The History and Organization of Academic

Advising

Maura ReynoldsHope College

The Global Community

for Academic Advising

A BIG THANKS to Nancy King

The History and Organization of Advising

1. What are they?

2. Why are they important?

3. How can we get the most from them?

Perspective on Advising

“Good advising may be the single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience.”

Richard Light, Making the Most of College, 2001

Potential of Advising

Let’s Take a Trip Down Memory

Lane

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

The Year Was 1636 An early brochure of Harvard

College justified its existence: "To advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches.“

In 1841, Kenyon College (Ohio) uses the term

“advisor”

On to the1880s,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 & 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 EducationAssociation 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 & 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

It’s WAY beyond rocket science

“College is more than a collection of courses or a ticket to a trade.”• Exploring educational and career goals• Exploring life goals• Selecting an academic direction• Selecting classes• Developing skills• Taking full advantage of opportunities• Scheduling of classes

Students are NOT customers

Students, unlike customers,are not always right. The role of the teacher/advisoris to identify the “gaps” to create “cognitive dissonance.”

“I told you I needed an “A” on my history exam.”

At the heart of advising isthe art of conversation

Definition:“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:

•University 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?

When you ask around. . . . What does good advising involve?

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

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 and 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.

“Advising is viewed as a way to connect students to the campus and help them feel that someone is looking out for them.”

George KuhStudent Success in College

• 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 What, Why, and How Questions

Why Students Leave• Academic boredom• Personal reasons• Academic under- preparedness• Uncertainty about major/career• Transition/adjustment difficulties• Failure to connect with the institution

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

Factors that promote retention (continued)

• Students bonding with an institution• Faculty and professional advisors

having an understanding of the principles of human learning and development

• Advisors assisting students in developing realistic expectations.

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

“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

How is advising organized?

There is no one best model. All are potentially effective for the delivery of advising services…

C. F. Pardee

2011 Survey of Advising: 817 Respondents

•A "faculty only" model is more common at 4 year baccalaureate colleges (35%); and 4 year colleges/universities who do not grant PhDs (20%)•"Centralized units" staffed mostly by professional advisors or counselors are more common at PhD-granting universities (40%); and at 2 year colleges (33%)

And the survey says…

• For all responding institutions, some sort of a "shared model" was the most common structure indicated—53%– some students (undecided or transfer or

probation or undeclared or ??) advised in a center with faculty advising declared majors--true for half of the respondents who indicated a shared model

– a variety of other shared models, with professional advisors (in a center, a department, or a college) dividing responsibilities (in differing ways) with faculty advisors

What else did we learn about the organization of advising?

• 10% of the respondents use peer advisors in some way

• At 86% of the responding colleges, at least some faculty advise in some way

• Several struggled to describe their structures—13% wrote in more information to try to describe; 14% indicated 2 or more models used

Four Questions to considerabout modeling and

remodeling

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

responsibilities divided?

The Organization• Create a shared vision of student success that

is embedded in the institution’s mission and culture

• Set high standards for students inside and outside the classroom and balance challenge with support

• Provide complementary policies, practices, and resources to support students academically and socially

Academic advisors should play strategic roles in these important initiatives

The CollaborationAdvising 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

The Hub

Active Outreach to StudentsAdvisors should be. . . .• Available and accessible• Proactive• Caring and concerned

“Intrusive” or proactive advising is based on the philosophy that we should not wait for students to get into trouble before reaching out to them.”

Robert Glennon

What do students want from an advisor?

Accurate information “Do they know?”

Accessibility “Are they there?”

Caring attitude “Do they care?”

AccountabilityWhy 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 in four years

Conclusions; or,We’ve come a long way, baby

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

Good advising involves active outreach to students

Advising is important to institutions in demonstrating accountability

This Week at the Summer Institute

• Advising as teaching and learning• Retention issues in student persistence• Research in advising• The administration of advising• Applying student development theories to

advising• Selection and training/professional development

of professional and faculty advisors• Development of advising materials• Assessment of effectiveness (advisors and

programs)• Legal and ethical issues of advising• Advising various student populations

Parting Thought One Academic 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