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Entries for 'research'

01

Say “assessment” to most people and they think it’s like taking cough syrup—you don’t particularly like the taste, but you know it’s good for you. As the Assessment of Advising Interest Group (AAIG) co-chairs, we’d like to change this somewhat negative view of assessment. (Those of you already on the assessment bandwagon can stop reading now.)

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research, collaboration, assessment, Michael Kirk-Kuwaye, Lynn Higa
01

In tough economic times, higher education administrators are obliged to seek cost-saving measures and/or to conduct cost-benefit analyses of programs. Academic advising programs have often been the targets for such reviews. Academic advising administrators, therefore, must be prepared to respond to these challenges before they occur.

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decision-making, research, retention, reflection, role of advisor, critical thinking, assessment, advising environment, Tom Grites
01

Research and best practices in academic advising can be valuable to new and veteran advisers looking to improve their effectiveness in serving students. However, if academic advising as a profession is to realize its deserved value and status on our campuses, we must find ways to spread the good word about advising to faculty, administrators, and decision-makers beyond the existing advising community. As Richard Light, in his book Making the Most of College (2001) stated, “good advising may be the single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience” (p. 81). Academic advising plays an important role in student success and retention. Therefore, we must strive to collaborate and build partnerships to further research and assessment and spread the good word about academic advising to the broader higher education community.

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research, retention, collaboration, build relationships, Mary Stuart Hunter, James Gahagan
01

Good advising may be the single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience as noted by evidence gathered from 1,600 one-on-one undergraduate interviews. Several of the overarching findings from these interviews are 'actionable' by advisors. I look forward to sharing details from these findings with you at the NACADA national conference. However, since June brings freshman enrollment in many areas, I thought that you might benefit from a brief summary of the findings most applicable to advising incoming students.

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research, communication, collaboration, build relationships, academic support, advising strategy, advising approaches, encouraging students, Richard Light
Posted in: 2003 June 26:2
01

Why do some students fail to succeed in college? What interventions are most successful with these students? There is great demand for research revolving around these questions. As chair of the Probation, Dismissal & Reinstatement (PDR) Issues Interest Group, I challenge you to approach your PDR students from a research perspective.

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research, academic support, dismissal, probation, Johanna Pionke
01

The Assessment of Advising Interest Group became a commission in part as a consequence of the growing interest in, and awareness of, the importance in assessment of advising. This change coincided with the Commission’s national survey on the status of the assessment of advising. Although the results of this survey are currently being prepared for submission to the NACADA Journal, it might be useful to look at some of the responses to the survey question, “What could the Assessment of Advising Commission/NACADA sponsor to assist your assessment efforts?”

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research, assessment, Victor Macaruso
01

Suzanne M. Trump (Assistant Dean of Retention and Academic Advising, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia) and Janet Spence (Director, University-Wide Advising Practice, Office of the Provost/Undergraduate Affairs, University of Louisville) share what they gained from the NACADA Administrators’ and Assessment Institutes.

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research, professional development, communication, collaboration, advisor training, advising workshops, learning outcomes, Suzanne Trump, Janet Spence
01
I'm a bicyclist. I love the road. I tried off-road cycling, but I didn't like the uncertainty of the trail. There were too many turns, obstacles, and variables for my liking. I like a well paved, proven, and clearly marked path with unambiguous edges and boundaries. It is my comfort zone.When I approached advising, I wanted the same thing - a well-defined, clear path without obstacles. I sought a clean edge. But, as I have discovered, I would never experience new possibilities until I was willing to move out past the edges. The terrain out past the edges is filled with a rich fauna of color and texture. It is here that I have found the fullness of advising.

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research, collaboration, reflection, assessment, summer institute, Jerry Harrell
01
The highly decentralized advising system at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) makes it difficult to gain a reliable view of the effectiveness of advising on campus. In response to the developing emphasis on campus toward assessment, a team of advisors was asked to lead an initiative to address this need. As representatives of the UAB advising community, we were asked by the administrators of our institution to attend the 2005 NACADA Assessment of Academic Advising Institute to begin the assessment process. Although we were from three different units, we were able to utilize our campus wide Committee on Academic Advising (CAA) to provide the structure for this project. The result of our two-year effort is a comprehensive approach to assessment that will be implemented university wide.

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research, professional development, collaboration, assessment, advising workshops, learning outcomes, Louise Cecil, Sharon Jacobson, Deborah Littleton
01

One acronym strikes fear into many in the south-QEP. The QEP or Quality Enhancement Plan is a requirement for reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). This is how one college, with NACADA 's help, survived and thrived during its QEP journey.

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proactive advising, research, collaboration, academic support, advising strategy, NACADA, assessment, learning outcomes, Amy Tilly
01

As greater numbers of students enter our institutions, retention and ethical service to these students become even larger issues. Bradburn (2002) indicates that approximately one-third of entering students leave our institutions without a credential; these numbers are even higher for minority (Hodge & Pickron, 2004) and community college students (ACT, 2005). Although current scholarship (Lotkowski, et al. 2005) on academic retention shows that a relationship with an academic advisor helps to increase retention, many students do not take advantage of this resource.

