1. Crisis Averted: Using Crisis
Communication Strategies to
Improve Academic Advising for
Recovery Students
By: Devin McCain
Texas Tech University
2. TTUA Background and Breakdown
Competitive – students
who know what they
want to major in, they
just don’t meet the GPA
requirements to
officially declare their
major.
Undecided – students
who are undecided in
their best fit major and
would like more time for
Discovery! and self-
evaluation.
Recovery – students
whose Academic
Standing is Probation,
Academic Suspension,
or Additional Academic
Suspension and are
required to meet with
TTUA for Academic
Recovery.
3. TTUA Background and Breakdown
• TTU Policy:
• Probation: cumulative GPA < 2.0
• Academic Suspension: cumulative GPA < 2.0 for two consecutive semesters
• Additional Academic Suspension: semester GPA < 2.0 upon return from
suspension
• ARP Process:
• Reapply for admission
• Complete the Academic Success Workbook
• Complete an initial 1 ½ hour Academic Recovery Plan appointment with a TTUA
advisor
• Fill out Academic Recovery Agreement/Contract
• *Enroll in a Programs for Academic Development and Retention Course
(Probation & Suspension)
• *Get Dean’s Approval (Additional Academic Suspension only)
4. A Crisis…
“Crisis: the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens
important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an
organization’s performance and generate negative outcomes.”
“Disrupts or affects the entire organization or has the potential to do
so.”
“Crises are unpredictable NOT unexpected.” – W. Timothy Coombs
5. Crisis Breakdown
• Three-stage Approach
• Pre-Crisis: Signal detection, prevention, crisis preparation.
• Crisis: Crisis recognition, crisis containment.
• Post-Crisis
• Crisis Management
• Prevention (mitigation)
• Preparation
• Response
• Recovery
• Revision
Crisis Management seeks to prevent or lessen the negative outcomes of a
crisis and thereby protect the organization, stakeholders, and industry from
harm.
6. Proactive Crisis
Communication
Issues
Management
Risk
Management
Reputation
Management
RecoveryUndecided Competitive
• Issue Management: an issue is a trend or condition that, if continued,
would have a significant effect on how a company is operated.
• Risk Management: represents attempts to reduce the vulnerabilities faced
by an organization. Vulnerabilities are weaknesses that could develop into
crises.
• Reputation Management: a reputation is an evaluation stakeholders make
about an organization.
7. Crisis Prevention Process
1. ID Resources to Scan
2. Diagnose Vulnerabilities
3. Crisis Management Team
• Spokesperson
4. Information Gathering
5. Information Processing
• Message Overload
6. Crisis Response
• Follow-up
7. Crisis Evaluation
8. ID Resources to Scan
• Student Records:
• Transcripts
• Mid-term Grades (If applicable)
• Semester progress
• Campus Resources and Organizations:
• Military Veterans Programs
• First Generation Programs
• Tutoring
• Mentor Programs
• Social Media
• Departmental Policies
• Campus Events
• Alternative Advisors (Athletic, etc.)
10. Crisis Management Team
• Departmental/Advisor Training: Initial Training, Advising Academy,
Professional Development…
• Interoffice Communication: Weekly Meetings, Regular Communication
• Other Resources: Learning Counselor/Specialists, Professors, Alternative
Advisors, Family Support.
• Spokesperson – Assigned Advisor
• Relationship Building: Weekly Emails, Appointments, Follow-Ups…
11. Information Gathering
• Data Reports
• Initial ARP Appointment – Develop the Relationship
• Start positive.
• Active Listening. Listen more than you talk.
