Academic Advising

Exploring past, present, future

Maura ReynoldsHope College

In medieval times, a preceptor shared his

knowledge with his students

In 1841, Kenyon College (Ohio)

uses the term “advisor”

In the 1880s,a system of faculty

advisors was established at Johns Hopkins.

“Advising is a process with a long and dignified history in colleges and

universities…it is a most cordially hated activity by the majority of college

teachers.”Personnel and Guidance Journal, 1953

In the 1960s,two new delivery systems

were introduced

Centralized advising centers

Peer & professional advisors

In 1972, Terry O’Banion outlined

five dimensions of advising

life goalsvocational goalsprogram choicescourse choices

scheduling options

In 1977,300 people attended a national meeting

about academic advising.

Over the next 2 years, NACADA was established.

In 1970s and 1980s, developmental

advising: Became the dominant paradigm Extended advising beyond scheduling

Drew on student development theory

Emphasized shared responsibility

Learning-Centered d

Advising• Academically focused• Student focused• Mission focused• Advisors = facilitators• Students = active

2006

“Academic advising is integral to fulfilling the teaching and

learning mission of higher education.”

NACADA Concept of Academic AdvisingPreamble, 2006

“An excellent advisor does the same for the

student’s entire curriculum that the

excellent teacher does for one course.”

Marc Lowenstein, 2005

“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

1988

Advising focuses on enhancing students’

efforts to make sense of their education

as a whole, not as a series of isolated experiences or items on a

checklist.

Learning-centered advising raises questions like

What should students learn through advising?

How might they learn these things?

Why is this learning important—for students and our institutions?

learning-centered advising aims to

help students make connections among courses and experiences and integrate their learning

help students articulate the skills they are developing

help students identify realistic goals & pathways to reach them

learning-centered advising aims to

foster students’ self-assessment

help students understand the relevance of their education to their lives

help students make sense of their experiences & make good decisions about them

What excellent teachers do:

• Actively engage students in learning

• Teach students how to evaluate information

• Give feedback, encouragement, reinforcement

• Show knowledge, interest, enthusiasm

Advisors ask What, Why, and How Questions

• How are you changing as a result of your education?

• 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?

“At key points…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, Making the Most of College

In recent years… colleges and universities have been working to become more intentional both about the purposes of education and about the

practices that help today’s students succeed in college.

Peer Review, Toward Intentionality and Integration, Fall 2008, Carol Geary Schneider

“It’s hard to imagine any academic function

more important to student success and

institutional productivity than

advising.”George Kuh, The student learning agenda NACADA

Journal,1997

Students who met with their academic

advisors at least twice during the academic year engaged more

frequently in educationally

purposeful activities.National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

2007

Students who rated advising as “good” or “excellent” were more likely to interact with faculty considered their environment more supportive overall gained more from college in most areas

NSSE, 2005

“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, 1993

Advising is a tag-team activity

Institutions need to Create a shared vision of student

success, embedded in the mission and culture

Set high expectations for students, in and out of the classroom, and balance challenge and support

Establish policies, practices, resources to support student success.

Advisors should play important roles in these initiatives!

Four questions to consider when organizing or reorganizing advising

Who is advised? Who advises? Where is advising done? How are advising responsibilities divided?

Advising is more important than ever—issues now and

in the future Cost of higher education Changing regulations State of economy and job market Expectations of students and families Pressure to retain and graduate “on

time” Increasing demands; decreasing

resources

Peer/group advising/career planning Advising special populations (rising

potentials, first-years, undecideds) Engaging students with technology

and social media Developing advising handbooks Developing a mission statement Ethical aspects of advising Applying development theories Assessment-retention-development