Lessons on Advising and Coaching in Colleges and Workforce Development Programs - Research-and Practice-Informed Strategies for Program Administrators

Oct 15, 2026

Guidance for college and workforce program administrators on designing and delivering effective advising and coaching. The brief explains how advising and coaching objectives differ yet overlap, then outlines what strong services share: a holistic approach, proactive outreach and frequent meetings, relationship-based support, and use of data to monitor participation. It draws lessons from MDRC research and technical assistance, illustrating strategies through examples such as CUNY ASAP and the MyGoals employment coaching model.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

What Are Advising and Coaching?

What Do Effective Advising and Coaching Look Like?

Holistic Approaches and Proactive Support

Illustrative Examples in College and Workforce Programs

Lessons on Advising and Coaching in Colleges and Workforce Development Programs Research-and Practice-Informed Strategies for Program Administrators JUNE 2026 Susan Scrivener Alyssa Ratledge A s people strive to succeed in postsecondary education and employ ment, they can face considerable challenges. Various academic, work, and personal issues can interfere with a student’s ability to stay in school and graduate and with a worker’s ability to find a job, stay employed, and advance. Community and technical colleges commonly provide advising and coaching to support students in navigating these obstacles. Workforce development programs and other programs designed to help people find and retain jobs often include coaching as a component as well. The nonprofit research organization MDRC—a leader in developing and applying evidence to improve policies and programs that serve people with low incomes—has decades of experience evaluating programs that include advising and coaching. MDRC also designs advising and coaching interventions and provides technical assistance to colleges, university systems, state agencies, and workforce development programs. Through this work, MDRC has found that advising and coaching are central to many programs that improve college and workforce outcomes, but how these services are implemented matters.1 Drawing from MDRC’s research, program design, and technical assistance work, this brief shares lessons for LESSONS ON ADVISING AND COACHING IN COLLEGES AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 2 college and workforce program administrators about advising and coaching. The lessons are synthetic, across advising and coaching and across the two policy domains. The brief also provides illustrative examples from colleges and workforce programs. What Are Advising and Coaching? In colleges, the objectives of academic advising and coaching are distinct, but often overlap. Academic advising provides information about and helps students take action on matters such as college policies and procedures, degree requirements, educational goals, and registration for courses. Advising sometimes also takes into account issues in students’ lives outside of school (often called “developmental academic advising”) .2 Coaching for college students can include attention to academic issues but tends to focus on nonacademic issues such as personal and professional goals, strengths and skills, and factors that may interfere with school, such as work and family responsibilities.3 Advising and coaching services for college students are typically provided by college staff members or, occasionally, by outside organizations.4 In workforce development programs and other programs designed to help people secure employment, coaches can help participants prepare for and search for jobs and can provide support to help people stay employed and advance. Broadly speaking, colleges and workforce programs provide advising and coaching to help individuals as they try to build skills and knowledge, obtain credentials, and secure and retain meaningful employment. What Do Effective Advising and Coaching Look Like? Strong advising and coaching services—whether they are for college students, job seekers, or workers—use a holistic approach, involve proactive outreach and frequent meetings, are built upon a strong relationship between staff members and participants, and use data to track participation. Generally, MDRC has found that strong advising and coaching services—whether they are for college students, job seekers, or workers—use a holistic approach, involve proactive outreach and frequent meetings, are built upon a strong relationship between staff members and participants, and use data to track participation. These lessons, along with illustrative examples, are discussed below. • A holistic approach to advising and coaching helps address participants’ varied needs and recognizes the interconnectedness of different parts of peo

FAQs

How do advising and coaching differ in colleges, and where do they overlap?

Academic advising focuses on information and actions related to college policies, degree requirements, educational goals, and course registration, sometimes including nonacademic life factors. Coaching can also address academic issues but typically emphasizes nonacademic goals, strengths, and barriers such as work and family responsibilities, so the services often overlap in practice.

What characteristics define effective advising and coaching services?

Strong services use a holistic approach, involve proactive outreach and frequent meetings, rely on strong staff-participant relationships, and use data to track participation and engagement.

How does a holistic approach improve outcomes for participants?

A holistic approach addresses varied and interconnected needs rather than narrow problems. The brief illustrates this through CUNY ASAP, where advisers are trained to guide students across academic topics and soft skills, and where students report receiving most or all needed support.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway