The History and Organization of Academic

Advising

Dr. Nancy KingKennesaw State University

The Global Community for Academic Advising

The History and Organization of Advising

1. What are they?

2. Why are they important?

3. What must we do to get the most out of 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.“

It is now the1880sand the first formal advising program is

established 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 . . .Prescriptive advising

“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

The 1970s and Developmental Advising

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

Or try this 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 mere scheduling

• Drew on student development theory• Emphasized individual student

growth• Emphasized shared responsibility

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 Definition of Advising

http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/definitions.htm

• Multi-dimensional and intentional• Grounded in teaching and learning• Has its own purpose and content• Has specified outcomes for student

learning

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

We want students. . . • To value the learning process• To apply decision-making strategies• To put the college experience into

perspective• To set priorities and evaluate events• To develop thinking and learning skills• To make choices

NACADA Core Values

Academic Advising (as with 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.”

• Exploration of educational and career goals

• Exploration of life goals• Selection of an academic direction• Selection of classes• Scheduling of classes

Students are NOT customers!

Students, unlike customers,are not always right. The role of the teacher/advisoris to produce “benign disruption”or “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 Basic Types of Conversations Advisors Have

with Students1. Conversations that are informational:• University policies and procedures• Requirements• Important dates and deadlines• Programs of study

All 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 managements, e.g.)• Level of involvement in the life of the

institution

3. Conversations about the future• Goal setting and helping them answer

questions: 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?The power of relationshipswith the advisor and with the faculty (get to knowa faculty memberreasonably well)

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 exactly do you mean by “a great

education”?• Why do you want to major in English,

in Accounting, in Political Science?• How could joining a campus

organization help you meet your personal and career goals?

• What kinds of electives would be a good supplement to your education?

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.

And. . . .

• 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

• 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.

Wes Habley once famously said

“Academic advising provides assistance in mediating the dissonance between student expectations and the realities of the educational experience.”

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

The Premises

Academic Advising is central to the delivery of services to students

“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 Models

Congruence between the mission and the organization of advising is key to the successful delivery of advising services.

There is no one best model. All are potentially effective for the delivery of advising services, depending on the organizational context.

C. F. Pardee

Organizational Models for Academic Advising

• Decentralized

• Centralized

• Shared

Decentralized—Faculty Only Model

Student Faculty

Decentralized—Satellite Model

Centralized—Self-Contained Model

Student A

AdvisingStudent B Office

Shared—Supplementary Model

Advising Office

Student

Faculty

Shared—Split Model

Student A Advising Academic Office

Sub-unit

Student B Academic Sub-unit

Shared—Dual Model

Shared—Total Intake Model

Student Advising Office Academic Sub-Unit

Summary of all Organizational Models

• Split 27%• Faculty only 25%• Supplementary 17%• Self-contained 14%• Satellite 7%• Total intake 6%• Dual 5%

From ACT’s 6th National Survey of Advising

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 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

The Hub

Active Outreach to Students

Advisors 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 really 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 isolationAdvising must involve active

outreach to studentsAdvising is important to institutions

in demonstrating accountability to various constituencies

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