Advising
Definitions
Several definitions
of Developmental Advising exist. This list was provided by Jennifer
Bloom at the University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign from a graduate
level class she teaches called "Developmental Academic Advising
in Higher Education."
Fielstein and Lammers (1992) list requisites for developmental
advising:
1. To improve study skills
2. To plan courses of study
3. To improve interpersonal skills
4. To understand their own values
5. To explore career options
O'Banion's (1972) key elements of academic
advising
1. Exploration of life goals
2. Exploration of vocational goals
3. Program choice
4. Course choice
5. Scheduling courses
Creamer and Creamer (1994)
offer a conceptual framework for developmental advisors:
1. Setting career and life goals
2. Building self-insight and esteem
3. Broadening interests
4. Establishing meaningful interpersonal relationships
5. Clarifying personal values and styles of life,
6. Enhancing critical thinking and reasoning
Crookston (1972) says, "Developmental counseling or advising
is concerned not only with a specific personal or vocational decision
but also with facilitating the student's rational processes, environmental
and interpersonal interactions, behavior awareness, and problem-solving,
decision-making and evaluation skills".
Crookston’s (1972)
two basic assumptions from student development theory: "Higher
learning is to be viewed as an opportunity in which the developing
person may plan to achieve a self-fulfilling life; that the perspective
of work and professional training more properly should be placed
within the development of a life plan instead of the current tendency
to prepare one's self for a profession and then build one's life
around it. Teaching includes any experience in the learning community
in which teacher and student interact that contributes to individual,
group or community growth and development and can be evaluated….The
student cannot be merely a passive receptacle for knowledge, but
must share equal responsibility with the teacher for the quality
of the learning context, process, and development."
Creamer and Creamer
(1994) say, "Developmental academic advising is the use of
interactive teaching, counseling, and administrative strategies
to assist students to achieve specific learning, developmental,
career, and life goals. These goals are set by students in partnership
with advisors and are used to guide all interactions between advisor
and student."
Chickering (1994) says,
"The fundamental purpose of academic advising is to help
students become effective agents for their own lifelong learning
and personal development. Our relationships with students the
questions we raise, the perspectives we share, the resources we
suggest, the short-term decisions and long-range plans we help
them think through all should aim to increase their capacity to
take charge of their own existence."
Susan Frost (1994) says,
"Developmental advisors revealed that attitude is more important
than practice, process is more important than product. These advisors
use the advising relationship to:
· Involve students in their college experiences
· Explore with students the facts that lead to success,
and
· Show interest in students' academic progress and extracurricular
achievements. (Frost, 1993)
Developmental advisors rarely make decisions for students. Rather
they encourage students to ask open-ended questions, use campus
resources to find answers, and plan courses of study and schedules
around the outcomes of their explorations."
Robert Brown (1984)
says, "By definition, the student development educator is
knowledgeable about theories and practices in learning and development
that relate to intellectual, emotional, cultural, moral, physical,
and interpersonal dimensions of life. He or she trained to work
with individual students, groups of students, and others who interact
with students to (1) assess students’ developmental status
and diagnose their developmental needs, (2) help students determine
appropriate goals and experiences, (3) design and implement programs
intended to foster development, (4) evaluate each student's developmental
progress, and (5) record this attainment."
Arnold Spokane (1994)
says, "We find that advising is a function-not a person-and
that it must be done by a communicative team-not by an individual.
The client's needs and goals drive service delivery across the
full range of needs we know exist in adolescence". He mentions
Goldman’s 1992 article which, "uses a first-rate, state
of the art emergency room as an example of agility. Resources
from all departments both in and outside of the hospital must
be fused into a patient-response team."
Buddy Ramos (1999) says,
"Gordon's description of three vectors for delivering academic
advising should enhance his point that advisors must focus on
educational, career and student growth needs of students and also
focus on advising as teaching:
Developing
competence, or increasing the intellectual, physical, and social
skills that lead to the knowledge that one is capable of handling
and mastering a range of tasks.
Developing autonomy, or confronting a series of issues leading
ultimately to the recognition of one’s independence.
Developing purpose, or assessing and clarifying interests, educational
and career options, and lifestyle preferences and using these
factors to set a coherent direction for life.
