Advising Success Grants
October 3, 2005
Colleagues:
On Friday, September 30th, Dr. Charlie Nutt, Associate Director of the National Academic Advising Association, visited campus to help us think about the links between undergraduate student advising and academic success and retention. In addition, Charlie shared many promising practices that might make for strong Advising for Success proposals under our Initiative for Teaching and Learning Excellence.
Among the ideas shared:
- view advising as teaching rather than as service or as mere assistance with course selection--teaching students what they need to know, do, and value in order to successfully navigate a university, get connected to the range of campus support services, and successfully complete their degree programs
- outline student learning outcomes for academic advising -- consider how we want students to behave or think differently as a result of academic advising
- acknowledge that not all students need the same kind of academic advising and that students' needs change with age and life circumstances
- see academic advising as a partnership; outline the responsibilities for students, professional advisors, career services personnel, and faculty in that partnership
- prepare advising syllabi that identify student outcomes and responsibilities
- identify advising as a faculty responsibility--when appropriate--in faculty position announcements and ask questions about each candidate's experience with and notions of academic advising
- create assessment systems for determining student success in meeting advising outcomes and program success in helping students meet those outcomes
- create advisor development programs that focus on things other than policies and procedures, dates and deadlines
- explore the innovative and appropriate use of technologies for parts of academic advising
- understand that what students want in an academic advisor is someone who knows, cares, and is accessible
Also on the panel that day were three undergraduate students. They encouraged us to:
- help students get involved/connected
- see advising as teaching and help change students' perspectives of what advising is
- find ways to encourage students to understand that advising is a shared responsibility
For examples of some award-winning, innovative academic advising programs, check out:
- http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/archive/index.htm
- http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/EPub_Winners.htm
We hope to see strong proposals in the Advising for Success category--as well as in our 3 other grant categories. For further assistance preparing strong proposals, plan to attend our October 11th workshop (3:30-4:30, city union). Information on the ITLE grants and on the October 11th workshop is available at http://www.unl.edu/svcaa/calendar/.
ITLE proposals are due on October 28.
Best wishes,
Barbara Couture
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