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research, retention, cultural differences, advising strategy, assessment, advising approaches, Liberal Arts, diversity, Glenn Miller, Holly Messitt
Posted in: 2007 March 30:1
01
Ernie Pascarella and I have now reviewed nearly 35 years of research on how college affects students (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005), and it seems entirely reasonable to ask: 'Well, what did you learn, and so what?' Two sets of conclusions come to mind, one about how students learn and the other (more speculative) about how colleges shape that learning.

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theory, research, advising theory, student motivation, learning outcomes, Patrick Terenzini
Posted in: 2007 June 30:2
01
College administrators and faculty are responsible for making academic, programmatic and financial decisions that can greatly impact an advising program. The practice of academic advising can be misunderstood by those who do not function in an advising role. Thus, it is essential that advisors interpret the ‘story’ of an advising program in ways that are informative and of interest to decision makers.

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research, communication, role of advisor, advising strategy, advising approaches, advising environment, learning outcomes, advising skills, advising competencies, Gail Stepina
Posted in: 2007 June 30:2
01
In early 2006, the NACADA Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission achieved a milestone when it completed a comprehensive survey of its Commission membership. The results were both expected and surprising, with certain trends transcending the small confines of our very specialized group and adding further details to the state of the advising profession in general. On the broadest level, the findings show that we are overwhelmingly female, well educated, not very well paid, and rather poorly trained. Yet, we like our work.

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research, advising environment, research group, Kati Markowitz, Judith Goetz
Posted in: 2007 June 30:2
01

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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research, cultural differences, advising strategy, personal tutoring, advising approaches, advising research, Paula Hixenbaugh
Posted in: 2008 March 31:1
01

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.

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research, retention, persistence, advising research, Brett McFarlane
Posted in: 2009 March 32:1
01

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).

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research, advising research, Sonoko Morikawa
Posted in: 2011 March 34:1
19
In just a short few decades, the study and practice of academic advising has generated new ways of thinking and practice to address the ever-changing student body attending various institution types...

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news, Joshua Smith, president, theory to practice, research, professionalism
Posted in: 2013 March 36:1
19

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.

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research, Jason Barkemeyer, Joshua Larson, Anna Adams, research group, advising research
Posted in: 2013 March 36:1
13
As the field of academic advising embarks upon professionalization and as universities begin investing in more professional academic advisors, it is important to better understand advisors’ workplace education and career development.  To explore this underdeveloped part of the field’s literature, the author conducted interviews with four professional academic advisors to come to a better understanding of how they viewed their professional development and identity.

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research, professional development, Craig McGill
Posted in: 2015 March 38:1
29

The 2016 convening of the Reinvention Collaborative focused on the theme of Diversity, Culture, & Identity in America’s Research Universities: Research-based Initiatives that Promote Shared Discovery and Learning by Students, Faculty, and Staff. Wendy Troxel, Director of the NACADA Center for Research at Kansas State University, attended the convening and reports for NACADA members.

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research, Wendy Troxel
23

The authors discuss an initiative developed to fill a gap in professional development opportunities available to the academic advisors at their institution.

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research, professional development, rapport, communication, collaboration, build relationships, graduation rates, reflection, advisor training, community relationships, advising workshops, digital, research group, advising research, Michael Harper, Andrew Smith, teacher
23

Implementing a successful outcomes assessment plan, particularly one that assesses learning and performance across campus units, is a big undertaking.  The authors consider ten essential, intangible elements of any successful outcomes assessment endeavor.

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decision-making, research, professional development, communication, collaboration, build relationships, advisor competencies, community relationships, assessment, common reading, mission statement, research group, advising research, Jaimie Haider, Ashley Moir
29

This article aims to show that when communication improves across silos, or separate entities on college campuses that rarely interact, it might increase empathy for the student-athletes and facilitate simple programmatic changes that could increase the likelihood of student-athletes successfully completing the degree programs that they would ideally like to pursue.

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research, communication, graduation rates, major choice, first year students, advising strategy, advising approaches, encouraging students, advising environment, advising research, first generation students, academic support, Janice Stapely, Thomas Bieber, student at
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The author discusses how she benefited from the Assessment Institute: learning the curriculum, being guided by faculty members, and networking with like-minded colleagues from across the country and abroad.

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theory, research, professional development, advisor training, role of advisor, advising theory, preparedness, advising strategy, assessment, advising workshops, professionalism, mission statement, advising approaches, Fang Du
26

In August 2017, the field of academic advising lost a champion with the passing of recent NACADA Journal co-editor Leigh S. Shaffer.  Leigh, a recognized scholar in his field of social psychology, authored or co-authored 11 peer-reviewed articles for the NACADA Journal, more than any other author in the Journal’s history.  

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news, research, build relationships, history, research group, advising research, death, dealing with death, Craig McGill, Marsha Miller, grieving
Posted in: 2018 March 41:1
26

Change is an inevitable part of higher education today, but as our students’ needs change, advisors will have to adapt to new technology platforms to provide better support.  Academic advisors can be dynamic agents of change.