'Winston, Ender, and
Miller (1982) defined developmental academic advising as: "a
systematic process based on close student-advisor relationship
intended to aid students in achieving educational, career, and
personal goals through the utilization of the full range of institutional
and community resources. It both stimulates and supports students
in their quest for an enriched quality of life. (It) reflects
the institution's mission of total student development and is
most likely to be realized when the academic affairs and student
affairs divisions collaborate in its implementation."
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.'"
References
American College Testing
Program National Center for the Advancement of Educational Practices.
(1984). Advising Skills, Techniques and Resources. Iowa City:
American College Testing Program.
Brown, R. D. (1984).
The student development educator role. In U. Delworth & G.
R. Handson (Eds.), Student Services (pp.191-208). San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Chickering, A. W. (1994).
Empowering lifelong self-development. NACADA Journal, 14 (2),
50-53.
Creamer, D. G. &
Creamer, E. G. (1994). Practicing Developmental Advising: Theoretical
Contexts and Functional Applications. NACADA Journal 14(2), 17-24.
Crookston, B. B. (1972).
A developmental view of academic advising as teaching.
Journal of College Student
Personnel, 13, 12-17. Article reprinted with permission in NACADA
Journal, 14 (2), 5-9.
Fielstein, L.L. and
Lammers, W. J. (1992). The Relationship of Student Satisfaction
with Advising to Administrative Support for Advising Services.
NACADA Journal 12(1), 15-21.
Frost, S. H. (1994).
Advising Alliances: Sharing Responsibilitiy for Student Success.
NACADA Journal 14(2), 54-58. Referecing Frost, S. H. (1993) Developmental
Advising: Practices and Attitudes of Faculty Advisors. NACADA
Journal 13(2), 15-20.
O'Banion, Terry. (1972).
An Academic Advising Model. Junior College Journal, volume 42
p. 62, 64, & 66-69. Reprinted with permission in the NACADA
Journal 14(2), 10-16.
Ramos, Manuel "Buddy".
(Speaker). (1999). Academic Advising: Campus Collaborations to
Foster Retention (video recording in conjunction with PBS Adult
Learning Service). Manhattan, KS: National Academic Advising Association.
Spokane, A. R. (1994).
The agile academic advisor. NACADA Journal, 14(2), 68-70.
Winston, Jr. R. B.,
Enders, S. C., & Miller, T. K. (Eds.) (March 1982). Developmental
approaches to academic advising. New Directions for Student Services
, 17.
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Frequently Asked
Questions from Academic Advising: Campus Collaborations to Foster
Retention
Where can one find more information on Developmental Advising?
Read the Clearinghouse's Developmental Advising Overview and look
through Resource links
Read Virginia Gordon’s work in this area.
Book titled Developmental Academic Advising, edited by Winston,
Miller, Ender and Grites.
Nancy S. King
Kennesaw
State University
'98-99 NACADA President
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How does developmental
advising best fit into the 7 organizational models?
Developmental advising
can definitely be used in any of the organizational models.
Since it requires more time and is based upon the development
of a relationship between advisor and student, it is not compatible
with quick, registration-oriented sessions.
Nancy S. King
Kennesaw
State University
'98-99 NACADA President
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Using the total intake
model, how are students referred to faculty members when technical
questions arise?
You could have program
or departmental liaisons to the Advising Center who would be
available at key advising times or generally as a referral resource.
My experience has been that faculty, particularly those in more
technical programs, want to be involved. You might ask for their
ideas on the best way to do this.
Margaret "Peggy"
King
Schenectady
County Community College
'92-93
NACADA President
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After learning theory
and basic concepts of developmental advising - what are some of
the first steps you suggest for adapting from prescriptive to
developmental techniques - on a practical and daily basis?
I would recommend a
gradual shift in focus from the scheduling of classes to a more
in-depth understanding of a student's growth in decision-making,
goal-setting, and problem-solving abilities. The advisor should
spend time talking with the student about the purposes of advising
so that both understand the potential benefits of an advising
relationship. I would also suggest spending an increasing amount
of time listening to advisees reflecting on the specific skills
they are learning in their classes and the relevance this has
for their lives. The advisor’s summary notes following
an advising session should increasingly indicate these types
of discussions with the student. I would emphasize, however,
that not all sessions will be developmental. There are those
situations when advising should be prescriptive in nature.
Nancy
S. King
Kennesaw
State University
'98-99 NACADA President
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