Colleges face growing pressure to help students finish their degrees and prepare for careers, even as advisors juggle heavy caseloads and tight budgets. In Tyton Partners’ national survey of about 1,300 college employees at more than 750 institutions, high caseloads remained the leading barrier to better advising. Advisors whose primary job was advising carried an average of 351 students at two-year colleges and 339 at public four-year institutions. Larger caseloads were associated with seeing fewer students and meeting with them less often.
Having support services on campus does not mean students know about them or use them. In a separate survey of about 1,800 students, only 40 percent knew academic advising was available at their college, and 26 percent said they had used it. Staff rated reaching out to students who need help as especially valuable, yet many colleges offered that outreach only selectively. Group advising, clearer information about available help, and manageable caseloads offer ways to connect more students with support while preserving individual conversations.
Career preparation also needs to reach beyond job fairs and resume reviews. Career staff and administrators rated real-world projects and internships among the most valuable practices for helping students succeed at work, but only 7 percent of surveyed institutions offered an internship guarantee for every student. Stronger employer partnerships and clearer links between courses, majors, and careers can help students put their learning to use. Colleges also need better information about graduates’ employment outcomes to judge whether their efforts are working.
About one in five academic advisors reported using AI daily. Potential uses include answering routine questions, scheduling appointments, preparing information before meetings, and drafting follow-up notes. The goal should be to give advisors more time for students, not replace personal guidance or justify adding more students to their caseloads. These uses need testing, staff training, reliable student records, clear privacy rules, and human review. Students should also help shape the policies that affect them. AI may ease some routine work, but it cannot substitute for adequate staffing, trusted relationships, or sound decisions about student needs.