Online Advising Toolkit

Through online advising with Zoom, faculty advisors can support students wherever they are. 

You can set up an easy-to-use, online room to meet with your students through Zoom. This room provides web cam video, voice/audio, text-based chat and document sharing. 

Learn about how to use Zoom and how to set up your personal meeting room. We recommend that you set both host and participant video settings for your Personal Meeting Room to ON, by default.

Once you have Zoom set up, here’s how to continue with the online advising process. 

Advisors should have a firm grasp of advising pedagogy before they begin offering online advising services. Contact Advising Services at 507.457.5878 or advising@winona.edu for support in understanding your role as an advisor.

Set Up Online Appointments

Send your student the Join URL to your meeting room in advance and encourage the student to arrive five minutes before the start of the meeting. Consider using earbuds or a headset to avoid feedback. 

We also recommend sending your student a phone number to call in case they are not able to join due to technical difficulties.

Begin Your Meeting

Here’s a few tips to start your meeting successfully: 

1. Consider plugging in your computer to the Ethernet to ensure a high-quality connection.
2. Sign in to Zoom 
3. Confirm this is the correct student using photo or some other form of identification (last 4 of SSN, Warrior ID, DOB, etc.) 
4. To ensure student privacy, check to make sure you have only one student signed-in.

With these steps completed, you will be ready to start the advising portion of your meeting.

Troubleshoot During Your Meeting

No matter how familiar you are with Zoom, technical problems can arise. Try these suggestions if you experience technical difficulties.

• Can’t See the Meeting Options? Keep your mouse on the video to see options for screen sharing, chat and more.
• Trouble sharing a document? Sharing the screen is a simple method for reviewing documents. 
• Student video not working or choppy? The student may not have high speed internet access. Consider not using video if this is the case. If you are using a wireless connection, plug into the Ethernet to see if this resolves the issue. 
• Sound issues? If sound isn’t working, consider using the chat function to communicate, or have the student call you via phone. If you are getting feedback, both participants should use earbuds or a headset. 
• Still stuck? Call TLT at 507.457.5240.