“Underground advisors” and institutions could gain from collaboration

The increased emphasis on student success needs to avoid alienating the faculty and staff members who devoted themselves to supporting students on the margins long before the issue was trendy, writes Byron White in Inside Higher Ed. White discusses the faculty and staff members who have informally supported students outside of the formal advising structure, and touches on the many tensions that arise between institutions and these “underground advisors.” White encourages institutions to collaborate with these informal advisors more often by recording successful efforts, holding information forums, and enlisting these advisors more effectively in the student success agenda. Inside Higher Ed