Advisor Professional Development

• Ensuring Advisor Success: Mastering the Art of Advising through the First Year of Advising and Beyond (REC028CD)
• Proactively Planning for a Career in Academic Advising (REC029CD)
• Infusing Research into Practice: Multiple Pathways to Conducting Research in Academic Advising (REC030CD)
• Expanding Your Comfort Zone: Strategies for Developing and Demonstrating Cultural Competence in Academic Advising  (REC031CD)

Ensuring Advisor Success: Mastering the Art of Advising through the First Year of Advising and Beyond

Webcast presented April 17, 2008 (84 minutes - Slidecast format - ISBN No. 978-1-935140-56-6)

Mastering the art of advising is a developmental journey. Advisors develop excellence experientially. As they work with students over time, they gradually synthesize their conceptual, informational and relational skills. This presentation is for new advisors at the beginning of this journey and the people responsible for the training and development these advisors will need along the way.   The presentation's focus is on managing the first year of new advisor development, whether that development is self-managed or provided through a formal advisor development program. The Presenters share a New Advisor Growth Chart that sets clear, reasonable expectations for new advisor development; use the chart to demonstrate how to set developmental goals; address issues to consider in creating a road map and offer examples for self-managed development plans and formal advisor development plans.

In this slidecast (voice-over-PowerPoint) presentation, Pat Folsom and Jennifer Joslin (University of Iowa) demonstrate that:

• advisors new to the profession need extended, ongoing developmental support to master the art of advising
• developmental support should extend past initial training to address issues that arise as new advisors begin working with students and experience seasonal advising issues (e.g. registration periods, drop/add periods
• to grow, new advisors must know where they are going. They must have clear expectations/learning outcomes for what they should know and be able to do by certain points in their careers.
• the New Advisor Chart and the New Advisor Guidebook provide the means by which new advisors and the people responsible for their training can create developmental road maps.

"I just wanted to stress how much our advisors enjoyed this Webinar. Many commented on how this was the best one yet and that's from folks who attended all of the ones presented last year and this year. Kudos to Pat and Jennifer for a fantastic presentation!" -- DaNay Phelps, University Academic Advising, Academic Affairs Office of the Provost, Texas Tech University

Other participants said:

• This webinar promoted a good discussion among our staff as to how we can evaluate ourselves and continue to grow in our roles as advisors
• This was the most helpful al all the webinars to date. Most helpful - the charts.It really helped me see my position in a new light. Although I knew I was making a contribution to the overall quality of the students graduate program, this webinar really helped me to see exactly how important my job really is!
• It is nice to have a resource that I can reference and continue enhancing my skills as an advisor.I think the emphasis on organizing the advising as well as the training process were much needed for our institution.
• The self management techniques were great, but the training suggestions were awesome as well, made me think of ways we could improve our training here since I just went through it.
• I especially liked that the presenters gave examples of self management and also advisor development for group training.

Presentation Handout

To Purchase on-line using a credit card:

Recording on CD:  REC028CD

Member Price: $125

Nonmember Price: $250

$1 added to item for shipping

If you must use a purchase order, please follow the instructions found on this webpage.

Proactively Planning for a Career in Academic Advising

Webcast presented September 18, 2008   (82 minutes - Slidecast format - ISBN No. 978-1-935140-60-3)

Proactively planning a career is as important for academic advisors as it is for the students we advise. In this slidecast (voice-over-PowerPoint) presentation, NACADA President Jennifer Bloom and Professional Development Committee Chair Albert Matheny  discuss a variety of ways to advance a career in the academic advising field, offering specific suggestions on steps advisors and advising administrators can take to ensure long and successful careers in the field.

Jenny and Albert share:

• how advisors can explore their personal definitions of success, identify their individual strengths, and seek out opportunities that will allow them to utilize these strengths
• personal and professional building blocks that can aid career advancement, including educational opportunities and advanced degree options advisors might consider pursuing
• institutions that have developed model professional development programs and/or career progression ladders that help advisors continue to hone and develop their skills

One viewer said: The suggestions that were given by both presenters regarding the ways that one can grow professionally and personally were most helpful. We came away with other areas to develop that perhaps we have not previously considered.

Others found particularly helpful:

• Learning about how other universities have career ladders for advisors to motivate and retain them
• How to get more involved with NACADA
• The idea that an institution could establish different levels/pay grades for advisors is a moderately helpful solution to the "topping-out" that typically occurs in this profession
• Good opportunity to talk to our advisors about our career path and help them put it in perspective

Presentation Handout

To Purchase on-line using a credit card:

Recording on CD: REC029CD

Member Price: $125

Nonmember Price: $250

$1 added to item for shipping

If you must use a purchase order, please follow the instructions found on this webpage.

