Bobbi Thomas
	Washington State University Pullman, WA
	Platform Statement: Highlight your previous involvement within this unit that will help you in leading this unit.  What roles have you played within this particular unit as a member thus far?

I took over the reins of the Distance Education Advising Interest Group in 2004 at the national NACADA conference in Cincinnati, and have been the chairperson ever since.

Beginning that day, I have actively worked to promote participation of Interest Group members by encouraging DEA list serve discussions; hosting DEA "Hot Topic" presentations at national conferences; presenting distance education advising sessions at regional and national NACADA conferences and soliciting feedback and input from my colleagues around the nation regarding distance advising best practices.

What do you believe are the most important goals and initiatives for this unit in meeting the strategic plan for both the unit and the Association?

Colleges and universities planning for success in the future are investing today in programs, technologies and other infrastructure to meet the needs of current audiences and future generations. Investments in distance education enable institutions of higher education to be major players in the world of the future.

Quality distance education programs are an essential resource for connecting colleges and universities to this new world, and top-notch academic advising for distance learners will play a critical role in the success of these
ventures and the students involved in them.

Advisors who work with distance students need not only the most up-to-date, technologically-advanced mediums with which to work; they need access to sound, time-tested distance advising principles and resources that can be implemented with confidence. The DEA Commission has the opportunity to give this advising specialty a larger, more visible and committed forum in which to promote and improve distance advising for the benefit of our advising colleagues and students worldwide.

By its very nature, Distance Education promotes diversity in higher education, for it serves those whom higher education traditionally has not served. As Distance Education grows, more and more people outside of the traditional college-age student population will participate, thereby increasing student diversity.

I believe the Distance Education Advising Commission should provide a supportive, collegial network for advisors whose primary role is advising students at a distance. Through the sharing of information and experience, this commission can serve as a vehicle to assist members in developing, maintaining and enhancing advising resources specifically targeted to distance learners. The Commission should share strategies for working collaboratively with administrators and student services staff members and seek innovative ways to enhance student satisfaction and retention in distance programs.

I also believe we would be well-served by establishing and expanding communication among members through monthly, virtual commission meetings to discuss the unique challenges of distance advisors and identify issues particularly relevant to distance learners. These communications may take place through the list serve, online chat conferencing, and message boards.

At the present time, the Commission has requested and received support from Renee Babcock and the Technology in Advising Commission to work collaboratively to establish a NACADA Virtual Advising and Technology Island; a virtual world in Second Life that will exist as a major support unit for ALL academic advisors. This island will allow advisors to network, gain access to online resources specific to the advisement of distance learners and will assist academic advisors in becoming more familiar with technology. It has been proposed to house the island on the virtual campus of North Carolina State University, and I think we can have the island fully-developed and functioning by the end of 2009.

The island will include a Technology Resource Center for advisors developed and maintained by support from NACADA members at a variety of institutions.

Another goal is to enhance and improve information available to advisors of distance learners through the development of a commission web site that will house useful information for advisors of distance students in an accessible and user-friendly format.

The Commission will develop a "best practices" guide for advising distance learners. This document will provide strategies for incorporating a strong teaching component within distance education advising. It will also include a subset of user-friendly handbooks on how best to employ technological tools such as MySpace, Facebook, instant messaging, chat rooms, podcasts, blogs, wikis and Second life.

I think it is vital to promote commission visibility at the state, regional and national levels by encourage members to develop presentations pertinent to distance advising.

Finally, it is paramount to forcefully pursue the publication of distance learning-related articles within the NACADA Journal, Clearinghouse, and Academic Advising Today. This includes working with commission members on an individual basis and forming a timeline of submissions.

Why are you interested in serving in this leadership position or what influenced you to run for this leadership position? 

As the Distance Education Advising Interest Group chairperson, it was my dream to elevate the group to Commission status to enhance it's ability to reach out and make a dynamic, positive difference in the lives of advisors whose primary role is to advise distance students. In collaboration with two outstanding colleagues, I was able to realize the first stage of this dream.

Now I would very much appreciate the opportunity to continue to lead our Commission toward the goals and objectives that we have identified as critical to the our constituency!

Provide any additional comments or information (either personal or leadership-related) that you want potential voters to know about you that is not covered elsewhere in your platform information. 

I have worked in postsecondary education at a variety of two and four-year institutions for the past 25 years. My experience has spanned many facets of student affairs, particularly academic advising and administration.

I have spent the last 16 years advising distance learners and have established an outstanding advising team who have faced a multitude of challenges and learned from our mistakes. I believe the depth and breadth of my experience in combination with my leadership abilities will serve the Commission in good stead as Chairperson.

Past Involvement in NACADA:

Years in NACADA: 7 years

National Offices Held and Accomplishments Achieved While in Office:

• Acting Chair, Distance Education Advising Commission, October 2008-present
  • Initiated the application for Commission status for the DEA Interest Group. This endeavor was successful, and our group was awarded Commission status at the national conference in Chicago!

Regional Activities/Offices Held, including accomplishments achieved while in office:

• Attendee and Presenter, NACADA regional conferences (2002 - 2008) -- have attended all Region 8 conferences for the past seven years and have been a presenter at most of them.

Committee/Task Force/Advisory Board Activities and Accomplishments:

Commission/Interest Group Activities and Accomplishments:

• Chair, Distance Education Advising Interest Group, 2004-2008
• Member: Distance Education Advising Commission, Advising Adult Learners Commission, Advising Administration Commission, Native American and Tribal College Interest Group

Other:

I have been fortunate to have been thoroughly immersed in on-ground and distance education advising issues at my institution and nationally throughout the past 16 years. These are the most recent highlights:

• Washington State University activities:
  • Initiated study to compare advisor salaries across Washington State University, which resulted in pay increases for three distance advisors
  • Awarded Faculty MENTOR OF THE YEAR at the 10th annual WSU Women & Leadership Forum (2005)
  • Member, WSU SALC Director Search (2007)
  • Chairperson, WSU Student Affairs Subcommittee of Faculty Senate
  • Member, WSU "Ad Hoc" Advising Committee (2006-2007)
  • Chairperson, AARS, Academic Advising and Reinstatement Subcommittee of the WSU Faculty Senate (2000-2006)
  • Member, Washington State University Faculty Senate (1999-May, 2005)
  • Member, WSU Cougar Advisor Toolkit Development committee (2004 - 2005)
  • Member, WSU Academic Integrity Committee (2004)
• Actively worked to evaluate the effectiveness of distance advising in the most academically and statistically-sound manner possible by initiative and coordinating two academic advising surveys (2005, 2007) in order to enhance the distance students' satisfaction with advising
• Presented a two-part, three-hour national audio conference and webinar titled: Distance Education: a 14-year Perspective for the Northeast Texas Consortium of Colleges & University (2007)
• Presenter and Attendee, NACADA National Conferences (2004 - 2008)