About us
Making the transition from high school to university is both exciting and challenging. We want to ensure that each student thinks about college as a long-term investment, making educated decisions about a future that meets their goals, interests, and values. An important part of assisting students with defining and - ultimately - achieving their personal and academic goals is helping them explore the college landscape, building a foundational knowledge of resources and strategies for success.
To accomplish our mission, our staff of advisor-coaches meets with students throughout the year. The majority of our meetings with students are one-on-one, with each session’s topics of discussion determined and prioritized by the student. Meetings typically conclude with an agreed-upon “action item,” which the student completes on his or her own time and then discusses with the advisor-coach in the next meeting. Action items can include everything from scheduling an appointment with a financial aid counselor, to attending a professor’s office hours, or meeting with a tutor. We also host workshops for our students to attend as a group on topics ranging from effective time management strategies to note-taking techniques.
Our services are available to all of Loyola’s currently enrolled undergraduate students. We specialize in assisting first-year students (including transfer students and re-admitted students) make the transition to college life and learning at Loyola. First-year students are assigned an advisor-coach at the point of deposit. If you’re a first year student, you can expect to hear from your advisor-coach before school starts. If you’re an upperclassman, there are two ways you can enjoy our services. If you have a quick question, you can come to walk-in hours. If you want to establish a regular series of meetings with a coach-advisor, visit HERE to complete a request.
While we welcome parental input in general, we do not allow parents to attend advising-coaching sessions with students. Because establishing a trusting relationship entails a degree of confidentiality and is a priority for us, our advisor-coaches do not share meeting notes with parents (or guardians) unless there is a concern for student safety. If parents or guardians have questions or wish to express concern, they are encouraged to reach out to the Director of Advising and Coaching, Dr. Paul Buehler, by email at pbuehler@loyno.edu.
All of our advisor-coaches have offices in the Pan-American Life Student Success Center located on the second floor of Monroe Library. We prefer to have face-to-face meetings in our offices, but will happily hold one-on-one meetings remotely through video conferencing, text messaging, by telephone, or through email. For much of the academic term, our advisor-coaches are available by appointment only. Holding most of our time for appointments allows us to focus our attention on each student individually, facilitating a more personalized experience that is better for achieving favorable student success outcomes. During peak times of the year, however, we host walk-in hours in which students can come at their convenience to ask a question, discuss a campus resource, review a policy, or obtain an advisor-coach signature, etc.
Please peruse the rest of our page to learn more about our specific services, and to find out more about our team of advisor-coaches, including contact information and ways of setting up an appointment.
student learning outcomes
The student learning outcomes of academic advising and success coaching are guided by Loyola's mission, goals, curriculum and co-curriculum. These outcomes articulate what students will demonstrate, know, value, and do as a result of participating in academic advising and success coaching. Each service area listed for our office has also articulated its own Student Learning Outcomes, tailored to meet it's own unique efforts at advising and coaching. This is a general overview of the outcomes students can expect when meeting regularly with any advisor-coach in the Pan-American Life Student Success Center.
Students will be able to...
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Use complex information from various sources to set goals, reach decisions, and achieve those goals
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Craft a coherent educational plan based on assessment of abilities, goals, interests, and values
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Articulate the meaning of higher education and the intent of the institution’s curriculum
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Cultivate the intellectual habits that lead to a lifetime of learning
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Behave as informed and invested citizens who engage in the wider world around them