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research, professional development, advisor training, role of advisor, academic support, advising strategy, technology, digital, professionalism, Zachary Underwood, Melinda Anderson
Posted in: 2018 March 41:1
29

Most major academic advising theories stress the importance of the advising relationship.  In advising, the quality of the relationship between advisor and student is at the heart of most interventions.  The author notes that the shared focus of various advising theories on factors that foster the advisor-student relationship is very similar to the common factors theory in psychology.

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theory, research, empathy, communication, build relationships, advisor competencies, academic support, advising theory, advising approaches, active listening, advising environment, advising research, Mehvash Ali
Posted in: 2018 June 41:2
29

Emotional exhaustion may be a prevalent threat to those working in the field of advising. How can job burnout be avoided when the fundamentals of the job seem to necessitate frequent and intense emotional labor? 

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research, empathy, build relationships, role of advisor, academic support, advising strategy, advising approaches, advising environment, Amber Sechelski, Chelsea Story
Posted in: 2018 June 41:2
27

As a primary point of contact between universities and students, academic advisors are often asked to integrate data-driven tools into their practice but only rarely do the concerns of advisors guide the creation of new approaches to institutional data. By bringing the advising perspective to analyses of student data, new opportunities can be found to support student pathways with helpful information.

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decision-making, research, major choice, academic support, preparedness, advising strategy, critical thinking, encouraging students, advising research, Sarah Blanchard Kyte
Posted in: 2019 March 42:1
28

Faculty members fill many roles at the institution, but while they are experts in their field of study, they typically receive little training or preparation to serve as mentor, coach, or advisor to students. A team of primary-role advisors and advising administrators at Penn State developed a foundational on-line course designed to help the faculty advisor understand the advising role.

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research, professional development, communication, advisor competencies, advisor training, faculty advisors, Terry Musser, advising research, learning outcomes, Dawn Coder, Julia Glover
28

The authors contend that with the increasing focus on data-driven decision making, advisors must strengthen their scholarly backgrounds to effectively engage in the administrative landscape and ensure advising efficacy and support.

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theory, research, collaboration, role of advisor, theoretical reflections, advising theory, critical thinking, research group, advising research, Kiana Shiroma, Jennifer Brown, Michael Kirk-Kuwaye
28

The Dyson College Academic Advising Office at Pace University has made significant strides towards a full-on integration of technology and is consequently changing how students expect, and deserve, immediate attention to their requests. 

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research, professional development, academic support, advising strategy, digital, advising approaches, advising space, physical space, advising environment, Richard D. Miller III, Heather Calchera
28

When academic advisors collaborate with institutional research professionals on their campuses for such an endeavor, it is important to move beyond the data which is readily available to institutional researchers to find sufficient data points for academic advisors to determine where to focus their student mentoring efforts.

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proactive advising, research, retention, stress, academic support, at-risk students, probation, encouraging students, persistence, advising research, Meg Wright Sidle, Megan Childress
28

With the student at the center of The University of Texas at Tyler’s efforts, Persistence and Retention Teams have been implemented to streamline employee communication to diminish the silo effect and find resolutions to student issues as efficiently as possible.

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proactive advising, research, retention, stress, academic support, at-risk students, probation, technology, encouraging students, persistence, advising research, Douglas Vardeman
18

Scholarly production and practice-sharing can be a great challenge for advising practitioner-scholars as the demands of advising practice far outweigh the time available for developing research ideas and writing for the purpose of disseminating best practices to the field. Connection with others in the field can also be a barrier. The NACADA Virtual Idea Development Group is one writing support endeavor within the overall NACADA Writing Group initiative that seeks to develop and nurture academic writing skills.

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mentoring, research, professional development, communication, advisor training, advising theory, research group, advising research, Ashlock, Hay, Herstek, Kersey, MacLean, Price-Williams
24

Academic advisors frequently receive and analyze the important statistics of retention and graduation rates, but do not always have the time, space, or familiarity with a pathway for investigating their own practice to understand how they, in their advising practice, contribute to the story of how and why those numbers have come to be. Practitioner inquiry can produce deep knowledge of on-the-ground daily work as advisors that can help better serve students.

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theory, theory to practice, research, assessment, advising research, Mark Chimel, Heather Hurst
Posted in: 2020 March 43:1
26

Organized anarchy is presented by the authors as the best organizational structure for meeting the needs of advisors by providing the space to practice both transformational and developmental advising in a way that most effectively meets the wide-ranging needs of students.

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theory, research, role of advisor, advising theory, encouraging students, conflict resolution, Douglas Vardeman, Laura Grace Dykes
Posted in: 2020 June 43:2
26

The author suggests the time has come to shift academic advising practices from a Millennial framework to a Generation Z (Gen Z) approach.

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research, communication, cultural differences, digital, advising approaches, advising research, Rich Robbins
Posted in: 2020 June 43:2
Academic Advising Today, a NACADA member benefit, is published four times annually by NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. NACADA holds exclusive copyright for all Academic Advising Today articles and features. For complete copyright and fair use information, including terms for reproducing material and permissions requests, see Publication Guidelines.