A Road to Student Engagement: Engineering Student Services Coffee Chat

The Need
The 2025 SEAP survey results indicate that students are looking for more personalized advising. Research on students' experience with academic advising supports this finding (Higgins, 2017; Walker et al., 2017).
The Plan

In addition to our regularly scheduled in-office, drop-in advising, we planned to offer weekly 2-hour drop-in times to meet with Academic Advisors in a more casual setting.

We planned to host the session in a space where students often meet to study and socialize, reducing the burden on students to come to us.

Activities include: ice breakers, individual and small group discussions, program planning, FAQs, and how to navigate the Student Services website.

Communication Strategy
  • Scheduled Instagram posts the day before each event
  • Advertised on TV slides in the DICE building
  • Emailed students directly with all Coffee Chats dates and advertised through student newsletters
Incentive
Free coffee, tea, and snacks! But also, an easy way to get questions answered.
Pivots
Due to constraints on staff capacity, we reduced our coffee chat to bi-weekly in the Winter 2026 term. To attract more students, we moved to the Engineering Incubator, which increased our visibility. The room has glass walls and is therefore more visible to students walking by.
Results: Questions + Engagement

Students have diverse questions ranging from how to calculate GPA to how to access mental health supports, discipline placement questions, and how to manage stress and burnout. 

12-15 students on average attend each session. During peak times. 25+ students drop in. 

Students stay for ~15 minutes. Some stay longer to hang out and relax. 

Results: Student Feedback

"I prefer Coffee Chat much more than drop-ins as drop-ins feel so professional and focused while in Coffee Chat I feel I can be more comfortable and open minded."

"The location was convenient for students to drop in."

"Coffee Chat made it easy to ask a simple question with less time commitment."

"Sometimes it's uncomfortable to book an appointment knowing you're going to be sitting across from a desk, so this is a good and casual way to connect with people." 

Looking Forward
We hope to increase capacity to offer more Coffee Chats at a variety of times, giving students greater flexibility for connecting with us. 
References

Higgins, M. (2017). The advising relationship is at the core of academic advising. NACADA. https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/The-Advising-Relationship-is-at-the-Core-of-Academic-Advising.aspx

Walker, R. V., Zelin, A. I., Behrman, C., & Strnad, R. (2017). Qualitative analysis of student perceptions: “Some advisors care. Some don’t.” NACADA Journal, 37(2), 44–54. https://doi.org/10.12930/NACADA-15-027