The Most Comprehensive Consideration of
Academic Advising Available!
Academic Advising Summer Institute
July 31-Aug 5, 2005
Colorado Springs, CO

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Who should attend?  The Institute is designed for individuals or teams who have responsibility for academic advising, including academic advising campus task force members, advising program directors, advisors, campus administrators, teams or individuals desiring to refine or redesign campus advising services.  The Institute utilizes an effective integration of expert group presentations with small group discussions, workshops and topical sessions led by skilled practitioners and organized by institutional type. Through these activities, you will develop a network of supportive colleagues throughout the nation and Canada. 

A very valuable part of the Academic Advising Summer Institutes is the opportunity to prepare an ACTION PLAN for solving an advising challenge on your campus. The scope of the action plan is left up to you. The scope may be as narrow as devising a new form or as broad as proposing a new model for delivery of advising on your campus or recommending the use of new technology. You will receive assistance with this project by attending relevant sessions, group discussions, and group and individual consultations with institute facilitators who have expertise in the area you have chosen. You may come with an issue in mind or discover one through the information you hear from the experienced faculty. In addition to the excellent general sessions and a wide variety of workshops and topical sessions, your own ACTION PLAN will be refined and prepared in your daily group discussion sessions.

A good way to get involved and meet new people is to volunteer for a couple of hours at the conference. Sign up by contacting Sherri Theriault, University of Nevada-Las Vegas at sherri@ccmail.nevada.edu.

The brochure lists over 350 individual sessions sorted by advising tracks, so you can find presentations relating to your advising interests. Here are a few sample program titles on current advising topics:

• Playing with a Full Deck: Helping Your Students Build a Self-Portfolio
• Get Work Done AND Have Fun: Sure Bets for Increasing Advisor Job Satisfaction
• The Sparkling Energy of Individual Talent: Great Strengths-Based Activities
• The Perfect Advisor is a Myth: Training and Information Sharing for Real Advisors

Two potential Interest Groups will be meeting at the National Conference in Las Vegas to determine their viability and level of interest among NACADA members — Advising Urban Affairs Majors and New Advising Professionals. The potential Advising Urban Affairs Majors Interest Group will be of interest to academic advisors of students in disciplines such as Public Administration, Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Environmental Studies, and other areas which affect public policy and professional practices in our communities.  The focus of the potential New Advising Professionals Interest Group will be to enhance professional development opportunities and provide a network for individuals new to academic advising.

The date, time and location of these meetings will be listed in the conference program. If you are interested in either of these special interest areas, please plan to attend the initial meeting for that group to show your support. NACADA members who have an interest in either of these potential interest groups but are not planning to attend the conference this year are encouraged to send an e-mail indicating their interest prior to the national conference to the contact person listed below.

Advising Urban Affairs Majors—Adam Sikula, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, asikula@ccmail.nevada.edu

New Advising Professionals—Ben Chamberlain, Iowa State University, bchamber@iastate.edu, or Nathan Vickers, University of Texas at Austin, nvickers@mail.utexas.edu

As you plan your 2005-2006 academic calendar, don't forget the Seminar on Ethical/Legal Issues in Advising scheduled for February 2-3, 2006, the Academic Advising Administrators' Institute, February 5-7, 2006; and the Assessment of Academic Advising Institute, February 8-10, 2006 - all in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

...Resources to help you advise new students and their parents. 

• Mark Menezes, University of Southern Maine, explores "Advisors and Parents: Together Building Stronger Advising Relationships" at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Advisors-Parents.htm.

• Mental health is clearly linked to retention and academic performance. Ruth Harper and Meghan Peterson, South Dakota State University, explore what advisors should know about the signals of student distress in "Mental Health Issues and College Students" at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Mental-Health.htm#over.

Only about a month left to take advantage of the publications sale!  Now is a great time to spend any remaining funds you have available for professional development publications or to purchase a missing monograph to complete a set.  You will save 40% on selected NACADA monographs (member cost is only $15)!  To take advantage of this sale, complete the form at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Forms/2005ClearanceSale.pdf and fax it to the Executive Office at 785/532-7732.

Find these books and more at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Journal/brbooklist.htm . Members have three months from the receipt of the book to read and write the review. The book becomes the property of the reviewer upon acceptance of the review for publication. NACADA members may review and publish one book review per member year; books requested now are within the 2005-2006 ( September 1, 2005 - August 31, 2006 ) member year. 

Members interested in submitting an article or opinion piece to our quarterly e-publication should check out the Guidelines at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Newsletter/guidelines.htm.  The draft deadline for the December edition is September 1.

Our new feature,  , will debut in the September edition.  It takes but one SPARK to ignite the flame for an idea. Does your campus have an unusual or exceptional process or program that could spark an idea on another campus?  If so, tell us about it in 350 words or less. Send your 'Sparkler'  to Leigh@ksu.edu.

Information is available on the 2006 NACADA Leadership elections at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Election/index.htm, including a list of positions to be elected, eligibility criteria, and an online nomination recommendation form. Election information and printed nomination forms will also be available in the NACADA booth in the Exhibits area at the National Conference in Las Vegas and in the back of the conference program. Nomination forms can be submitted either online, at the conference, or by fax or mail. All nominations are due to the Executive Office by Monday, October 31, 2005. 

More information can be found at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Leadership/LeadershipPositionOverviews.htm regarding NACADA Leadership positions. If you have any questions, or would like to inquire as to your eligibility for a particular position or the eligibility of a colleague whom you wish to nominate for a position, please contact the NACADA Executive Office at (785) 532-5717 or e-mail us at nacada@ksu.edu.

Two NACADA colleagues who completed the Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising program were inadvertently excluded from the list of graduates published in the May Highlights.  Tracy Griffith, Upper Iowa University-Milwaukee Center, Milwaukee, WI, and Linnette Smith, Ivy Tech State College, Lafayette, IN, completed the program in May, 2005.  A complete list of graduates may be found at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/GraduateCertificate/Graduates.htm.  Tracy, Linnette, and their "virtual" classmates will be recognized as the first recipients of the Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising at the National Conference in Las Vegas, October 5-8.

Congratulations to the 2005 award recipients in the NACADA National Awards Program.  All award recipients will be formally honored during the NACADA National Conference in Las Vegas this fall. Links to complete listings of these award recipients can be found at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/PastRecipients.htm.

Congratulations to the 2005 NACADA research grant recipients:

• Peter Collier, Associate Professor of Sociology at Portland State University, is studying "Improving First-Generation Low Income Student Retention in Higher Education: Examining the persistence of Role-Mastery based Advising and Telementoring Intervention Effects."
• Victoria McGillin, Associate Provost, Texas Woman's University, will continue her research of "Risk and Resilience: A Seven Year Follow-Up in the Role of Supportive Others, Self-Esteem and Self Efficacy in Student Academic Success."
• Matthew M. Morano, Assistant Director of the University of Connecticut Academic Center for Exploratory Students, will research "How Students Choose a Major: Does emotion play a part in the decision making process."

Find information about these studies at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/GrantAbstracts.htm. Grant recipients will be formally honored at the 2005 Awards Reception at the NACADA National Conference in Las Vegas this fall.

Approximately 4,300 NACADA members have a membership expiration date of September 1, 2005.  Look for paper renewal packets to arrive by mail in July.  Please complete your membership form and return it to the NACADA Executive Office.  Your membership is essential in providing a strong base of support for the field of academic advising.