Bottomsup: Techniques in Creating an Ongoing, Campuswide Academic Advisor Training Program

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Bottoms-up Techniques in Creating an Ongoing,
Campus-wide Academic Advisor Training Program

• NACADA Annual Conference
• October 6, 2005

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DEFINITIONS OF ACADEMIC ADVISING
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ACT (1984)

• Academic advising is a developmental process
  which assists students in the clarification of
  their life/career goals and in the development of
  educational plans for the realization of these
  goals. It is a decision-making process by which
  students realize their maximum educational
  potential through communication and information
  exchanges with an advisor it is ongoing,
  multifaceted, and the responsibility of both
  student and the advisor.

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Noel-Levitz

• Academic advising is a planning process that
  helps students to approach their education in an
  organized and meaningful way. Advising brings
  together all of the major dynamics in a students
  life. Edward Chip Anderson. (Noel-Levitz,
  1997, p. 1 3.)

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Noel-Levitz

• Academic advising is a process of teaching
  students how to become responsible consumers of
  their own educations. Its also a process that
  involves teaching students how to make viable
  academic decisions. Juliet Kaufmann
  (Noel-Levitz, 1997, p. 1 3.)
• Advising is a process of giving students
  guidance, support and encouragement.
  (Noel-Levitz, 1997, p. 3.)
• Advising is a process of helping students
  diminish the confusion that comes with a new
  environment, clarify their goals and get the most
  out of their education. (Noel-Levitz, 1997, p. 3.)

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NACADA Core Values

• Advisors are responsible to the individuals they
  advise.
• Advisors are responsible for involving others,
  when appropriate, in the advising process.
• Advisors are responsible to their institutions.
• Advisors are responsible to higher education.
• Advisors are responsible to their educational
  community.
• Advisors are responsible for their professional
  practices and for themselves personally.

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The Need for an On-going Campus-wide Training
Program

• No campus-wide training program has existed in
  the last 10 years at NSU
• Dissemination of advising information did not
  occur between academic units
• April 2004 - An executive summary of NSUs
  academic advising program, highly recommended the
  need for a campus-wide training program.

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Noel-Levitz Consultant Recommendations

• Recommendation 1
• Establish a new standing university-wide
  Academic Advising Council (AAC) to improve the
  communication, coordination, and focus on all
  academic advising-related issues and concerns.

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Noel-Levitz Consultant Recommendations (cont.)

• Recommendation 2
• Initial charge to NSUs Academic Advising
  Council (AAC) would include
• Conduct a critical review, discuss, and
  prioritize the consultants recommendations.
• Develop and successfully implement a Northwestern
  State University academic advising plan.

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Training Program Schedule

• Train the Trainer Academic Advising for Student
  Success Retention, April 5-6, 2005 (Noel-Levitz
  Senior Associate)
• Super Advising Workshops, August 15-19, 2005
  (Academic Advising Council)
• Fall Advising Workshops, October 24-28, 2005
  (Academic Advising Council)

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Campus-wide Mission of Academic Advising
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University Mission

• Northwestern State University is a responsive,
  student-oriented institution that is committed to
  the creation, dissemination, and acquisition of
  knowledge through teaching, research, and
  service. The University maintains as its highest
  priority excellence in teaching in graduate and
  undergraduate programs.
• Northwestern State University prepares its
  students to become productive members of society
  and promotes economic development and
  improvements in the quality of life of the
  citizens in its region.

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Academic Advising Mission

• Northwestern State University believes that
  academic advising can provide a positive impact
  on student success and retention. Academic
  advising fosters intellectual growth and
  development by providing students with trained
  advisors and guidance to help them make sound
  decisions.

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The Relationship Advising Retention/Graduation
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• Astin (1977,1993) determined that the
  persistence or retention rate of students is
  greatly affected by the level and quality of
  their interactions with peers as well as faculty
  and staff.
• "Academic Advising is the only structured
  activity on the campus in which all students have
  the opportunity for one-to-one interaction with a
  concerned representative of the institution"
  (Habley, 1981).
• It is the people who come face-to-face with
  students on a regular basis who provide the
  positive growth experiences for students that
  enable them to identify their goals and talents
  and learn how to put them to use. The caring
  attitude of college personnel is viewed as the
  most potent retention force on a campus (Noel,
  1985).

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Ethics of Advising
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• Do more good than harm.
• Treat all individuals equally, granting no one
  extra rights or privileges.
• Show respect and give appropriate attention to
  each individual.
• Live up to the commitments that you have made.
• Enhance the advisees ability to make decisions
• Support the educational philosophy and policies
  of the institution.

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Legal Aspects of Advising
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FERPA

• The right to inspect and review the student's
  education records within 45 days of the day the
  University receives a request for access.
• The right to request the amendment of the
  students education records that the student
  believes is inaccurate or misleading.
• The right to consent to disclosures of personally
  identifiable information contained in the
  student's education records, except to the extent
  that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
• One exception which permits disclosure without
  consent is disclosure to school officials with
  legitimate educational interest.
• The right to file a complaint with the U. S.
  Department of Education concerning alleged
  failures by state university to comply with the
  requirements of FERPA.

