Title: Session 515: Documenting Advising Competence in a Promotion and Tenure Portfolio
1Session 515 Documenting Advising Competence in a
Promotion and Tenure Portfolio
- Chris Farren and Faye Vowell
- Western New Mexico University
- 2006 NACADA Annual Conference
- Indianapolis, Indiana
2Three Challenges
- Know your institutions definition of
competencies needed for tenure and promotion - Know how to acquire these competencies
- Know how to document your proficiency
3Does your school have an explicit statement of
advising expectations?
- University mission
- Advising Mission
4WNMU Advising Mission
- Assist students in relating their needs,
interests, values, abilities goals to the
educational programs of the University. - Address the diverse cultural and academic
backgrounds of students while promoting academic
excellence - Help students become mature, self directed,
capable of thinking, judging making appropriate
decisions
5WNMU Definition of Successful Advising
- Goes beyond clerical function of scheduling
classes preparing degree plans - Assists students in clarifying personal career
goals, developing consistent educational goals,
evaluating progress toward goals - Refers students to appropriate support services
- Is a decision making process in which advisee
advisor share information in ways that promote
responsible appropriate choices
6Advising Mission Implicit
- Catalog
- Student handbook
- Faculty handbook
7Annual Evaluation
- Where does advising fit?
- Teaching
- Service
- Research
- All of the above
8WNMU Example
9Advising Competence Continuum
10Areas of Competence
- Informationalwhat advisors should know
- Advising Mission
- Advising Expectations
- Policies, Procedures, Processes
- Degree Requirements
- Career information
- Demographics of student body
11Areas of Competence
- Relationalwhat advisors should be able to do
- Active listening questioning
- Summarizing paraphrasing
- Skills to establish rapport mentor
- Skills to active as a positive role model
- Cultural competence skills
12Areas of Competence
- ConceptualWhat advisors should understand
- Student development theory
- Advising theory
- Assessment practices
- Advising philosophy curriculum
- CAS standards
- Learning style theory
13Avenues to Learn Competencies
- Read scholarship in articles and books
- Attend advising workshops on your campus
- Participate in advising committees on campus
- Participate in a mentoring relationship
- Attend state, regional, national conferences
- Present at state, regional, national conferences
- Conduct research in advising
- Publish in the area of advising
14Application of Competencies
- Advising student organizations
- Group advising
- One on one advising
- Creation of an advising syllabus
- Creation of advising training/advisor development
sessions - Creation of advising handouts
- Creation of advising manual for students
advisors - Creation of advising assignments for students
15Ways to Demonstrate Competence
- Records of advising meetings
- Copies of manuals, handouts, assignments
- Copies of advising syllabi
- Student evaluations of academic advising
advising student organizations - Student retention graduation rates
- Results of advising research
16Advising in a class you are teaching
- Announce advising deadlines
- Encourage your students to see an advisor
- Notice if students are having difficulty and
reach out to them - Refer students to campus services
- Apply advising knowledge and theory to
teachingTask orientation vs. Ego orientation
17Advising a Student Organization
- Prescriptive
- Developmental
- Advising syllabus for the organizationwhat do
student members need to learn as members and a
leaders?
18Advising as Teaching
- Carol Ryan (1992) and D. C. Appleby (2001)
- Chart contains A Comparison of the Knowledge,
Skills, and Characteristics of Effective Teachers
and Advisers -
19Advising Syllabus
- Who are the students you advise?
- Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors
- Undecided
- Underprepared
- First generation
20Questions to ask as you construct your syllabus
- What do your advisees need to be able to do,
know, and value? - How will this learning be distributed over time?
- What is your role in facilitating this growth as
defined by your institution and by your own
teaching /advising philosophy?
21Advising Scholarship
- Scholarship of discovery/researchWhen faculty
use their professional expertise to discover
knowledge, invent, or create original material - Example a study of how advisor placement of
students in developmental classes impacts student
success and persistence
22Advising Scholarship
- Scholarship of teaching learningWhen faculty
use their professional expertise to transmit
knowledge to students in advising contexts, study
their advising practice, and engage in activities
that contribute to advising pedagogy (the how of
advising). - Example a study of how certain advising
techniques and strategies impact the
learning/practice of advisees
23Advising Scholarship
- Scholarship of integrationWhen faculty use their
professional expertise to make connections,
integrate, and synthesize knowledge into
interdisciplinary contexts. - Example adapting an advising technique to the
classroom or a classroom technique to advising
24Advising Scholarship
- Scholarship of Engagement or Professional
ServiceWhen faculty use their professional
expertise to work in partnership with communities
to solve problems. - Example application of advising knowledge to a
committee or community stakeholder interaction. (
e.g., working with parents or families).
25An activity can reflect scholarship if it meets
the following criteria
- It requires a high level of discipline-specific
expertise - It is innovative
- It can be replicated or elaborated
- It can be documented
- It can be peer-reviewed
- It has significance or impact
- (Diamond Adams, 1995)
26Reflective Essay
- Provides a framework of reference/context for
your portfolio artifacts - Describes priorities/strengths circumstances
that promoted or inhibited your success - Provides a description of issues from your
perspective - Provides a rationale for choices you made
- Documents your growth development
- Demonstrates your capacity to be reflective
self critical - (Diamond, 1995)
27A Professional Portfolio
- Overview of personal best practices
- Carefully constructed organized
- Represents the full range of your advising
- Should stress two dimensions quality of your
advising efforts significance of your advising
efforts - Contains your reflective essay the artifacts
your essay addresses - (Diamond, 1995)
28Final Thoughts
- Know the calendar and timetable for annual
evaluation, promotion and tenure - Start as early as possible to collect artifacts
for your portfolio - Have a place set aside the keep them
- Review them annually and set goals for each year
- Take advantage of professional development and
advising training activities
29Contact Us
- Chris Farren farrenp_at_wnmu.edu
- Faye Vowell vowellf_at_wnmu.edu