Academic Advising: Responding from an Administrative Perspective

Kathryn Martin, NACADA Pacesetter Award Recipient 2003

Chancellor, University of Minnesota Duluth

Advising is one of the most crucial functions on any college or university campus. The purpose of these comments is to share with you one campus’s perception of progress to date and how we intend to look into the future, as we strengthen and continue to improve the nature and definition of advising at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD).

Critical to a defined and successful university advising program is keen administrative support that is manifest in the articulated expectation of quality advising. Certainly a reward system which includes advising as a priority is appropriate within a university culture which values and supports advising. Further, as administrators, we frequently have deep concerns about retention, when our primary focus should be the quality of advising.

The crux of the issue in strengthening advising relates directly to the effectiveness of the transition from “prescriptive” advising to a diverse and integrated advising process that is clearly and distinctly dedicated to both academic achievement and the successful development of the person. Thus advising must become central to collegiate success and must be prioritized as such.

At the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), the definition of advising that underscores those elements valued by our university and that has provided a framework for our refocusing of the advising process, is the definition of David Crockett: (Crockett, p.3)

“Academic advising is a developmental process which assists students in the clarification of their life/career goals and in the development of educational plans for the realization of these goals. It is a decision-making process by which students realize their maximum educational potential through communication and information exchanges with an advisor; it is ongoing, multifaceted, and the responsibility of both student and advisor. The advisor serves as a facilitator of communication, a coordinator of learning experiences through course and career planning and academic progress review, and an agent of referral to other campus agencies as necessary.”

At UMD advising is within the purview of Deans and Associate Deans. The associate deans generally coordinate student affairs within collegiate units. We also have an Advisement Coordination Center that serves a three fold mission: provides a safety net for students who perceive that they have had a distressing advising experience; arranges training for faculty and staff; and coordinates collegiate advisement exchanges with Student Affairs personnel.

We believe that answering the “who should be advising” question is less important than the interrelationship and quality of communication among the various individuals involved in advising. Coordinating the communication must be a function of one person involved in the advising process and must have a regular structure.

Strong advising programs have a combination of faculty who are interested and committed to advising as well as professional advisors. Faculty from within a student’s major can provide keen insights into skills development and the status of skills development within the major and can participate in the recording of assessment data relative to the student’s future progress within the major.

Administrative support of advising and to the establishment of a culture that values advising is the cornerstone of a successful collaborative and interactive advising process. Without the collaborative and interactive process both among the advisors and with the advisees, advising will seldom achieve the level of success that students deserve.

The role of the advisor at UMD is to: help students clarify their educational values and goals; guide students toward an academic program in which they can be successful, and acquaint students with campus resources to support academic and personal development and success.

Students are responsible to schedule, prepare for and keep advising appointments. However on occasion, advisors may need to assist the students in the scheduling of appointments. Obviously, any campus must have a respectful and supportive relationship between housing staff and faculty and professional advising personnel.

From our perspective at UMD, critical to a future of successful faculty advising is our commitment to provide electronic support to eliminate or nearly eliminate the function of faculty “bookkeeping” for each advisee. Faculty must be provided electronic support in an effort to reduce the amount of time spent on viewing transcripts, assessing progress toward meeting general education requirement, progress toward the major and subsequent progress toward the degree.

The UMD electronic support system is the ePortfolio, which is an electronic data collection system, which will interface with a graduation planner, specific to the major, all of which is secured. Think of the graduation planner as a departmental “check list.” Each semester the updated student data, courses taken and grades will be automatically downloaded from PeopleSoft student records to the student’s ePortfolio. Students will be initially introduced to the ePortfolio at Orientation. At the time of pre-registration and the selection of a major, students will have the specific department graduation planner integrated with the ePortfolio. Each student will then have a graduation planner aimed at four year graduation which will include a semester by semester format of all required general education courses, required courses in the major and recommended electives. Each semester the record will be updated and will have the capacity to chronologically include assessment materials. The latter is particularly critical in the major where specific skill sets are required to advance to the next level of course work.

Currently, we have selected one department from each collegiate unit to design the department specific templates for their graduation plan. We are also beginning the development of training materials, for both student training and advisor training, and this training will be coordinated by our Academic Coordination Center working with faculty, students and student affairs officers in the collegiate units.

