This on-line edition of The Advising Administrator marks the second time we have issued this newsletter in an electronic format. The feedback from the first issue was quite positive and we hope that we can continue to refine this publication to be one that keeps you informed about NACADA and Commission activities and serves as a vehicle through which we share with each other. We encourage you to provide us with the feedback we need to make this publication useful to you and welcome any and all submissions for publication.

While it may sound like somewhat of an oxymoron, we wish you all had a productive and relaxing summer!

The 2001 Advising Administration Commission meeting will be held on October 12^th from 3:00-4:00 p.m. This meeting will be a combination of "business" items as well as open discussion regarding some of the salient topics mentioned over the commission’s electronic mail list. The description in the official program will read as follows:

The purpose of the Commission on Advising Administration is to provide a forum for sharing ideas and discussing common concerns. At this meeting we will briefly review Commission progress toward meeting goals; in particular, review of the on-line newsletter and implementation of the Service to the Commission on Advising Administration Award. The primary focus of the meeting will be to facilitate discussion around critical issues facing advising administrators. Topics will be gleaned from list serve discussions that have occurred during this past year (e.g., academic appeals, exit interviews, research, etc.) with others added during this Commission meeting. We will prioritize topics, begin information and idea exchange, and leave with a plan to have ongoing, focused discussions throughout the year on the list serve. We encourage interaction to facilitate the development of collegial networks.

Particular agenda items for this meeting include:

• Service to the Commission Award. The guidelines were reviewed at the meeting in Orlando and we need to finalize the process for making the award. Prior to the National Conference a draft application will be forwarded to the Commission membership for review; additional copies will be available at the Commission meeting. The following criteria were approved at the Orlando conference:

-Mentoring of individuals who are new to advising administration.

• Outstanding Advising Administrator Award. This a project that has been submitted for consideration and the Commission needs to consider whether or not to move forward with this proposal and, if so, what process and criteria should be used to identify the recipient. As noted in the budget request for this award: "The primary rationale for this project is to develop a process whereby those considered to be outstanding advising administrators are recognized by the commission and organization. The secondary reasons for implementing this kind of award are to visibly promote the activities of the Commission and to provide an indirect reward structure for active involvement in NACADA and the Commission."

• Open Discussion. A few issues have been discussed through the electronic mailing list that members may wish to talk about during this Commission meeting. These include:

Comments and suggestions for the 2001 Advising Administration Commission meeting are welcomed and, in fact, encouraged!

As one of its charges, the Advising Administration Commission, through the Steering Committee, reviews and identifies six presentations to sponsor at the National Conference. This year, we are pleased to sponsor (or co-sponsor as noted) the following presentations:

The Politics of Academic Advising

Presentation Contact: William Johnson

College/University: College of New Jersey

Advisor Training—From Beginning to Never-Ending

Presentation Contact: Linda Chalmers

College/University: University of Texas-San Antonio

(This has dual sponsorship with the Advisor Development Commission)

One of Many Voices: The Growing Role of Support Staff in the Advising

Presentation Contact: Cindy Iten

College/University: University of Kentucky

Mid-Semester Evaluations of New Students—The Easy Way

Presentation Contact: Tracy Miller

College/University: Towson University

Advisor’s Toolkit: Creating an Administrative Advising Database

Presentation Contact: Jane Stringer

College/University: Temple University

(This has dual sponsorship with the Technology in Advising Commission)

Assessing Your Advising Services: Some Basic Points to Remember

Presentation Contact: Rich Robbins

College/University: West Virginia University

Congratulations to all of these Advising Administration Commission-sponsored presentations. We look forward to attending the full presentations at the conference.

Want to get involved in the Commission? Come join us during the Commission/Interest Group Fair on Thursday, October 11 from 8:30-10:00 p.m. You can help be a part of our table---hand out information about the Commission and any goodies that we have available for the event. Send an email regarding your interest in helping to Susan Campbell at SCAMP@USM.Maine.edu. Feel free to share your ideas regarding our display. The bonus is that this is also a dessert reception!

The Center for Student Success (TCSS) is an Academic Support Service at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in the Division of Academic Affairs in Greensboro, North Carolina. TCSS promotes the academic success of Undeclared students by providing academic support in an intellectual setting which delivers quality advising, facilitates choice of major and career direction, and promotes student satisfaction with, integration in, and adjustment to the University community. Additionally, this academic unit promotes the achievement of students in basic skills development and has significant involvement in the orientation of first-year students. The team in for The Center for Student Success has been appointed to a mission that requires reaching, lifting, encouraging and inspiring administrators, faculty, staff and students across the campus to engage in a strategic advising and retention plan.

