Earning a graduate degree is a huge personal accomplishment, requiring countless hours of hard work and careful planning. For online graduate students, this is especially true, since many of them spend over 20 hours a week on graduate coursework while working full time. Finding balance in a busy schedule is a team effort \u2014 one that requires the help of numerous university support staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Purdue University, advisors and success coaches play a pivotal role in giving online graduate students the tools they need to make giant leaps. From helping students schedule courses to creating specialized resources and tutorials, Purdue\u2019s online advisors meet online graduate students where they are and assist them in charting a path to success. Similarly, success coaches also work to ensure online graduate students are successful by providing holistic support \u2014 from helping them overcome life challenges to assisting with time management and motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This article will explore the differences between advisors and success coaches and how each role serves online students throughout their educational journeys at Purdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Academic advisors are student support professionals who help students make informed decisions about their academic and professional paths by assisting them with choosing classes, creating a course schedule, program planning and navigating degree requirements. They make it easier for students to understand the requirements of their academic programs and the milestones needed to graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For online students, advising is particularly important because they are completing programs away from campus, often while they\u2019re working full time and balancing other responsibilities. According to Faith Giordano and Courtney McCarrey, academic advisors for Purdue\u2019s online graduate programs, it\u2019s important for advisors to meet online students where they are and provide individualized support that takes into account their unique circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBarriers change and fluctuate for each student,\u201d said McCarrey. \u201cWe have some students that have studied online before and know the ropes, and other students who may have been out of school for decades. We get to know our students so that we can provide them with the best possible advice and support.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the major forms of support advisors provide is helping online students create a balanced academic schedule<\/strong>. The amount of courses online students take every semester depends on how many hours they\u2019re working at their jobs, whether they have family responsibilities to manage and how quickly they want to move through the program. In many cases, online students might need extra guidance and resources when planning their schedules so they can strike a successful balance between school and life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith working professionals, time management is a big concern,\u201d said Giordano. \u201cThere\u2019s lots of factors we consider \u2014 are they learning a new subject? Do they have previous experience? What\u2019s going on in their lives? All of that will influence how we advise them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Online students are often working adults studying part time, and needing to take time off <\/strong>is common, whether it\u2019s for a medical procedure or the birth of a new child. Purdue\u2019s advisors can help online students navigate how to take time off<\/strong> without falling off track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of the biggest benefits of studying online is the flexibility,\u201d said Giordano. \u201cWe help them utilize that flexibility so they can live their lives and still accomplish their goals.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Online advisors also help online students feel a connection to campus<\/strong>, no matter how far away they are. At Purdue, online advisors build special resources for online students so they can stay engaged while doing distance learning. Through encouraging face-to-face meetings, online advisors keep students motivated and accountable<\/strong>, and they build relationships that make online students feel seen and valued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are always strategizing about the best ways to reach online students,\u201d said McCarrey. \u201cWe create a lot of resources that are for online students specifically, and we build relationships. It\u2019s cool getting to talk to students regularly and seeing their excitement about what they\u2019re learning and how they can use it in their careers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like advisors, Purdue\u2019s success coaches also work closely with students to help them accomplish their academic and professional goals. However, success coaches specialize in providing holistic support to students. This support can take a myriad of forms \u2014 from helping students overcome personal challenges<\/strong> to assisting them with networking<\/strong> and career planning<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Kiley Kallenberger and Jamie Solomon, online student success coaches at Purdue University, success coaches provide online students with a robust network of support that can help them balance their responsibilities, navigate challenging situations and celebrate their wins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe act like mentors,\u201d said Solomon. \u201cWe provide both personal and professional support, and we help online students find a balance between school and their lives.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the ways success coaches help online students strike a healthy balance is by assisting them with goal-setting, time management<\/strong> and motivation<\/strong>. Studying online can be a culture shock for first-time online students, and success coaches can demonstrate how students can practice proactive planning and follow-through. Success coaches do this by working with online students to create schedules, overcome barriers and find what motivates them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve had students who were at a really high level in their jobs, and they can struggle a lot with time management because they\u2019re just so busy,\u201d said Kallenberger. \u201cSo we can sit down and make a schedule and decided, day by day, what the student should be focused on. It\u2019s really individualized support.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Success coaches also provide online students with emotional support<\/strong> when life gets tough. Whether a student is encountering a personal challenge or dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster in their home state, success coaches schedule consistent meetings and check-ins that ensure students feel cared for and connected to the campus community, even if they live thousands of miles away. In their check-ins, success coaches practice active listening <\/strong>and problem solving, <\/strong>giving students whatever resources they need to overcome a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLife doesn\u2019t stop, even when you\u2019re going to school,\u201d said Solomon. \u201cIt feels good to know when life happens, online students have support and help navigating those challenges.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n At Purdue, success coaches create specialized <\/strong>networking events<\/strong><\/a> and socialization opportunities<\/strong> that connect online students to resources on campus and Purdue\u2019s vast alumni and student network. Both Kallenberger and Solomon work with online students to ensure they receive all the benefits that on-campus Purdue students receive, and they create spaces where online students can connect with one another for advice and support. Through creating these opportunities, Purdue\u2019s success coaches ensure that online students feel like they belong at Purdue, even if they\u2019re located somewhere else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnline students are just as much Boilermakers as every other student on campus,\u201d said Solomon. \u201cThey just happen to be taking a program in a different modality. They deserve our commitment to providing the highest quality services to them as online learners” <\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn more about online student resources at Purdue University, visit our website.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Earning a graduate degree is a huge personal accomplishment, requiring countless hours of hard work and careful planning. For online graduate students, this is especially true, since many of them spend over 20 hours a week on graduate coursework while working full time. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":8052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,71,72],"tags":[],"area-of-study":[],"person":[75,74],"class_list":["post-8051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-student-success","category-teaching-learning","person-faculty-staff","person-students"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1.jpg",1800,1350,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1.jpg",1800,1350,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1.jpg",1800,1350,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1-1024x768.jpg",1024,768,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1.jpg",1800,1350,false],"rt_custom":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSCF1937-1.jpg",1800,1350,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"RM Barton","author_link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/author\/barton53\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Features<\/a> Student Success<\/a> Teaching & Learning<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Earning a graduate degree is a huge personal accomplishment, requiring countless hours of hard work and careful planning. For online graduate students, this is especially true, since many of them spend over 20 hours a week on graduate coursework while working full time.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8051"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8088,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8051\/revisions\/8088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8051"},{"taxonomy":"area-of-study","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area-of-study?post=8051"},{"taxonomy":"person","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person?post=8051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Success Coaching\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n