Infusing Research into Practice: Multiple Pathways to Conducting Research in Academic Advising

Webcast presented December 12, 2008   (83 minutes - Slidecast format - ISBN No. 978-1-935140-62-7 )

In recent years NACADA has revisited its definition, approach, and use of research to advance the field of academic advising. Specifically, the NACADA Research Committee and the "Taskforce for Infusing Research Throughout NACADA" have studied the ways in which advisors and administrators consume and produce research.

In this slidecast (voice-over-PowerPoint) presentation, Joshua Smith (IUPUI, 2006-2008 Research Committee Chair and current Taskforce Chair) and Wendy Troxel (Illinois State University, Research Committee Member):

• discuss the role of research in advising
• describe the Taskforce recommendations
• share the results of a research study conducted with NACADA members that examined advisor perceptions of research and its role in practice
• explain the multiple ways that advisors and administrators can become involved in research that is relevant, useful, and advances the profession
• identifiy next steps for consuming and producing research in academic advising
• discuss hot topics in need of future research

Participants said:

• We are glad that research in advising is becoming a focus for NACADA and hope to contribute to the efforts! The concept of challenging assumptions is powerful.  
• Our group appreciated the handouts, used them to take notes, and read the article prior to the webinar. Staff have discussed aspects of the article since then, so reading it was useful.
• We liked the 'advisors have a responsibility to contribute to the profession' tone -- it keeps the bar high!

Others found especially helpful:

• Getting tools regarding research and a better feeling about the direction the field of advising is heading
• Clarification of the notion of the divide between researchers and practitioners, which so often is the academic side of the house and the more student services side of the house
• Encouragement to continue looking for opportunities to research

Presentation Handout

To Purchase on-line using a credit card:

Recording on CD:  REC030CD 

Member Price: $125

Nonmember Price: $250

$1 added to item for shipping

If you must use a purchase order, please follow the instructions found on this webpage.

Expanding Your Comfort Zone: Strategies for Developing and Demonstrating Cultural Competence in Academic Advising

Webcast presented June 12, 2007 (58 minutes - Slidecast format - ISBN No. 978-1-935140-47-4 )

Ethnic minorities have become a numerical majority in North America. As noted by Grewe (June 2007, Academic Advising Today), "The impact of this growth is pervasive and is evident in the current generation of students who are starting to matriculate through collegiate programs, as they are the most racially and ethnically diverse in this nation's history. For those involved with student development at the postsecondary level, this indicates a need to adapt current policies and practices to better meet the unique needs of our students. As academic advisors who are charged with facilitating students toward the development of their total potential, this means the development of new skills and strategies in order to provide more effective advising services."

In this slidecast (voice-over-PowerPoint) presentation, Blane Harding (Director of Advising, Recruitment, and Retention for the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University) discusses the dynamics of a changing population and the impact this has on education and advising, the development of cultural identity and worldview as important concepts for interaction, challenges and opportunities for interaction and effectiveness while working with diverse student populations, and concepts and strategies for culturally competent advising.

Blane considers:

• the results of student self-authorship and ownership of their own education.

• cultural considerations for intervention with diverse students.
• the four components of culturally competent advising.
• theories of ethnic identity development and degrees of acculturation for students.
• intercultural awareness and perceptions of self.
• consideration of the individual within a cultural context.
• how to treat students equally by treating them differently.

One viewer said, I learned that equal treatment is not the same as equitable treatment. I need to adjust my behaviors to most closely fit with what the student (and anyone else!) needs.  Another said, As a group we thought the presenter was very knowledgeable and fun to listen to. He had lots of great examples and practical ways of implementing the material presented.

Others found particularly helpful:

• Introduction of racial inequality theories and amalgamation
• Discussion of equality of results need to be equal to equality of opportunity
• Like the idea of expanding our comfort zone rather than just stepping outside of it; Don't assume anything about a student; Think in terms of diversity instead of minority
• Appreciated Blane's stories to illustrate his points, and his sense of humor
• Cultural Adaptation chart; ideas for incorporating info; examples illustration how this is a life-long process; suggestions for interactions
• Ideas for advising style and culturally responsive interactions

Presentation Handout

To Purchase on-line using a credit card:

Recording on CD:  REC031CD

Member Price: $125

Nonmember Price: $250

$1 added to item for shipping

If you must use a purchase order, please follow the instructions found on this webpage.