Roberta 'Bobbie' Flaherty, NACADA Executive Director
Welcome to a new academic year that promises many new experiences, challenges, and opportunities for academic advisors! These same expectations apply to NACADA, as we work to develop and deliver new methods for helping you address the academic advising needs of your students to enhance their success. There are always new initiatives underway at NACADA!
Our first challenge will be meeting the diverse needs of our record 8,242 members! We will begin by continuing the successful events offered in the past (Administrators’ Institute, Assessment Institute, Regional Conferences, State Conferences, Summer Institutes, and, of course, the soon to occur National Conference), and then adding to those successes with a National Seminar addressing Ethical/Legal Issues in Academic Advising in February. The Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising Program continues as well.
In addition, the first in a series of Advising Training CDs will be released soon. This series, entitled “Foundations of Academic Advising,” will kick off with “What is Academic Advising?” – which will begin by discussing the history and terminology of academic advising and describing the general expectations for academic advising in the areas of content, pedagogy, outcomes, and assessment. This will be followed with CDs to develop advising understanding (in areas such as how advising is organized, how students develop, legal/ethical issues, etc.) and skills (in areas such as multicultural interaction, interpersonal communication, how to organize resources, how to incorporate technology into everyday practice, etc.).
This fall should see the release of a new monograph, “Peer Advising: Intentional Connections to Support Student Learning,” and “A Guide to Assessment of Academic Advising,” delivered on CD to assist in the establishment of an institutional assessment program.
By January, we hope to release a joint publication with Jossey-Bass, titled “Career Advising: An Academic Advisor’s Guide,” which will serve as a handbook as the lines of academic and career advising become more blended. This guide was authored by Virginia Gordon, and we are proud to offer it to the higher education community.
At least monthly, you will also find new information or new topics available in the ever changing NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources on our web site. The NACADA Consultants Bureau is also expanding to offer ongoing assistance to institutions beyond “one-shot” consultancies and is enhancing its team approach to provide broader expertise.
Add these exciting new resources to an “on-time” Journal in your mailbox twice a year, and you have a comprehensive library and network of resources at your fingertips.
Just as you have your year laid out in front of you, so does your association. We look forward to serving you and welcome your opinions/ideas on what we might do to serve you even more.
Roberta 'Bobbie' Flaherty, Executive Director National Academic Advising Association
Cite this article using APA style as: Flaherty, R. (2005, September). From the executive director: A new year with new expectations. Academic Advising Today, 28(3). from [insert url here]