Academic Advising is an essential part of the educational process. TCSS coordinates the efforts of a trained core of academic advisors who guide students throughout their matriculation at North Carolina A&T State University. TCSS employs a proactive and aggressive intervention in its efforts to reach out and help potentially at-risk students. TCSS implements a strengths-based, talent development, proactive approach to advising that is yielding positive results. TCSS and the University are collaboratively working with Noel-Levitz Group, a consulting firm specializing in enrollment management, financial aid and student retention, to improve the quality of student life and learning at North Carolina A& T State University. TCSS has purchased eighty copies of Noel-Levitz’s Academic Advising for Student Success and Retention program booklets, accompanying videos and training manuals for use in faculty workshops.

Through technological resources, worlds of possibilities, knowledge, and discoveries are brought into the offices and classrooms of TCSS. Additionally, TCSS is equipped with two fully operable state-of-the art computer laboratories that house two Smart boards.

The Center’s motto is "Empowering Students for Academic Success in the 21^st Century" and our Program utilizes an interdisciplinary approach in working with Undeclared students. TCSS provides:

• Academic Advisement for Undeclared Students

• Retention Alert Program

• Academic Curriculum

• University Survival / Freshman Studies

• Student Athlete Tutorial Program

• The Peer Advising Leadership Program (PAL)

• Leadership Development and Success Seminar (LDSS)

Someone recently asked me to write down that which is most important to me as I go about my daily responsibilities as director of Central Advising at the University of Kentucky. I guess because I have managed an academic advising office for fourteen years, the person who made that request figured I might say something worth reading. So here goes.

Assume all whom you supervise wish to do a good job. They may not choose to do it the way you would want it done, but they, like you, are trying to do well. Validate their effort. If what they are doing or propose to do isn’t in keeping with the needs you have, indicate the outcomes you want and try and give them some options regarding how best to achieve these goals.

When someone who works for you makes a mistake, do not snipe, bite, raise your voice, or cut off communication. Immediately enlist that person to work with you to find the best solution for redressing the error. Let the employee take as much responsibility as possible for damage repair.

Go to lunch from time to time with your staff. Be sure everyone is treated equally regarding lunch with you. Either go with a group to which everyone is invited, go with selected groups that eventually will cover everyone, or go individually with each one. While at lunch, do not talk 100% shop. Talk about the traffic, shopping, family, vacations—that sort of thing. Plenty of time exists for shoptalk back in the shop.

People want to be individuals, not units in a division. Regarding those who report to you, learn their spouses’ and children’s names, jobs, schools, concerns and celebrations. Ask after not just the employee but after his or her family.

Put candy on your desk—lots and lots of candy. We all like to get something for nothing. A little free candy goes a long way.

Never, but never, call your staff "my staff" or "my people." Remember that you work for these people, not they for you. It is the manager’s job to clear the way so the staff can get its work done. They are not "your" anything except your colleagues.

Remember that you will never look good unless those who report to you make you look good. Treat them with disrespect, keep secrets from them, play favorites, cast blame, duck responsibility, and they will mirror exactly these qualities as a group, and you will look bad…bad…bad. Conversely, let them know your pride in their job well done; let them know that you are willing to do any job you would ask them to do; let them know that you are willing to work as hard as the hardest working of them, and you will find that you are managing one of the best outfits on campus.

Congratulations to Denise Atteberry for receiving the College of Engineering 2000-2001 Advisor of the Year Award for demonstrated excellence, innovation and effectiveness in Advising! Denise is in the Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Way to Go, Denise!

We continue to have two vacancies on the Steering committee for the Advising Administration commission. We need representation from Regions 3 and 8. If you are interested, or know of someone who might be----or whom you would like to nominate for one of these positions, please e-mail Susan Campbell at SCAMP@USM.Maine.edu.

Looking for a way to get involved in NACADA but know you don’t have much time to spare? How about contributing to the next issue of The Advising Administrator? It only takes a few minutes to send us a note about your dynamite academic advising program. Or perhaps you’ve taken on a new job and want others to know? Or perhaps you or others in your college/university have received special recognition for some activity related to advising. Let us know…help us share these good things with others.

The deadline for submissions for the next issue of The Advising Administrator is November 15, 2001.

FEEDBACK! FEEDBACK! FEEDBACK! Let us know what you want from this newsletter. Send your comments, suggestions, criticisms, recommendations, etc., to Susan Campbell, University of Southern Maine, SCAMP@USM.Maine.edu.