What is Millennial Generation

With the vast majority of higher education institutions now being populated with millennial students and distance learners, it is necessary to change the way academic advising is conducted on the typical college campus. Howe and Strauss (2000) define millennial students as the generation born from 1982-2000. These students are known for being technologically confident and overly involved in scheduled activities (Howe & Strauss, 2003). The millennial generation spends less time than earlier generations on creative play and watching television, and more time on the computer and involved in structured activities. In addition, more students are enrolling in courses that are conducted online via the Internet instead of in the traditional classroom setting. These students are known as distance learners. This population needs to be successfully advised, even though they may never physically step foot on their degree granting college campus, has become a focus of higher educational institutions. Most distance learners are working adults who have other responsibilities, such as families. More millennials are also being drawn to online education because of the time flexibility it offers students (Steele, 2005).