Issue
27(2)
Academic
Advising: New Insights for Teaching and Learning in the First
Year. (2007). Mary
Stuart Hunter, Betsy McCalla-Wriggins & Eric R. White (Eds.),
National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience & NACADA,
250 pp., $40.00, (paperback), ISBN # 13
978-1-889-27155-2.
Review
by: Michael
J. Magee
Transfer
Advisor, Pre-Education Advising
College
of Education
University
of South Florida
Hunter,
McCalla-Wriggins, and White have compiled a thoughtful and informative
monograph (featuring 23 authors!) regarding advising first-year
college students. The book is divided into four sections; each
section provides useful information that every professional in
higher education can utilize during their interactions with first-year
students. Each chapter is well written and provides an overview
of the topic with advising strategies at the end.
The
first section of the book sets the stage for future sections by
providing an overview of the role of an advisor in the transition
process of first-year students. The authors suggest using the
“constructivist perspective of teaching and learning” to empower
students to successfully complete the transition from high school
to college. The latter half of the section discusses the characteristics
of the incoming first-year class and informs the reader of the
challenges the students encounter upon entering college.
The
next section describes in great detail how the utilization of
learning theories and an advisor’s ability to understand a student’s
learning patterns can significantly enhance the teaching relationship
between a student and advisor. In light of the current generation’s
technology savvy, successful advising models using technology
are discussed. Technology initiatives include podcasting, online
information sessions/orientations for students, and the utilization
of widgets that provide students with resources and information
when they have access to the Internet. Some technologically advanced
advising tools can be implemented at little to no cost to the
departmental budget. Some institutions may even have a structure
in place for the conversion of advising information to podcasts
and other easily disseminated digital mediums.
The
latter chapters of the second section discuss assessment, collaborating
with departments outside of the advising office and reaching out
to students prior to their transition to college. Assessment of
services through student feedback, self-reflection, and supervisor
evaluations are essential to the continuous enhancement of academic
advising and teaching all students. In addition, several authors
call for advisors to actively engage students in the academic
process by having them develop academic goals and map their curriculum.
Section three encompasses seven chapters of strategies for advising
various first-year student populations. These groups include:
non-traditional; honors; first generation; GLBT; undecided; students
with disabilities; and students of color. Each chapter provides
characteristics common to each student group and strategies to
successfully advise them.
As institutions
of higher education seek to improve retention and graduation rates,
resources like this book can effectively enhance the overall impact
of academic advising. The monograph will serve as a great resource
to those advising first-year students for the first time. This
book also will appeal to seasoned advisors who are seeking to
enhance current services. The information is relevant and can
be utilized with nearly every student interaction whether it is
in the Freshman Seminar/University Experience classroom, during
a one-on-one appointment, or in a group advising format. The editors
and authors have done a masterful job of compiling chapters that
will assist advisors with meeting the needs of first-year students.
