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Advising has influenced how I teach. After three years of ongoing advising sessions with approximately 500 advisees, I can no longer write a syllabus, assign a reading or writing assignment, or even step into a classroom without thinking of comments students have shared…
I came to realize, as I had not before, that advising is a form of teaching, that I could draw on my decades in the classroom. In all teaching, we need to find out where learning should begin; now I was learning about the students in a different context….
Each fall semester for the last six years, our centralized Academic Advising and Planning Center has organized ART MATTERS: A Student Art Exhibition. Our interest in this exhibition developed from an appreciation of the creativity of our students, many of whom come from diverse majors and have wide-ranging career aspirations. Our show is open and inclusive: we accept art from any student, any major, any medium. Our open exhibition acceptance policy demonstrates our non-judgmental philosophy and our commitment to celebrating diversity.
Texting has proven to be a successful correspondence tool in building trust, reliability and confidence in the advisor-student relationship. The advantages plus the simple, adaptable solutions to its short list of cons makes it a favorite form of communication among advisors and students. Texting is one of many proactive advising resources TAMUK Center for Student Success advisors offer that continue to aid in creating a student success-oriented environment with booming graduation and retention rates.
Advising records need to be updated constantly. They also need to be shared, not only between students and advisors but also with the program directors and the department chair for graduation clearance. Students need autonomy to update their own advising sheets according to their academic progress, while the accuracy and integrity of the records should be maintained. This presents a big challenge for updating and sharing.
Professional associations like NACADA provide a forum for doctoral students to seek out mentors who will not only support but further their careers. Doctoral students within NACADA have connected in a variety of ways to share their journeys through coursework, research, and dissertation completion.
