Leading transformational academic advising work is one of the most rewarding and most difficult tasks that an institution can undertake. The process of redesigning an advising system involves relationship building across departments, divisions, and, in some instances, unions. It also involves changing the culture of the institution and mindset of those responsible for doing the critical work of guiding and counseling students, as they set goals for their college career and beyond. This type of organizational change requires a clear vision and plan, resources, and support from key stakeholders across the institution. This work may result in significant changes that will affect the way in which college students experience advising, including their navigation of institutional policies and procedures, use of advising technological tools, and most importantly, interacting with advisors. Properly managing the impact of this work on the organizational structure of the institution is important for successfully transforming advising and sustaining the work beyond the scope of its redesign process.

Transformational advising initiatives are challenging, especially when conducted at community colleges, where the primary student population are commuters. It is well documented that community college students experience high levels of difficulty persisting each semester due to a lack of engagement in the college community and its support resources (Bailey et al., 2015; Levesque, 2018; National Student Clearing House 2018; Wiseman & Messitt, 2010). Investing in the improvement of advising through a redesign process would enhance the college experience for students. Advising redesign, like all organizational change efforts, requires a clear vision and comprehensive plan for implementation, strong leadership, and consistent management of the process (Jaggers & Karp, 2016; Kezar, 2018). Community colleges have access to private and federal funding and other resources for supporting advising redesign initiatives. A wealth of information can be gathered from community colleges that have completed a structured process to redesign its academic advising systems.

This study explored how academic administrators at three community colleges in the Northeast, that received external funding or customized coaching support, led the redesign of their institutional advising systems. Understanding strategies used to lead the redesign efforts and its impact on institutional culture adds to the breadth and depth of research on advising and provide methods that can be used by other institutions.