A recent study analyzed academic advising structures at U.S. research institutions and how they relate to student success outcomes of first-year retention and six-year graduation rates. It found that a significant relationship exists and is improved with a shared model of academic advising. However, it is also the case that many institutions across the U.S. are organized such that individual academic units together comprise a university’s decentralized undergraduate structure. What can a siloed university do to begin to shift towards a shared model of academic advising? With collaborative and holistic advising at the core, this article provides five practical recommendations to assist institutions at any stage in advising redesign: 1) define advising, 2) develop a university-wide advising counsel or committee, 3) create standard training resources and communication mechanisms, 4) provide informal opportunities for advisors to connect, and 5) recognize and celebrate advisors.
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How we feel as advising professionals carries over into the student experience, directly impacting our interaction with students. Acknowledging this and developing tools to cope with stress gives us the capacity to enhance that student experience. The authors present the BRIGHT model using lessons from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), resilience theory, positive organizational psychology, and personal life experience. BRIGHT is an acronym for: boundaries, reframing, intuition, goal setting, help-seeking, and time management. The authors have developed the BRIGHT acronym to stand for consideration points when battling burnout. Each component of the model stands for actionable items that advisors can practice and incorporate into their professional work to improve their experience and their interactions with students.
While some academic advisors remain at one institution, many professionals inevitably move to another institution throughout their careers. Whether it be for monetary, family, or other reasons, it is often necessary to make the leap. Many advising roles have some similarities regarding registration, graduation, and orientation. However, there are many subtle but significant differences that can be taken into consideration when looking for a new academic advising position. In this article, authors who have advised at multiple institutions explore the differences that can be seen from one institution to another and examine what to consider while searching for a new advising position. This includes advising structures, office dynamics, salary and benefits, and campus culture.
Hiring an advisor can be quite the endeavor. However, hiring is just the start. Onboarding, training, and consistent professional development are paramount to helping a new advisor acclimate to their new role and responsibilities. Advising leaders are tasked with helping a new hire to gain the confidence, skills, and to believe they can succeed in their job. We also play a critical part in the professional development of our advisors to shape not only their performance with our team, but can also forward them in the next steps of their professional career.
Advising excellence is critical to student success. NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA) offers guidance on academic advising excellence and why it matters. Realizing these lofty goals is particularly challenging in a large, decentralized university context. This article, cowritten with an undergraduate student, is an interdisciplinary thought exercise that applies key constructs from Hospitality Management to academic advising. Although there are many relevant cross-disciplinary connections, this piece focuses on providing consistency in the advising experience for students from diverse academic colleges.
Academic Core Advising is a hub-and-spoke model of academic advising that incorporates professional academic advising, faculty mentoring, and staff support to reduce student barriers and improve student success. This article details the need for advising shifts at a mid-size, public, flagship institution. Discussion includes the process for change, success of the model thus far, and hopes for continued success in the future.
Higher education professionals routinely encounter situations that warrant ethical decision-making. Often, team members find themselves navigating ethical dilemmas without the proper training. This results in team members experiencing a lack of confidence in addressing ethical situations, employing inconsistent approaches and compromising the quality and integrity within a team. It is imperative that leaders foster a culture that promotes ethical decision-making. This article shares how supervisors and administrators can educate and empower team members to foster the development of ethical decision-making skills. Strategies to create a foundation to effectively instill ethical decision-making within teams are provided. Pearls of wisdom that supervisors and administrators can share with team members are highlighted.
In the shared responsibility of academic advising, we are attuned to pay close attention to students' nonverbal cues. Less often discussed, however, are strategies for the academic advisor in improving their own understanding of the ways in which conscious and unconscious gestures may subtly buoy or inhibit trust-building in an advising relationship. Using Schlossberg's (1989) Marginality and Mattering as a theoretical framework, two specific forms of nonverbal communications "the 5 gestures lines and energy states" will be explored and how appropriately determining and expressing nonverbal emotion affects the student experience.
