{"id":160056,"date":"2026-02-18T17:19:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/160056\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T17:19:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:19:34","slug":"reducing-the-waittime-unfs-plans-for-student-advising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/160056\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing the Waittime: UNF’s Plans for Student Advising"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behind the scenes of the University of North Florida\u2019s Office of Student Success, a major effort is underway to overhaul academic advising to better serve a growing and increasingly complex student population.<\/p>\n

Appointed in 2024 to oversee all academic advising delivery, Senior Director of Student Success Initiatives Kellie Woodle is implementing \u201cnext-level training\u201d for advisors and exploring new advising formats to address student frustrations, reduce wait times, and ensure every student is on an efficient academic track.<\/p>\n

Advisor Training and Collaboration<\/p>\n

Woodle\u2019s strategy focuses on accuracy and efficiency, not just within the advising department but across the entire Office of Student Success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bring in folks from financial aid to have an understanding so that when we\u2019re meeting with a student, we\u2019re giving them the accurate information as we know it, or we know a resource to put them to,\u201d Woodle said. \u201cThe One Stop director attends, and we update and share information.\u201d<\/p>\n

The push for consistency includes a standardized training approach for new hires.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we onboard a new academic advisor, we break it down into universal training,\u201d Woodle explained. \u201cI have built all of the universal items that an advisor would need to know to be able to perform their job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior associate registrar for Student Success Systems, Jacqueline Piazza, helps provide technical training for advisors to navigate students\u2019 educational plans, according to Woodle.<\/p>\n

The complexity of the job is a key driver for the increased training. Woodle noted the role\u2019s difficulty, with a single advisor serving 400 students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to UNF, Fall 2025 enrollment<\/a> was 17,662 students, including both graduate and undergraduate students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Across the First-Year, College of Arts and Sciences, Brooks College of Health, College of Business, College of Computing, Engineering & Construction, and the Silverfield College of Education and Human Services advising offices, 51 staff members<\/a> advised the student body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Until recently, an advisor earned approximately $35k a year at UNF, according to Woodle. The salary of a current advisor at UNF is approximately $40k, according to Woodle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure that students or even anybody really understands all the intricacy and the layers and the amount of information that a person has to know while serving 400 students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Appointment Traffic<\/p>\n

Woodle acknowledged a common frustration for students who struggle to book appointments, particularly around peak times. She offered a clear recommendation: plan ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know sometimes students are like \u2018Well, I couldn\u2019t get an appointment.\u2019 Well, because you waited to do it a week before registration. I know it can get frustrating, and I get it,\u201d Woodle said.<\/p>\n

To alleviate the stress of one-on-one sessions, advising offices have been using alternative methods. These include virtual Zoom sessions, in-person meetings, or \u201cgroup advising\u201d for students who already have a robust educational plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can have a group advising where we bring in faculty from the department that can talk about expectations and opportunities, and then they get to meet other students, you know,\u201d Woodle said.<\/p>\n

Ensuring Degree Track Accuracy<\/p>\n

While the oversight of all academic advising falls under the Office of Student Success, individual advising units are assigned to specific colleges. To keep up with constantly shifting degree requirements, these units employ liaisons, according to Woodle.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Each team\u2019s liaison] will go to faculty department meetings to make sure that we\u2019re getting updated curriculum information because there can be changes in terms of what the department has implemented and in terms of the degree requirements,\u201d Woodle said.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Woodle believes improving the advising experience depends on student engagement with the new systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with the new degree evaluation tool, the new advising appointment system, and the drop-in hours, I think those are things that are helping; we\u2019ve just got to get students aware of them and taking advantage of them,\u201d Woodle concluded.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Behind the scenes of the University of North Florida\u2019s Office of Student Success, a major effort is underway…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-160056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}