About the Brief
Students who have experienced foster care (SEFC) can face distinct challenges as they navigate higher education, making informed and responsive institutional support especially important. Academic advisors are uniquely positioned to connect students with resources, strengthen communication and outreach, and help create more supportive pathways toward persistence and success.
Advancing Advising Practices to Support Students Who Have Experienced Foster Care explores how institutions and academic advisors can strengthen support for SEFC. Drawing on recent research, policy reviews, and insights from 28 practitioners across higher education and SEFC-focused support organizations, the brief grounds its findings in both lived experience and day-to-day practice.
The brief provides actionable guidance for advisors and institutions, including approaches for leveraging data to identify and support SEFC, strengthening professional development, mapping campus resources and networks, enhancing student outreach and communication, and developing proactive direct support strategies. Together, these practices can help institutions build more inclusive and responsive systems that support SEFC from enrollment and persistence through their transition to the workforce.
The Advising Success Network, an initiative of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, is proud to support this resource.
Explore the accompanying blog by Molly Sarubbi, author of the brief, for additional insights on building more intentional support for students who have experienced foster care.
Read: From Good Intentions to Intentional Practice: Supporting Students Who Have Experienced Foster Care