Advising and Coaching Bonner Students

Overview | One-to-One Meetings | Site Evaluations | Individual Portfolios | Supplementary Resources

Overview  

Advising and coaching is critical to the success of the Bonner Program implementation. Through the process of advising, a student can gain a sense of belonging in the program, which supports his or her retention over two to four years. Through ongoing coaching, the student gets a stronger sense of his or her values, talents, skills, and personal leadership style. The advising process often happens in the context of one-to-one relationships with a staff member, but need not excludeother types of interaction. Advising can also happen in small groups, such as class groups or reflection sessions. Peers can also serve as advisors and coaches to students, through both formalized and informastructures.

The Student Developmental Model is likewise a foundation for the structure of Advising, as it is for the Co-Curricular Area. The 5 E’s (expectation, explore, experience, example, and expertise) represent the notion of a continued path of development for students, reinforced by complementary service, co-curricular, and curricular experience. The Advising process and experience can reinforce students’ self-concept and development of skills, knowledge areas, and exploration of the Common Commitments (Civic Engagement, Community Building, International Perspective, Diversity, Spiritual Exploration, and Social Justice. Each campus can consider the skills and knowledge areas it is mapping into the experience at each level/class and think about how Advising (through 1-to-1 meetings, site evaluations, portfolio development, etc.) can reinforce this progression.

The purpose of this Resource Document is to better describe what makes these Advising elements effective and excellent. It can be used by Bonner Staff, student leaders, and others on campus to ensure that the planning and implementation of your Advising strategies support positive outcomes for students.

One-to-One Meetings 

It is necessary to meet with your Bonner Scholars and Leaders and guide them through their service to ensure the best morale amongst your corps. Here you'll find a comprehensive guide on how this should happen.

Site Evaluations

Along with one-to-one meetings are site evaluations. Each Bonner should be evaluated by their designated partner's person in charge as well as by their program's coordinator, preferabally once a semester.

Individual Portfolios:

The individual portfolio allows the Bonner student to keep track of their service ,academic and leadership experience over the course of their time as a Bonner. It is not only good for reflection for themselves, but it is also a great resource for directors and coordinators to keep track of what the students are doing. 

Supplementary Resources

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