Advising Resource Center (ARC)

April Gonzalez, Director of Advising and Articulation Agreements
Contact Ms. Gonzalez for advising assistance at gonzalezad@roanestate.edu or by phone at 865-354-3000 Ext. 2310.
April has over 20 years experience advising and counseling students with roles in career services and academic advising in higher education. She holds a Master of Education degree in College Student Personnel from the Ohio University, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Maryville College. She enjoys helping students discover their dreams and devising plans to help them achieve those goals.
April is a first generation college graduate, who loves baking, and spending time in the quiet relaxation of her back yard in her free time.
Tips for success:
- Don't be afraid to take risks, and try something new. You never know what you might learn.
- Ask lots of questions. There are tons of resources at Roane State to assist you with your educational goals. So don't hesitate to ask for assistance.
- Take a break every once in a while, and enjoy this time in your life.
- Find your sources of support, and lean on them for help.
- Get to know your faculty. Go see them during office hours. Ask questions and speak up if you need assistance with a subject.
Random fact about April: She studied abroad while in college at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. Ask about her experiences and her time in Japan.

Donna Lanham, Advising Systems Analyst
Contact Ms. Lanham at lanhamdk@roanestate.edu or by phone at 865-882-4597.
Donna Lanham, Advising Systems Analyst, is located in B-115A at the Oak Ridge Campus. Donna has over 20 years of experience in Student Records. She is responsible for programming the DegreeWorks audit software, and maintaining curriculum and course prerequisite updates. Donna holds two Associate’s degrees from Pellissippi State, and a BS degree in Professional Studies from Austin Peay State University.
She enjoys scrapbooking, digital photography and traveling as time permits.
Tips for Success
- Investigate what works for you organization wise, and use that system for yourself daily. Write it down or put it in your phone notes.
- When you’re feeling overwhelmed, do a brain dump either on paper or in a word document. No judgement or planning just start writing what is running through your head. When you’re done, look at what you wrote and notice tasks. Put those items in order of importance and break them down into baby steps to get them done.
- If you need help, ask for it. There is no shame in that, ever! Also, there are no stupid questions, someone else is just too scared to ask.
Random fact about Donna: Donna can thread a 35mm movie theatre projector and splice movie film reels. She also ran camera for local news stations WBIR and WVLT in 1990’s.
What We Do
The Advising Resource Center serves as a resource to faculty, staff and returning or incoming transfer students. Our staff supports faculty advising, university transfer partners, curriculum development and DegreeWorks. We are located at the Oak Ridge Branch Campus in the Coffey-McNally Building, B115-B and B115-A. Assistance at the main campus in Harriman and satellite campuses is available on a rotational basis.
What Students Can Expect from the Advising Resource Center Staff (ARC)
- Knowledgable about Roane State curriculum, graduation requirements, college policies and procedures and be able to communicate these effectively.
- Connecting students with their faculty advisor for advising assistance, working with students when their faculty advisor is not available (summer or winter breaks) and navigating through issues or questions related to a student's faculty advisor.
- Accessible via in-person office hours, telephone, e-mail or web access.
- Helping students define and set realistic goals and co-create educational plans to achieve those goals.
- Supporting students by providing referrals to appropriate offices on-campus or services to assist them through their educational journey.
- Assisting students with gaining decision making skills and taking ownership of their educational plans and achievements.
- Providing accurate and prompt information.
- Maintaining confidentiality.
- Celebrating and supporting student success.
- Training faculty advisors on college curriculum, graduation requirements, academic policies and procedures and supporting students in their capacity as academic advisors.
- Developing relationships with 4 year institutions for transfer pathways for students to continue achieving their educational goals.
What Do We Expect of Students
- Schedule and attend advising appointments with your faculty advisor prior to the registration period for the next term.
- Utlize DegreeWorks or the Academic Programs and Requirements Guides to research courses, prerequisites and corequisites required to complete your degree and track your progress toward graduation.
- Come prepared to your advising appointments with questions and concerns and prepared to discuss your goals and educational plans.
- Be aware of College deadlines such as the last day to add a class for the full-term or last day to withdraw from a class for the semester. Pay attention to these dates in the Academic Calendar.
- Follow-up on referrals or information provided by your faculty advisor or the ARC, and be sure to update your advisor on your progress.
- Be an active participant in the advising process.
- Plan ahead for your future educational goals and learn what may be required for you to transfer to a 4 year institution to complete your degree. Seek out assistance early from your planned 4 year institution to find out what classes would benefit you at Roane State to make the transfer process go smoother and work with your Roane State faculty advisor or the ARC to plan accordingly.
- Take responsibility for your decisions, academic performance and actions.
Appreciative Advising
The Advising Resource Center (ARC) is committed to utlizing the appreciative advising framework. Appreciative advising relies on the organizational development theory of appreciative inquiry and positive psychology to build relationships between advisors and students, understand the student's perspective, and assists the student in setting and achieving goals for success. Learn more about the Appreciative Advising Framework.