Helping Students Clarify their Dreams: Advising the Foreclosed Student

60 min – December 14, 2016 (DW72 – Season 11)
Panelists: Kyle Ross (Eastern Washington University), Anna Brown (Washington State University), Jose Ramos (Old Dominion University), Olga Salinas (Boise State University)

The term foreclosed is sometimes used to describe students with unexplored yet confident and committed future plans. They may be identified as such because they have bound themselves to a single choice with very limited research into their interests, strengths, and abilities or of program and career options. When students are not succeeding in their program of study, advisors often have the responsibility of talking with them about making a change. Foreclosed students, who are deeply invested in their program of study but chose that major without exploring other options, are often resistant and defensive when told they are not succeeding. How do advisors have this conversation without killing the dream? In this 60-minute videocast presentation, presenters Kyle Ross (Eastern Washington University), Anna Brown (Washington State University), Jose Ramos (Old Dominion University), Olga Salinas (Boise State University) address how to recognize the foreclosed student and how to have the difficult conversation of redefining their academic path so that they can still achieve “dream” career goals. They discuss how to recognize when a student is foreclosed on a major and/or career choice based on subtle cues or statements behind why they are pursuing that major/career. They share practical tools and techniques that are grounded in student identity theory, motivational interviewing, and career development theory.