Whether you come to advising as a new hire or as a veteran faculty member, the first few weeks advising students can be overwhelming. It can be a challenge to organize the various demands so that you will not only survive advising, but thrive doing it. Since students' academic futures depend upon your advice, you need to understand what students expect from you.

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advisor competencies, role of advisor, new advisor, Marsha Miller

As I reflect upon my three years as an academic advisor, I realize that I have learned a lot that may help new advisors quickly transition into their advising roles. I hope that new advisors will read carefully and learn from my experiences. I also hope that senior advisors will review this and take a minute to share your wisdom and encourage new advisors.

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role of advisor, preparedness, advising strategy, new advisor, Misty Altiparmak

Institutions of higher education continually face budget constraints as they struggle to provide high quality services to students. Today many institutions turn to academic advisors for assistance in meeting this challenge. 'Academic advising is the only structured activity on the campus in which all students have the opportunity for on-going, one-to-one interaction with a concerned representative of the institution' (Habley, 1994). While the delivery of advising services varies among institutions, one option can help address the needs of both students and institutions: the employment of graduate assistants (GAs) within advising offices.

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collaboration, encouraging students, new advisor, Melissa Mentzer, Katherine Huber, Leslie Monaco

Advisor training programs typically end just when the most critical part of an advisor’s development begins—the experiential synthesis of the conceptual, informational and relational components of advising that is achieved student-by-student in the advising chair. As a profession, we should do more to help new advisors reach their potential by creating year-long new advisor development programs that recognize the experiential nature of advisor development by setting realistic expectations for first-year advisor development, establishing expectations for long-term development and providing the necessary support to move from the first set of expectations to the second (Folsom, 2007, p. 8). With the publication of NACADA’s new monograph, The New Advisor Guidebook: Mastering the Art of Advising Through the First Year and Beyond, we now have the resources and tools to do this.

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advisor competencies, advisor training, academic support, new advisor, advising skills, Pat Folsom

Ten tips to ease the new advisor’s transition into the field or to remind veteran advisors of the things they should keep in mind when working with new colleagues.

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new advisor, Erin Justyna, Rebecca Daly Cofer

While new advisors come into the field with many questions and much to learn, they also bring with them a unique skill set.

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collaboration, new advisor, Amy LaRocca

I have been fortunate to serve in my current position as academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for these six months…As I reflect on my first semester, I share some advice that may benefit new and aspiring professionals coming into the profession of academic advising.

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professional development, new advisor, Mark Nelson, professionalism

As with any profession, academic advising requires training, but institutions often struggle to identify a centralized resource or approach for implementing advisor training.  With obstacles of limited financial support, workloads stretched beyond capacity, and autonomous centers with disparate advising structures, advisor training has been a challenge for many institutions. The authors offer their advisor training as a potential model for other institutions.

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theory, theory to practice, professional development, rapport, communication, collaboration, role of advisor, advising theory, ethical approaches, ethics, advising approaches, professionalism, new advisor, learning outcomes, Megan Wuebker, Angela Cook

Over the last six years, new cohorts of mentors and protégés (new advisors) have entered the program to aid in their personal and professional development at Temple University.

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mentoring, professional development, collaboration, build relationships, advisor training, advising workshops, professionalism, new advisor, Gavin Farber

The development and implementation of structured paths for professional development and career advancement for academic advisors are becoming progressively more important. In an effort to identify essential skills and characteristics as well as provide guidance to advisors seeking advancement, the advising community at Kansas State University developed a career ladder framework based on the NACADA Core Competencies of Academic Advising.

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professional development, advisor competencies, community relationships, advising environment, new advisor, Ashley Thomas, Bradford Cunningham

When he first began advising, the author “had only a vague understanding of the advising profession.”  He had to find a way to take what he already knew and bring that into a new space.

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professional development, advisor competencies, personal philosophy, advising theory, advising strategy, teaching strategy, new advisor, advising approaches, Aaron Pryor

Academic advisors come from different lived experiences, educational, and professional backgrounds. Considering the multitude of paths coming into the field, it is essential to work with new advisors to support them through their transition into the advising field and retain them for the future of the field.

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professional development, build relationships, advisor training, peer mentors, advising approaches, new advisor, Rafael R. Almanzar, Kelsie Poe

Onboarding is not the same as training; it refers to the process by which new employees are integrated into an organization and its culture. Using NACADA’s Core Competencies of Academic Advising, results from an onboarding survey, and research into best practices in training and development, the authors revamped the onboarding experience for new advisors at their institution.

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professional development, advisor competencies, advisor training, advising environment, new advisor, Kelsey Bannon, Judi Brewer