Student Advising Framework

1. Purpose

This guideline outlines the structure, roles, and responsibilities for student advising at VinUniversity. Its objective is to ensure a coherent, student-centered, and developmentally appropriate advising system that fosters academic success, personal development, and career readiness.

2. Principles of Excellent Advising

At VinUniversity, advising is a transformational relationship that empowers students to thrive intellectually, personally, and professionally. To realize this vision, the University adopts a clear and actionable framework — the I-RISE Model — that defines the essential qualities of excellent advising.

This framework ensures that advising at VinUniversity is consistent, high-quality, and aligned with our commitment to student-centered education and global standards of academic excellence.

3. Student Advising Hierarchy of Needs

Advising at VinUniversity is not only about academic planning, but about enabling students to grow into confident, capable, and socially responsible individuals. Advisors including faculty, professional staff, and peer mentors work together to meet students where they are, respond to their evolving needs, and help them thrive at every stage of the university journey. The Advising Hierarchy of Needs guides how advisors across roles respond to students’ evolving needs throughout their university journey:

4. Shared Model of Advising

VinUniversity employs a multi-tiered, collaborative advising structure that leverages the strengths of faculty, professional staff, and peer mentors. This structure ensures that all students receive high-quality, consistent, and developmentally appropriate support across their academic journey.

4.1. Hybrid Advising Model

Hybrid Advising Model incorporates three roles of Faculty Advisor, Professional Advisor and Peer Advisor.

4.1.1 Faculty Advisor

Faculty Advisors are faculty who serve as discipline-specific mentors. They play a vital role in helping students navigate their academic and professional journey within their field of study. Their deep subject-matter expertise and connection to academic departments make them uniquely positioned to guide students in areas directly related to their major and long-term goals.

Key responsibilities:

• Course Planning: Assisting with course selection, electives, and degree progress, collaborating with Registrar.
• Research and Graduate Pathways: Mentoring students on research, graduate school, and scholarly development.
• Career Alignment: Providing industry insight, supporting internship planning, and collaborating with CAID
• Support and Engagement: Reviewing IDPs annually, providing milestone check-ins, and making timely referrals;
• Mentor students to participate in academic, professional, and innovation competitions — both within and beyond the classroom.

Faculty Advisors are expected to maintain a relationship with their assigned advisees over multiple years to ensure continuity, personalized guidance, and long-term developmental support. While they do not replace professional advisors, their specialized mentorship is critical in supporting students’ success within their academic and disciplinary context.

A Faculty Advisor may remain the same for the entire duration of study or may be reassigned depending on the specific needs and practices of each College — for instance, when students enter clinical rotations or declare a major. The decision on assignment or reassignment rests with each College/Program, based on its capacity and academic context.

Each College is empowered to determine the appropriate balance between Core Faculty Advisors and Contributing Faculty Advisors, ensuring advising remains high-quality, student-centered, and scalable. This structure enables Colleges to cultivate a strong advising culture, promote faculty engagement, and ensure every student receives consistent, developmental support throughout their academic journey.

Core Faculty Advisors (Dedicated Role): Advising is their core responsibility, with limited teaching/research loads.

Contributing Faculty Advisors (Standard Role with Support): Continue full teaching/research responsibilities but also advise a small number of students.

4.1.2 Professional Advisor

Professional Advisors are full-time staff housed in student-facing departments including Student Affairs Management (SAM), Registrar’s Office (REG), Financial Aid Office (FAO), Global Engagement (GE) and Career, Alumni, Industry & Development (CAID).

They provide general guidance, monitor student progress, support holistic development, and coordinate interventions across units. These advisors provide general guidance on academic progression, monitor student development, support holistic well-being, and coordinate interventions across departments. They play a central role in implementing advising policies, ensuring students receive consistent, high-quality support regardless of academic program or year.

