Latest Issue of CELT Notes
October 23, 2025

Connecting with advisees before registration

Note from Heather Cote – Director of Advising

The upcoming registration period provides us with an opportunity to connect with our advisees in a multitude of ways. Course planning may or may not be at the forefront of those conversations. 

In Ezarik’s (2024) Inside Higher Ed piece, she shares a story of a student who came to her with doubts about their ability to stay in college. The student goes on to share that they were not interested in their courses, they were concerned about the difficulty level, and that the academic challenges were impacting their friendships. As her advisor, Ezarik used this opportunity to ask the student about their life goals and their purpose. As their conversation progressed, campus resources were shared. Ezarik then sent a follow up email with those campus connections. An invitation for another meeting guided the student to explore an alternate academic and career path by prompting independent research, discussion with their professor, a career advisor, and their family; leading the student to a change of majors. Ezarik goes on to share practices which she feels make her sessions effective including: being attentive, offering a space free from judgement, asking questions, trying out different tactics, prompting use of resources, and celebrating successes.

Reading about this advisor’s interactions and my own experiences in working with students who change majors, prompted me to want to learn more about students’ beliefs and experiences as they go through this process. Blake Silver’s (2023) article, “Major Transitions: how college students interpret the process of changing fields of study”, examines students’ experiences and identifies six themes in relation to the three phases of transition: endings, neutral zones, and new beginnings. Those themes are summarized below:

• Perceptions of self – Students often believed their skills were not a match for their major and that they were not a good fit for that area of study
• Previous major didn’t meet the student’s needs or was inadequate – Students shared that signals from other programs made those programs a better fit
• Beginning exploration of a new major – Students researched other majors, sampled courses in other programs, and sought input from family and friends
• Stressors – Students shared emotional experiences of uncertainty, fear and anxiety
• Gap in support – Students felt that faculty and staff didn’t acknowledge the weight of the decision the student was making
• Adjusting to a new major – Some students felt reassurance while others felt doubt about whether it was the right choice

My takeaway from this article was that students want to be heard and that their major transitions can sometimes lead to uncertainty and doubt. By recognizing what students are experiencing, we can provide more effective support. 

Below are a couple of resources to assist you in leaning into Ezarik’s best practices shared above.

Guiding questions using strengths-based advising by Laurie Shreiner

Norse Network resource and referral handout

Advising Updates:

Academic Planning for Core Curriculum Literacy Requirements – With registration and advising meetings on the horizon, I want to share a few documents I hope will help you as you work with your advisees in determining what core curriculum literacy options are offered in a given term. In this folder, you can access both a spreadsheet and a .pdf handout of the J-Term and Spring courses by literacy. These documents can also be found on the Advising Katie page. These are tools for support only. Norse Hub should continue to be used for official course designations.

Drop-in Support for Advisors on October 24 from 2-4 (CELT) – Faculty advisors are invited to attend a drop-in support session on Friday, October 24 from 2 – 4 pm in CELT for assistance with questions related to Norse Hub and the registration process. Whether you need a refresher on Norse Hub tools, help navigating registration issues, or other information about advising, you’re welcome to stop by.

Pre-Registration & Norse Hub Info Sessions – Please encourage your first-year students to attend the pre-registration sessions which will help them to prepare for their advising meetings by covering how to use Norse Hub for registration, search for classes, and add courses to their plan.  These sessions will take place on Sunday, October 26, 2025 in Brandt (7pm & 7:30pm) and Ylvi (8pm & 8:30pm).

Registration Assistance for Students – Advising & registration support will also be available to students at our ‘Registration Station’ in the Union main lobby on November 12 from 5-8 pm. We’ll have hot chocolate, cider and a variety of helpers available to answer last minute questions from our first years. If you are interested in helping out, please email me – Heather at advising@luther.edu. 

How-To Videos & Email Template – Short videos about checking for registration clearance and removing holds as well as how to use Norse Hub to assist with class planning and registration have been created.  Please feel free to share with students as you invite them to schedule their one-on-one advising meetings.  If you haven’t sent a meeting request to your advisees yet, consider using or modifying this email template (video links included).

Advising Exploratory Students and Supporting Major Transitions Workshop – Curious about how to better support exploratory students or guide students as they consider transitioning majors? There will be a workshop on October 29, 2025 from 1:30-2:30 which will share research about how students navigate educational transitions. Sign up here.

Note from the Director of Community Engaged Learning, Britt Rhodes

As an institutional member of SEED Coalition students, staff and faculty can take advantage of a number of opportunities to gain knowledge and skills for engaging with our communities.  Want to get updates from SEED Coalition directly in your inbox?  Subscribe here!   Here are  some upcoming opportunities:

SEED TALKS – Join contributors of Gleanings from the Field: Food Security, Resilience, and Experiential Learning for two interactive virtual sessions exploring themes of food studies, civic engagement, and collaborative partnerships in higher education.  If you are interested in participating in these virtual sessions with colleagues over lunch, email Britt Rhodes for location information  rhodbr01@luther.edu. 

          October 28th   12-1    Food Studies in Higher Education 
          November 6th 12-1   Collaborations and Partnerships in Food-Based Community Engagement

  *The Nov. 6  session will include community partners from the Decorah Food Pantry and the Iowa
    Food Hub! We will have a short discussion following the session to brainstorm any ideas that come up as we participate together.

ENGAGED FACULTY INSTITUTE (EFI) – Are you ready to design or redesign a course to include community engagement?  The EFI provides research-informed practical steps to incorporate community engagement into your curriculum and improve your current CEL courses through five modules:  Foundations & Critical Commitments; Planning and Facilitation; Partnerships & Engagement; Learning & Reflection; Assessment & Evaluation. 

Open to faculty & staff!   Learn more and sign up for the January or May institutes!  Don’t have time for the full institute?  Email Britt Rhodes rhodbr01@luther.edu to dial in more specifically on an area you want to develop or enhance!

CELT Fall 2025 Programming

Upcoming CELT Workshops

Register for upcoming workshops here. *Note: Please register for workshops at least 48 hours before the workshop, so that facilitators know who will be in attendance.

ABCs of Externally Funded Grants (EFGs) (Jeanie Lovell, Advancement Office)

Grantseeking can be both exhilarating and daunting. This informal conversation will offer faculty and staff a brief overview of Luther’s process for seeking external grant funding. Come learn what tools and resources are available to help research potential funders and write compelling proposals. Following the 20-minute overview, there will be ample time for Q&A and idea sharing. All are welcome.

Thursday, Oct. 23, 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m., CELT Conference Room, Valders 242

Register for upcoming workshops here.
Teaching Neurodiverse Learners: 2024-2025 FLC Insights and Lessons (Anita Carrasco)
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 3:00-4:00 p.m., CELT Conference Room, Valders 242

Advising Exploratory Students and Supporting Major Transitions (Heather Cote)
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 1:30-2:30 p.m., CELT Conference Room, Valders 242

Embracing AI in the Luther Classroom (Christy Vrtis)
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 3:00-4:00 p.m., CELT Conference Room, Valders 242

iClicker Cloud (Erin Zidlicky)
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1:30-2:30 p.m., CELT Conference Room, Valders 242

Embracing AI in the Luther Classroom (Christy Vrtis)
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 1:30-2:30 p.m., CELT Conference Room, Valders 242

AI in the Research Process (Emily Mineart)
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 3:00-4:00 p.m., CELT Conference Room, Valders 242

High-Impact Teaching: Role Play (Nancy Gates Madsen)
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 1:30-2:30 p.m., CELT Conference Room, Valders 242