In the United Kingdom, we lack a national organization devoted to those interested in Personal Tutoring and the field remains fragmented, although there is a core group of active researchers and practitioners in the area. I think we have much to learn from you, and I hope that we also have something of value to share.
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As the nation continues down a turbulent financial path, we will undoubtedly be called upon to justify our advising programs and the impact our programs have on student success and student persistence. We have shown, and we can continue to show, the tremendous impact academic advising has on all aspects of the student experience.
As academic advisors we interact with the entire campus community to communicate possibilities to students as they identify patterns and phenomenon that explain the world. But the majority of advisors never venture beyond this state of hypothesis to validate their knowledge, share it with other advisors, or use it to inform practice. Why?
To ascertain what our millennial students wanted and needed from academic advisors, we designed a twenty-three item questionnaire that first-year students completed ...The survey results reflect how our students’ needs and approaches compare with those of typical millennial students and suggest areas for change in our present advising practices.
This informal study shows the potential for examining the academic language advisors, faculty, and staff use in communication with students...[and] serves as an example of how advisors can do quick, informal studies on topics that affect their advising practice and make a difference to the success of our students.
This article discusses an analytical approach to the collection and analysis of data in academic advising and provides examples of the use of quantitative data within advising practice at International Christian University (ICU).
Advisors have the freedom to choose to be at one of four levels within our discipline: advising practitioner, emerging professional, advising professional, or advising scholar.
Given the current lack of research on the academic advising field and profession, if advisors do not pick up the banner, what are the implications? The authors offer suggestions on how to get started with research in advising.
Academic advising is crucial if institutions are to achieve goals of persistence and timely graduation, as well as student self-realization and growth. It is one of the two most important levers to pull within the university to positively impact student success… As institutions look to academic advisors for leadership, members of the profession need to be able to articulate their value, assess their impact, and embrace the changes required to serve students better.