Key responsibilities:

• Tracking the Individual Development Plan (IDP) process
• Conducting outreach and early alerts for at-risk students in accordance with Colleges
• Providing relevant student support services (e.g., wellness, financial aid, global exchange)
• Collaborating closely with Colleges to ensure seamless advising across all levels

4.1.3 Peer Advisor

Peer Advisors are trained senior students who provide peer-level support, particularly for first-year students during their transition into university life. They are an integral part of hybrid advising model, complementing the roles of Faculty and Professional Advisors with relatable, student-centered guidance grounded in lived experience.

Peer Advisors are selected based on academic standing, interpersonal skills, and demonstrated leadership potential. They are trained and supervised by the SAM.

Key Responsibilities:

• Transition and Adjustment Support: Help first-year students navigate university systems, policies, and resources, support for basic questions about academic life, student services, or co-curricular opportunities, support students in managing expectations, study habits, and social integration during their first semester.
• Campus Engagement and Belonging: Encourage advisees to participate in student clubs, societies, leadership roles, and service learning, actively promote a sense of community and inclusion by organizing informal check-ins, bonding activities, and interest-based groups.
• IDP and Developmental Coaching: Assist students in drafting and refining their IDP during Orientation Week, offer informal mentoring conversations around goal setting, time management, and reflection, encourage students to meet with their Faculty Advisors and Professional Advisors for formal planning and follow-up.
• Early Alert and Referral: Identify signs of disengagement, stress, or social isolation and report concerns to the Professional Advisors or Faculty Advisors, help connect students to appropriate university resources (e.g., counseling, academic support, student services).

4.2 Advisor Assignment Mechanisms

Advisor assignments are centrally coordinated by Colleges and student-facing departments:

4.2.1 Faculty Advisor Assignment

• Responsibility: Faculty Advisors are assigned by the respective Colleges, under the management of the Program Director.
• Timing: Assignments are made before or during Orientation Week.
• Ratio: Each Faculty Advisor typically supports 10–20 students, depending on departmental capacity. Each College may adjust the ratio based on its capacity but must always ensure the quality of advising and the effectiveness of student support.
• Continuity: Students generally retain the same Faculty Advisor throughout their degree program, unless the faculty member goes on extended leave or departs the university, the student changes major or program.
• Notification and Update: Changes to advisor assignments must be informed by Colleges, communicated to students promptly and reflected on the system.

4.2.2 Professional Advisor Assignment

• Responsibility: Professional Advisors are assigned by the functional units in which they are based:
  • SAM for general student affairs and co-curricular advising.
  • REG for academic regulation and progression tracking.
  • FAO for financial aid advising.
  • GE for outbound mobility advising and graduate study advising.
  • CAID for industry career and internship advising.
• Mechanism: Assignments may be based on student year, major, specific support needs.
• Assignment: Each department retains full autonomy to assign advisors and coordinate the delivery of advising services within their domain. This flexibility ensures that advising is responsive to unit-specific expertise, resource allocation, and student service models.
• Accessibility: While students are assigned a primary Professional Advisor, they may consult other advisors within the network as needed.

4.2.3 Peer Advisor Assignment

• Responsibility: Peer Advisors are selected and assigned by SAM.
• Matching Criteria: Program or College alignment, gender, nationality (for international peer mentoring), or shared interests (if applicable)
• Group Size: Each Peer Advisor supports 10–20 first-year students.
• Duration: Peer advising relationships are active for at least the first semester, with optional continuation in Semester 2.
• Orientation and Matching: Matching takes place before Orientation Week, and introductions are conducted as part of first-year onboarding.

4.2.4 Reassignment and Student Request Mechanism

Students may request a change in their assigned advisor under justifiable circumstances, such as conflict of interest, incompatibility in advising approach or communication, change in academic direction or personal needs.

Requests are reviewed and processed by the relevant College or unit lead and approved changes are updated in the advising system accordingly.