• Create an Action Plan
• Should be developed by the student rather than the advisor
• Flexible Stability
• Set Goals
• ID applicable resources
• UA Contracts
• ARP Follow-up
12. • Spring and Summer
2014: 55,510 unique
student contacts
Information Processing
• Most difficult step to assess
• Ways TTUA Communicates
with Students:
• In-person Appointment
• Phone Reminder
• Phone Appointment
• RRO
• Other Recruitment
Events
• Walk-Ins
• Email Responses
• Birthday Email
• Social Media (Facebook,
Twitter, & Pinterest)
• Blog
• Website(s)
• Quality Assurance
Checks & Registration
Checks
• Weekly Communication
Emails
• Program Emails
(Discovery! & Pre-Law)
• Campus Events
• PADR
• IS 1100
13. Crisis Response = ACTION
1. Warning
2. Notification
3. Meeting/Discussion
• Implementation of Academic Recovery Plan
4. Follow-Up
• Weekly Communication
• ARPs
15. Resources
• Coombs, W. Timothy. Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and
Responding. 3rd ed. California, New Delhi, London, and Singaporem Washington D.C.:
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2012. Print.
• TTUA Academic Recovery: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/advising/recover/
• “Giving Life to the Zombies,” or Helping Students to Reflect on their Stories by Melissa
Aday and Maggie Gilchrest-Dunnam
The University Advising Department at Texas Tech University is responsible for the advisement of students returning to TTU from Academic Suspension. This situation requires the TTUA department to be simultaneously proactive and reactive in their efforts to serve this demographic of students. Not only are they reacting to the problem of a student being placed on Academic Suspension, they are also doing what they can to prevent a recurrence of the event by implementing Crisis Communication Theory. By doing so, they are able to address the needs of the student(s) and develop an action plan unique to each individual.
Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding. By: W. Timothy Coombs – The University of Central Florida
3 stages: Issue comes in when TTUA is typically not involved in the Proactive Pre-Crisis stage. More often than not, we don’t come in until the last half of the Crisis stage. This causes us to be reactive in our initial approach while simultaneously being reactive to prevent and the situation from occurring again.
Crisis Management seeks to prevent or lessen the negative outcomes of a crisis and thereby protect the organization (student), stakeholders(parents, advisors, etc.), and industry(TTU) from harm.
Issue mgmt.: an issue is a trend or condition… that, if continued, would have a significant effect on how a company is operated. Being TTUD is not a bad thing… for a while. Eventually, they have to make a decision! By coming in to TTU without a designated major they are already considered at risk. Also, each student is so different that they each come with their special set of ‘issues’ that must be dealt with in a flexible yet stable environment.
Risk mgmt.: represents attempts to reduce the vulnerabilities faced by an organization. Vulnerabilities are weaknesses that could develop into crises. Again, it’s okay for a student to not be declared….for a while. When students keep trying and keep trying to get that GPA to declare their chosen major, eventually they’ll run out of applicable classes to take. Then, they are forced to declare another major. They too become ‘at risk’ because while we want to help them be successful, we have to be realistic and help them develop a back-up plan.
Reputation mgmt.: a reputation is an evaluation stakeholders make about an organization. ARP students are being evaluated by TTU, TTUA, parents, friends, themselves, potential employers, etc. regarding what went wrong in the past to get them to this point. They are now solely focused on repairing the damage to their ‘reputation’ to make themselves successful.
Students in the Academic Recovery program are in their very own crisis. By using the Crisis Communication Theory of prevention, preparation, response, and recovery, the TTUA Advisors are able to help students react and repair some, if not all, of their former reputation damage.
Individual, personal SWOT analysis
Warning Signs – the problem comes in when the student only comes to TTUA after being suspended from another department or college. If the student is already ours then we monitor them very closely for warning signs.
“Giving Life to the Zombies,” or Helping Students to Reflect on their Stories by Melissa Aday and Maggie Gilchrest-Dunnam
Contacts not including 25,400 from PreLaw
‘Flexible Stability’ – unique to each student, each situation; Montrell Cartwright
Crisis Communication Theory gives the TTUA advisors a way to engage their students by equipping them with the tools needed to achieve their educational goals and excel in their chosen fields.
