber State University decided to hire additional staff to work flexible and weekend hours to provide tutoring support services. [iii] Higher education institutions such as St. Ambrose University have recognized this need in their student community and as a result have prioritized flexibility in staff schedules, including remote work, to build additional opportunities for students to receive advising or tutoring.
[i] Ezarik, Melissa. “COVID-Era College: Are Students Satisfied?” Inside Higher Ed, March 23, 2021. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/24/student-experiences-during-covid-and-campus-reopening-concerns.
[ii] Hernandez-Reyes, Jessie. “Creating Positive College Campus Racial Climate for Students of Color,” The
Education Trust. https://edtrust.org/college-campus-racial-climates/.
[iii] Mowreader, Ashley. “Serving Students Beyond the 9-5.” Inside Higher Education, September 5, 2023. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2023/09/05/higher-ed-personnel-adapt-schedules-student-success.