Academic advisors have the unique opportunity to assist new students as they transition to higher education. Thus, it is important for an academic advisor to be equipped with an abundance of resources in their toolbox pertaining to student success. This article shares some examples of topics and action items advisors can share with new students to help them on their road to success.
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The “cafeteria model” of course selection and academic planning has long been a tradition in higher education and can complicate the advising experience. The cafeteria model is meant to offer students choice, but it can also lead to excess credit accumulation, longer time to completion, and negative outcomes for students. Harrisburg Area Community College has demonstrated positive outcomes by deconstructing the cafeteria model in favor of a more focused and intentional model of educational planning that builds relationships - student-to-advisor as well as colleague-to-colleague.
The goal of this paper is to learn about the professional competencies of academic advisors with doctorates. To gather information, an IRB-approved survey was distributed through the NACADA listserv and collected responses from 430 advisors, including 73 with doctorates. Responses illustrated that advisors with doctoral degrees surpass the standards for academic advising detailed in NACADA’s core competencies. And yet, survey results also revealed hesitancy and misconceptions around hiring advisors with doctorates.
Quality faculty advising is often noted as vital and critical to student success. However, most institutions are not assessing the quality of faculty advising. In fact, when faculty advising is assessed it is often limited, including only quantitative surveys of student satisfaction. Moreover, when assessment occurs it is not typically intended to improve faculty advising and it is not typically used in formal reviews of faculty performance (e.g., tenure). Meaningful and comprehensive assessment is key to quality advising that supports student success. This brief review of the research literature on assessment of faculty advising, identified areas for improvement in practice and policy. Institutions of higher education, professional associations, unions, and accrediting bodies all play a role in improving and/or maintaining quality faculty advising through setting expectations for advising and outlining best practice for assessment.
