Reference check questions for academic advisors

An advisor’s mistakes are quiet at first. A missed prerequisite, a transfer course counted twice or a hold nobody followed up on surfaces months later, at registration or at the graduation audit. Interviews tend to test warmth and knowledge of student development; references can tell you whether the candidate’s advice was right, whether their notes let a colleague pick up a student and whether students they referred actually reached help.

Advisors also handle a great deal of private information: grades, academic standing, holds and what students say behind a closed door. Ask references how the candidate protected it, and listen to how the references themselves talk about students.

Who to ask

• The advising director or coordinator who supervised their caseload, who reviewed their notes and heard about the questions that came back to the office.
• A faculty member or department coordinator in a program the candidate advised for, who knows whether students reached upper-level courses with the right prerequisites.
• A colleague in an office the candidate referred students to, such as counseling, tutoring, financial aid or disability services, who saw the quality of those referrals.
• For a lead or supervising advisor role, an advisor the candidate trained.

Questions to ask, by competency

Choose the competencies that matter most for the position and two or three questions from each. Ask every reference the same set, and when an answer is a rating, ask for the example behind it.

Accurate advice and records

A wrong answer about a requirement can cost a student a term and tuition they cannot get back, and students usually act on the answer without checking it.

1. How accurate was the candidate’s advice on degree requirements, transfer credit and prerequisites? Can you recall a mistake and how they put it right?
2. Could another advisor pick up one of the candidate’s students from their notes alone?
3. Compared with other advisors in your office, how would you rate the accuracy of the candidate’s degree plans and audits? (rating)

Managing a caseload

Caseloads peak at registration, and the students who most need an appointment are often the least likely to book one.

1. During registration, how did the candidate keep up with appointments, walk-ins and email without letting replies slip?
2. How did the candidate reach students on academic probation or with registration holds who were not responding?

Referrals and students in difficulty

Advisors are often the first staff member a struggling student talks to. The skill is knowing what to handle in the appointment and when to bring in another office.

1. Tell me about a student the candidate referred to counseling, tutoring or financial aid. How did they make the referral, and did they follow up?
2. How did the candidate respond when a student disclosed something serious in an appointment, such as a crisis at home or a safety concern?
3. How did the candidate handle a student who was upset about an academic dismissal or a denied petition?

Privacy and communication

Parents, faculty and other offices ask advisors about students every day, and the advisor has to know what can be shared, with whom and how.

1. When a parent called asking about a student’s grades or standing, how did the candidate respond?
2. How did the candidate handle a request for student information from someone who did not need it, such as a faculty member outside the student’s program?

Close the reference

End every reference the same way: ask whether they would hire or work with the candidate again and why, what support would help the candidate do their best work, and whether there is anything else you should know. The general question bank explains why the first of these matters most.

Checks a reference does not replace

• The degree the position requires, from official transcripts or the awarding institution.
• Titles and dates with HR at each institution. Peer advisor, advising assistant and academic advisor can describe very different responsibilities.

Warning signs to follow up

• References who describe the candidate as caring and approachable but cannot speak to whether their advice was right.
• Graduation delays, late petitions or registration errors that a reference traces to the candidate’s advice.
• Interview examples from the candidate that identify real students by name or by obvious detail.
• Referrals described as handing a student a phone number, with no follow-up.
• Advising notes a director describes as missing, late or written in a way the candidate would not want the student to read.

One warning sign is a reason to ask another question, not a verdict. Reference check red flags covers how to check a concern fairly.

Questions to leave out

Ask only about the work. Before an offer, the EEOC’s guidance says an employer may not ask a third party, such as a former employer, any question it could not ask the candidate directly. Leave out health, medical leave, age, family plans and other protected characteristics. What to leave out has the full list.