Humanizing Academic Advising: Using Culturally Responsive Approaches to Advise Students of Color

Academic advising, an acknowledged necessity for all college students, can be particularly beneficial for Students of Color due to the increasing disparities in academic settings (see Matthews et al., 2022; Museus & Ravello, 2010; Smith et al., 2021). Many practitioners view advising as “the provision of educationally related information and guidance to students confronted with choices and alternative paths in their education” (Trombley & Holmes, 1981, p. 2). Advising should be viewed as an ongoing, multilayered, and multidimensional process between students and student affairs professionals (SAPs). The benefits of academic advising in college settings have been well-established (Bloom et al., 2008; Ford et al., 2021), but college campuses operate as racialized organizations (Ray, 2019), which affects all aspects of campus life for Students of Color (Matthews et al., 2021). As such, we base this scholarship on our personal and professional experiences as SAPs committed to the retention, matriculation, and graduation of Students of Color. Collectively, our experiences span multiple institution types and a wide range of roles, but one constant remains for each of us: centering the understanding and pursuit of humanizing culturally responsive academic advising practices for Students of Color. This scholarship is intended to serve as a call to action for all academic advisors and educators to be bold, genuine, and innovative in their attempts to prepare Students of Color at a time when existing racial inequities are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To do this, we present two overarching challenges facing Students of Color and offer recommendations in the ongoing effort to recruit, retain, and advise this population.