Dr. Nancy KingKennesaw State University

The Global Community

for Academic Advising

Academic Advising: Past, Present and Future

We begin in medieval times when a preceptor imparted his knowledge to students

In 1841, Kenyon College (Ohio) uses the term “advisor”

On to the 1880s,when a system of faculty advisors

was set up at Johns Hopkins.

The Year Was 1953

“Advising is a process with a long and dignified history in colleges and universities . . . involving, as often does, tedious clerical work

combined with hit and run conferences with students on curricula. It is a most cordially hated activity by the majority of college teachers.”

M S. Maclean, Personnel and Guidance Journal

And in 1960 . . .

“The task of advising is concentrated in the opening

days of registration and enrollment and consists of aiding students in the selection

of courses.” Asa Knowles, Handbook of College and University Administrators

1960s

While faculty advising was still the primary delivery system for academic advising, two new delivery systems were introduced:

centralized advising centers peer and professional advising

1972

Advising is “concerned with not only the specific personal or vocational decision but with facilitating the student’s rational processes, environmental and interpersonal interactions, behavioral awareness, and problem-solving, decision-making and evaluation skills.”

Burns Crookston

In 1972, Terry O’Banion outlined five dimensions of academic advising:

●Exploration of life goals ● Exploration of vocational goals ● Exploration of program choices ● Exploration of course choices ● Exploration of scheduling options

In 1977, over 300 people attended a national meeting

on academic advising.

Over the next two years,NACADA was established.

A 1984 Definition

“A systematic process based on a close student-advisor

relationship intended to aid students in achieving educational, career, and personal goals through the use of the full range of

institutional and community resources.”

Winston, Miller, Ender, and Grites

In the 1970s and 80s, developmental advising:

• Became a dominant advising paradigm• Extended advising beyond scheduling• Drew on student development theory• Emphasized individual student growth• Emphasized shared responsibility

In 1988

“Perhaps the most urgent reform on most campuses in improving general education involves academic advising. To have programs and courses become coherent and significant to students requires adequate advising.”

Task Force on General Education Association of American Colleges

A new approach ~A new focus

“An excellent advisor does the same for the student’s entire curriculum that the excellent teacher does for

one course.”

Marc Lowenstein, 2005

NACADA Concept of Academic Advising Preamble

(2006)

“Academic advising is integral to fulfilling the teaching and learning mission of higher education.”

Through academic advising, students learn

• to become members of their higher education community, • to think critically about their roles and responsibilities as students, and • to prepare to be educated citizens of a democratic society and a global community.

“Academic advising engages students beyond their own world views, while acknowledging their individual characteristics, values, and motivations as they enter, move through, and exit the institution.”

Focus on the advisee as learner

What is it we want our students to demonstrate they

• Know• Are able to do• Value and appreciate

as a result of academic advising?

Advising as Teaching and Learning

Through advising, we want students. . .

• To value the learning process• To learn and use decision-making strategies• To put the college experience into perspective• To set and evaluate priorities • To develop thinking and learning skills

NACADA Core Values

Academic Advising (like the academic curriculum) should promote student learning and development by encouraging experiences that lead to:

• Intellectual growth• The ability to communicate effectively• Leadership development• The ability to work independently and collaboratively•Appropriate career choices

Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education

At the heart of advising isthe art of conversation

“The art of conversation is the ability tocreate a dialogue that others will willingly join.”

Knowing the language is essential to conversation

“You cannot enter any world for which you do not have the language.”

Wittgenstein

Three Types of Conversations Advisors Have with Students

1. Conversations that are informational:

• Policies and procedures• Requirements• Important dates and deadlines• Programs of study

Too often advising conversations stop here and do not progress to the next two types.

2. Conversations about the individual student

Core values Aptitudes/interests Strengths Areas for improvement (study skills, time management, oral competency)

Level of involvement in the life of the institution

3. Conversations about the future

What do I want my future to be?(career and personal

life)

What steps do I need to make this future a reality?

How am I changing as a result of my education?

A meaningful relationship,a connection with anadvisor (and with the faculty)

What does good advising involve?

It also means. . . .

Making connections between advising and students’ personal lives

“At key points in their college years, an academic advisor asked questions, or posed a challenge that forced students to think about the relationship of their academic work to their personal lives.” Richard Light,

2001

It’s More than Scheduling

Advising conversations that extend beyond course selection, scheduling, and registration into “Bigger Ideas” are those that students find most helpful and that contribute to student persistence.

• Why are you at this college/university?• What are your goals for your education?• Why do you want to major in English, in

Accounting, in Political Science?• How can you make the most of your

time in college?• What skills are you developing? What

skills do you need to develop, and how will you do this?

Advisors Ask the Why, What,

and How Questions

Advising and Retention

“Effective retention programs have come to understand that academic advising is at the very core of successful institutional efforts to educate and retain students.”

Vincent Tinto

Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student

Attrition

Retention Is Related to

• Excellent classroom instruction and student interaction with faculty

• Caring attitude of faculty and staff

Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Retention is also related to…

• The level and quality of student interaction with their peers through,

e.g., learning communities, extracurricular activities, collaborations between academic affairs and student affairs

• Early intervention• Assistance with external pressures,

both personal and financial

Advising that contributes to student success and retention. . . • Is a student-centered process

focused on teaching and learning

• Facilitates behavioral awareness and problem-solving, decision-

making and evaluation skills• Encourages both short and long-term

goal setting• Makes students feel they matter• Stresses a shared responsibility with

students making decisions for themselves

Graduation Rate Outcomes Study

• No one “magic bullet” guarantees success in retention, persistence, and graduation rates.

• Success, instead, means carefully reading the campus culture, aligning

people and programs and making a collective commitment to be in it for the long haul.

AASCU, Student Success in State Colleges and Universities, 2005

“Advising should be at the core of the institution’s educational mission rather than layered on as a service.”

Robert Berdahl, New Directions for Teaching and Learning

The Hub

The Collaboration

Advising requires coordination and collaboration among units across campus that provide student support/services.

“Every time you see a turtle on a fencepost, you know it didn’t get there by itself.” Alex Haley

Four Questions to Considerin Organizing Advising

Programs

1. Who is advised?2. Who advises?3. Where is advising done?4. How are advising

responsibilities divided?

The Future of Academic Advising

Why academic advising is more important than ever

• Rising costs of higher education• The current state of our economy• Changing expectations of students

and families• Increasing pressure from states for

students to graduate “on time”

Conclusions

View of advising has dramatically evolved and broadened over time

Advising is now focused on teaching and learning

Advising assists students with career/life planning and deals with “big” issues

Although not a magic bullet, advising is clearly related to student persistence

Advising is the hub of the student services wheel

Advising cannot be done in isolation—it is a tag-team activity

Advising is increasingly important to institutions in demonstrating accountability (i.e. retention, graduation)

Parting Thought OneAcademic Advising is “perhaps the only

structured campus endeavor that can guarantee interaction with a caring and concerned adult who can help them shape a meaningful learning experience for themselves.” Hunter and White

Parting Thought Two

With the right approach come the right results.

The Mental Game of Baseball