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Informational Skills

• School Specific
• Scheduling
• Navigating the system
• Utilizing the system
• Procedural (institutional policies, drop/add,
  dates and deadlines)
• Development of Individual Advising Plans (IAP)

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Relational skills Characteristics of the
advising relationship

• Background
• Beyond course registration and scheduling,
• the academic advisor is the institutional
  representative most responsible for assuring that
  advisees know how to seek out the greatest
  possible benefits from higher education.
• An effective academic advisor is one who learns
  and applies the relational skills.

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Relational skills, cont.

• There are 3 global themes in developing this
  advisor/advisee relationship
• 1. Assessing, achieving, and maintaining
  academic competence.
• 2. Planning and implementing active personal
  involvement in co-curricular offerings.
• That is, take advantage of out-of-classroom
  activities.
• 3. The validation or exploration and
  identification of an academic major that has
  meaningful regard to life goals and objectives.

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Relational skills, cont.

• Ways to accomplish the global themes
• Interviewing skills
• Rapport-building skills
• 1. Physical environment
• 2. Preparedness
• 3. Nonverbal communication
• 4. Verbal communication
• Attending behaviors
• Listening
• Questioning skills

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Interviewing Skills

• Structured interviews seek to implement a
  problem-solving model
• Stages of the interview
• (see handout)
• Starting the interview
• Assessment of readiness to establish goals and
  goal identification
• Assessment of strengths and weaknesses
• Written objectives for goal accomplishment
• Establishing a timetable
• Goal completion

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Rapport-building Skills

• The prerequisite skill in any advising
  relationship is effective, empathetic
  communication.
• Rapport-building skills include
• 1. Physical environment (your office)
• 2. Preparedness
• 3. Nonverbal communication
• 4. Verbal communication
• Attending behaviors
• Listening

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Rapport-building skills, cont.

• Physical environment (your office)
• Overall attractiveness of your office
• Clutter-free environment
• Comfortable chairs, location of your desk
• Brightness
• Noise level
• Location
• All of this conveys positive or negative images,
  thereby making the students feel welcome and
  comfortable or vice versa

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Rapport-building skills, cont.

• 2. Preparedness things you can do to make
  students aware you are prepared for them
• Be on time
• Welcome the student by name.
• Have the advisees file available
• Recall previous conversations you may have had
• Ask about some details of the students life

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Rapport-building skills, cont.

• 3. Nonverbal communication
• Two thirds of communication is nonverbal
• Includes
• Smiling
• Frowning
• Laughing
• Crying
• Standing close to others
• Posture
• Gestures
• Mannerisms
• Your voice

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Rapport-building skills, cont.

• 4. Two types of verbal communication
• Attending behaviors
• b. Listening
• Attending behaviors Refers to the ways in which
  the advisor can be with their advisee.
• SOLAR (see handout)
• b. Listening Refers to the advisors ability to
  understand the messages the advisee'
• (1) taking in information
• (2) acknowledging the speaker
• (3) encouraging input to the talkers response
• Levels of listening (see handout)

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Questioning skills

• Questioning is a tool that can open new areas for
  discussion
• Four different types of questions
• (see handout)
• Open questions
• Closed questions
• Clarifying questions
• Continuing (key) questions

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Advising Special Populations

• Honor Students
• Athletes
• Adult Students
• Students in Academic Difficulty
• Students with Disability

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The Importance of Making Referrals
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Question and Answer
Presenters Dr. Susan Barnett Assistant
Professor, Psychology barnetts_at_nsula.edu Mr.
Steven Hicks Coordinator, General Studies
Disability Services hickss_at_nsula.edu
Dr. Chris Maggio Director, Alumni
Affairs maggioc_at_nsula.edu Mr. Jeremy
Thomas Coordinator, Academic Center thomasjr_at_nsula
.edu
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Reference

• Astin, A.W. (1977). What matters most in college
  Four critical years. San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Astin, A.W. (1993). What matters most in
  collegeFour critical years revisited. San
  Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Burley-Allen, M. (1982). Listening The forgotten
  skill. New York, NY John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

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Reference

• Crockett, D.S. (Ed.). (1982). Advising skills,
  techniques, and resources. Iowa City, IA
  American Testing Corporation.
• Habley, Wes. (1981). "Academic Advising Critical
  Link in Student Retention." NASPA Journal ,
  28(4) 45-50.

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Reference

• Hovland, M., Anderson, E., McGuire, W.G.,
  Crockett, D., Kaufman, J., Wood, D. (2004).
  Academic Advising for student Success and
  Retention. Iowa City, IA Noel-Levitz.
• NACADA. (2004). NACADA Statement of Core Values
  of Academic Advising. Retrieved September 1, 2005
  from NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising
  Resources Web site http//www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clea
  ringhouse/AdvisingIssues?Core-Values.htm