...Assessing dispositions is an area that is necessary but difficult and is still in the process of development. Academic advisors have a plethora of valuable information about student dispositions and this resource is underutilized. More information needs to be gathered about the who, what, when, and how of disposition evaluation. Increased formal involvement of advisors needs to be explored and implemented.

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role of advisor, teacher education, assessment, Lee Kem

The Marquette University School of Education prepares teachers for urban classrooms. As the School’s Director of Undergraduate Advising, I occasionally hear complaints from beginning students (who, as a group, are predominantly Caucasian) about what they consider to be the disproportionate focus on diversity issues within their Education courses.“I’m not a racist!” each student invariably proclaims. They report that the recurring discussion about white privilege and social justice makes them feel uncomfortable. “Good!” I think to myself. “Here’s the opening for a serious teachable moment.” I feel prepared to talk with these students about the program’s goals. We discuss the importance of recognizing ourselves as cultural beings and how biases aren’t always apparent intellectually but can manifest themselves in practice.

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proactive advising, teacher education, cultural differences, preparedness, developmental theory, Tina McNamara

Last summer I attended the NACADA Summer Institute (SI) as a team member from my community college. There were about 130 participants in this SI; about twenty were faculty members. Of those twenty faculty members, I was the sole ESL teacher. I asked a lot of questions, and I did a lot of listening. Once again, I was struck with the dissimilarities when it comes to ESL students.

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international, cultural capital, cultural differences, summer institute, Susan Boland

In 1987, Summer Institute founder Wes Habley – who was completing his two-year term as NACADA's president – had recently accepted a position as Associate Director of the ACT National Center. The role of the Center was to develop conferences and workshops on a variety of topics in higher education. Habley recalls that it had become clear to him "that academic advising was unlike any other student support service. It afforded the continuing process of engaging students in a positive and meaningful way about important educational and career decisions." From the "huge groundswell of interest in advising" that he had witnessed in his thirteen years as an advisor, Habley knew "that advising was as exciting to many, many other people as it was to me…My new role with ACT provided a venue to develop and lead conferences and workshops. As a result, we offered the first Summer Institute at the University of Iowa in 1987."

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summer institute, history

From June 2005 through December 2011, this publication was titled Academic Advising Today: Lighting Student Pathways. Articles included in these archived editions will be presented in a compiled version as well as broken down into individual articles to facilitate search capacity. News features from this period may be attained by contacting the Managing Editor.

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Academic advisors can play an integral role in promoting student success by assisting students in ways that encourage them to engage in the right kinds of activities, inside and outside the classroom.

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graduation rates, role of advisor, student motivation, persistence, advising director, George Kuh

Greetings! I hope this has been a happy spring for each of you! As I have traveled to Regional Conferences, I have been reminded how special NACADA members are, and I deeply appreciate your enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication to our mission of providing quality academic advising for our students and to our Association.

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Jo Anne Huber

The NACADA Board of Directors and the Council met in Indianapolis in April for their annual mid-year meetings and found “Indy” to be a wonderful venue for NACADA’s upcoming annual Conference. The folks at IUPUI were terrific hosts and provided an opportunity to see more of the city by hosting a wonderful reception at Dean Evenbeck’s home and providing transportation through a beautiful historic district. Couple this experience with a vibrantly beautiful downtown area adjacent to the Convention Center and our host hotels, and everyone was convinced that NACADA Conference participants in October will be very pleased with their Indy experience! Restaurants and entertainment and parks galore offer a multitude of opportunities for exploration.

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Bobbie Flaherty

The learning community is an important asset to college campuses around the country. As an advising community, we should consider what we can discover from learning communities and explore methods of applying these lessons to our advising duties.

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retention, collaboration, build relationships, role of advisor, academic support, advising approaches, Ben Chamberlain

When using Facebook, both higher education professionals and students should proceed with caution. When talking with students, we should warn them to be cautious regarding the content that they post on their profiles. Students believe that Facebook is a students-only site, and that what they post there will only be seen by other students. We should make them aware that professors, administrators, and employers are learning about the site and can sign up for their own accounts with an institutional email address. When considering how we as advisors might use the site, we must keep our ethical standards in mind. Our goal should be to serve the students to the best of our abilities and support their success. We will need to use our best judgment when deciding whether or not to use Facebook contents in disposition assessments and be honest with our students about the impression the profile presents. Before including content from a Facebook profile in any assessments or recommendations, we should have a conversation with the student about how that content could affect the student’s career. Doing so will give students insight into how their profiles represent them and provide them with the opportunity for growth and maturity. Our students should be able to express themselves in their own networks, but we should encourage them to do so with integrity.

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technology, Jenine Mullin