The Future of Advising Isn't Artificial—It's More Transformative
By Claire Robinson, Kyle Ross, April Belback, Adam Lee, Cathy Shaw, and Julia Michaels
Every era brings new technology that promises to transform higher education. From learning management systems and degree audit software to student success platforms, each technological advancement has promised to make advising more efficient. Artificial intelligence is the next step in that evolution.
After participating in conversations during the 2026 UERU Leadership Summit, the Advising Reform Track participated in a dedicated session on A.I. use cases in advising. One message is abundantly clear: the future of advising is not about replacing advisors. While institutions face financial barriers, academic advising cannot be the place where administrators look to use A.I. to have advisors take on larger caseloads or to not hire back vacated positions. Rather, A.I. can create more time and space for advisors to do what they do best—build relationships, ask meaningful questions, and help students navigate their academic and career journeys. This individualized student support is essential to helping students persist, thrive, and ultimately graduate—while advancing institutions’ retention and student-success goals.
Today too many advising appointments are consumed by transactional tasks such as answering simple procedural questions, explaining holds, or troubleshooting registration. One 2018 EAB report found, “advisors said they want to spend about 50% less time in typical advising sessions on “transactional” activities like course selection and scheduling creation. Instead, they’d like to redistribute that time on longer-term, strategic activities like coaching, helping students think about the future, and addressing personal issues.” (EAB 2018). In addition, Tyton Partners 2025 found that 40% of primary-role academic advisors help students select courses or a plan of study on a daily or near-daily basis, and course planning consumes the most time each week for these advisors.
As a result, advising time spent on simple logistics often leaves little time to explore students' academic interests, experiential learning opportunities (internships, etc.), academic intervention, and career aspirations. See data from Driving Toward a Degree 2024 for detail on what else students want to discuss with their advisors.
Imagine a world were Advising uses A.I. in the following ways…
· Before Advising:
o Agentic A.I. proactively sends students personalized reminders and answers common transactional questions (registration logistics), assists with scheduling advising meetings, and sends appointment confirmations.
o A.I. suggests discussion topics based on a student's academic progress, allowing both the student and advisor to arrive better prepared.
· During Advising:
o A.I. surfaces notes from previous conversations, highlights changes since the student's last visit, and assists with documenting key discussion points.
· After Advising:
o A.I. breaks down larger tasks into smaller steps for the student (e.g., steps to resolve registration holds), sends follow-up reminders on action items, checks on progress, and generates timely advising notes.
o ChatBots answer FAQs during peak times (add/drop, registration time tickets, etc.).
A.I. offers advising a great opportunity to improve workflow. Rather than replacing these essential professionals or increasing their caseloads, A.I. has the potential to streamline routine administrative tasks, allowing advisors to focus on the conversations that have the greatest impact on student success. Tyton Partners (2024) notes that generative AI “can potentially save advising meeting time spent on the technical aspects of course registration, enabling more holistic advising conversations” (p. 10).
A.I. expands the reach and capacity of advising; it cannot replace the advisor-student human relationship at its core. Used thoughtfully, this technological evolution gives advisors more time to focus on what matters most: understanding student needs, providing meaningful guidance, and helping navigate the path to success.
References:
Rittenberg, S. (2018, April 12). Academic advisors want to spend 50% less time on these activities. EAB.
Academic advisors want to spend 50% less time on these activities | EAB
Lin, N., Shaw, C., Condon, K., Hammel, M., Tseng, Z., Janson, N., & Bryant, G. (2024, August). Driving toward a degree. Tyton Partners.
Brennan, D., Bharadwaj, P., Narayanan, A., Shaw, C., Collins, I., Janson, N., & Bryant, G.
(2025, August). Driving Toward a Degree - 2025. Tyton Partners
Authors
Dr. Claire Robinson, Assistant Provost Undergraduate Advising, University of South Carolina
Dr. Kyle Ross, Executive Director of NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising
Dr. April Belback, Vice Provost of Student Success, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Adam Lee, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Professor of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh
Cathy Shaw, Associate Partner, Head of Innovation & Delivery Excellence, Tyton Partners
Julia Michaels, Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships, Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU)