Topic Area: Student Success
Presented by: Jordyn Salerno
Abstract:
Motivational Interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2002) is a counseling method used to engage individuals collaboratively, exploring their internal motivations for change. Recently, Motivational Interviewing has entered the field of higher education in functional areas such as student conduct, health promotion, residence life, and academic advising as a useful tool in intentional work with students who are experiencing uncertainty. Motivational Interviewing flips the script on behavior modification and decision making, meeting the unique needs of all individuals by guiding students in understanding what they need to succeed. In higher education- where students are consistently experiencing uncertainty in situations such as accessing resources, asking for help, picking a major, or making decisions that influence their future more broadly, higher education professionals can use Motivational Interviewing to illicit students' internal motivations, and guide them in creating intentional action plans that they are empowered to commit to. This round table session will review the Motivational Interviewing approach and then facilitate a discussion on using Motivational Interviewing as a tool in retention and persistence, to in turn positively influence student success in higher education.