5. Advisee Responsibilities

Students are expected to take ownership of their academic, personal, and professional development. As advisees, they are responsible for:

• Engagement
  • Actively participating in scheduled advising sessions.
  • Maintaining regular communication with assigned advisors.
  • Seeking support proactively when encountering academic or personal challenges.
• Planning and Goal Setting
  • Completing their Individual Development Plan (IDP) at the start of the academic year and updating it regularly.
  • Reflecting on academic progress, co-curricular involvement, and career aspirations.
  • Preparing for advising meetings with questions or discussion topics in advance.
• Follow-through
  • Acting on agreed-upon plans or recommendations from advisors.
  • Making use of referrals to university services (e.g., CAID, SAM, Registrar, Research Office).
  • Monitoring their own progress via the Student Success Platform.
• Professionalism and Communication
  • Demonstrating respect, openness, and honesty in all advisor interactions.
  • Notifying advisors in advance of schedule changes or missed appointments.
  • Providing feedback to improve the advising experience.

6. Training, Resources, and Quality Assurance

To ensure the delivery of high-quality, consistent, and student-centered advising services, VinUniversity is committed to equipping all advisors — faculty, professional, and peer — with the necessary training, tools, and institutional support. Regular evaluation and continuous improvement processes are embedded to maintain excellence and adapt to the evolving needs of students and the university.

6.1 Advisor Training and Orientation

Advisors are required to participate in structured training and onboarding programs prior to and throughout their service as advisors.  In addition, they are encouraged to engage with reputable external training resources and standards to strengthen their advising skills and ensure alignment with international best practices (e.g., NACADA Core Competencies, CASE advising resources, AACRAO professional development programs).

6.1.1 Faculty Advisors

Initial Training: Conducted annually at the beginning of the academic year by Colleges, covering advising roles and responsibilities, student development theory, academic planning, progression, and policies, use of the IT system and IDP review

Ongoing Development: Optional workshops, sharing sessions, and access to advising resource materials.

6.1.2 Professional Advisors

Pre-Service Training: Comprehensive onboarding led by Student Experience Hub (SE Hub) and relevant departments, including developmental and proactive advising strategies, mental health first response and referral pathways, DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) in advising, early alert systems and progress monitoring.

Cross-Unit Calibration: Regular meetings across departments to align standards, share cases, and streamline referrals.

6.1.3 Peer Advisors

Mandatory Training Program: Provided by SAM prior to Orientation Week, including peer mentorship principles and boundaries, orientation support and IDP coaching, referral protocol and when to escalate concerns

Supervision and Reflection: Ongoing check-ins with SAM and participation in debrief sessions.

6.2 Evaluation and Quality Assurance

VinUniversity is committed to ongoing improvement of its advising system. A multi-layered evaluation framework is used to ensure consistency, responsiveness, and impact.

Advising KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

• % of students with a completed and reviewed IDP by end of Year 1
• Advisors contact rate per semester
• Timeliness and documentation of advisor–advisee interactions
• Student satisfaction and feedback scores on advising surveys
• Referrals resolved and followed up within specified timelines

Feedback Mechanisms

• NPS Survey/End-of-semester advising surveys for students
• Annual reflection forms for advisors (when needed)
• Focus groups and interviews to understand advising effectiveness (if available)

6.3 Advisor Recognition

To promote excellence in advising and align practices with the I-RISE Framework, SAM and HR will coordinate an annual Advisor Recognition Program to celebrate Advisors who demonstrate outstanding commitment to student success.

In this program, each advising role will be recognized within its scope of contribution:

• SAM will acknowledge the critical role of Peer Advisors, who provide near-peer guidance, mentorship, and community support to fellow students.
• HR will recognize Faculty Advisors and Professional Advisors, who draw on academic and professional expertise, and guide students in their intellectual, personal, and career development.

Advisors who exemplify the values of Inclusive, Relational, Intentional, Scholarly, and Empowering advising will be honored with a Certificate of Recognition, featured in internal communications and student/academic events as role models of excellent advising, acknowledged for their service hours, which will be documented and may be considered in annual performance reviews, promotion processes, or workload planning (where applicable)

This recognition serves not only to celebrate impactful advising but also to encourage continuous professional growth and a strong advising culture at VinUniversity.