There is no better indicator of the quality of undergraduate education than reflected in the quality of the institution’s advising process. Publicly articulated administrative support and appropriate reward structures set the tone for a collegiate culture that values and sustains quality advising. The focus of advising should be far more than “prescriptive” recording keeping. Instead it should include the technological support needed to provide advisors with the opportunity for both mentoring academically and monitoring the successful development of the person. As administrators it is our obligation to consistently self examine our actions and our programs in hopes of maximizing educational potential. Without exception, successful advising reflects a successful educational experience!

Kathryn Martin, Ph.D., NACADA Pacesetter Award Recipient 2003
Chancellor, University of Minnesota Duluth
218-726-7106
chan@d.umn.edu

References

Crockett, David S., (ed.), Advising Skills, Techniques and Resources: A Compilation of Materials Related to the Organization and Delivery of Advising Services. ACT Corporation, Iowa City, Iowa, 1987.

Gordon, Virginia N., Wesley R. Habley and Associate. Academic Advising a Comprehensive Handbook. Jossey-Bass, Inc., San Francisco, CA, 2000.

Gordon, Virginia, N., Handbook of Academic Advising, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1992

Kramer, Gary L. (ed.). Faculty Advising Examined – Enhancing the Potential of College Faculty as Advisors, Anker Publishing Company, Inc. Bolton, MA, 2003.

President's Letter

Dear Colleagues:

This is my first newsletter column as your president for this next year. First, I would to like to let you know how much of an honor it is to serve you in this capacity. I have been actively involved in NACADA since l983 and have witnessed its tremendous growth, but perhaps more important, watched as NACADA, as a professional association, has taken on a vital role in higher education. Quality academic advising is as important as ever for the success of our students. NACADA, as the premiere association devoted exclusively to encouraging the very best of academic advising practices, has a most important part to play in this success. I believe that as a professional association we have risen to the challenge, but there is still much that needs to be done.

Membership: While we have seen what, even modestly, can be called phenomenal growth, we probably have not reached out to all of the individuals who are providing academic advising. It is important that academic advisors identify with a professional organization that supports their work; the more members NACADA has, the more NACADA can do. This year our Membership Committee will develop a new membership initiative to seek out more academic advisors in our institutions. Specifically we need to know who we have missed…advisors at community colleges? at traditional liberal arts colleges? at major research institutions?-- and reach out to them. I know NACADA has something of benefit to offer and frankly, from my perspective, it’s the “best deal in town.”

Professional Development: In many ways the heart and soul of NACADA are its professional development activities ranging from regional conferences each spring to our multi-day institutes to our national conference each fall (don’t forget next year it’s in Las Vegas.) In addition to these activities, NACADA produces a series of monographs, a journal and has sponsored a teleconference. Our plans for the near future include – “at-a-distance” programming (web casts, on-line courses, or videoconferences), programs for faculty advisors, and additional publications. These professional development opportunities revitalize us, connect us with colleagues from across the nation and indeed the world, and allow us the chance to develop new skills and reexamine our practice. I urge all members to take advantage of these offerings. A wide range of opportunities are purposely offered so that those with limited funds still can have the chance to participate. Bring along colleagues, perhaps someone new to advising, and introduce them to others engaged in this endeavor we call academic advising.

Volunteering: Although NACADA has an Executive Office of which we are extremely proud, the foundational work of the association is done by the many volunteers who find it both personally and professionally rewarding to be a part of NACADA. There are many opportunities for involvement and I encourage everyone to become an active participant in NACADA. This can be done at virtually all levels of the organization. Volunteers bring NACADA its spirit of innovation and energy. You can become involved by simply asking someone: “What can I do to help?” This question will give you more responses than you can imagine. You can also go to our Website (http://www.nacada.ksu.edu) to volunteer.

NACADA has always prized our “grassroots” philosophy: the fact that the organization is open to anyone (one of our strengths is the organization’s diversity of volunteers) and that ideas for improvement and innovation often come from the “bottom up.” This is how it should be; nobody knows better than our membership the issues in academic advising and how to enhance quality advising at our institutions.

This is an organization where all voices need to be heard, and indeed, our organization is structured in such a way that your ideas are heard. We have a devoted Board of Directors, Council, and several Divisions where members are actively involved in addressing the needs of our constituencies. Our leadership is available to listen to you; and actively seek your thoughts, on a variety of topics such as credentialing and professional development.

As your president, I am only an email away at erw2@psu.edu. I invite your comments, concerns, and questions. Like a good advisor, if I am not able to give you a correct answer, I’ll be the first to refer you to someone who can.

Sincerely,

Eric R. White, President, NACADA

You Can Contribute to the Field!

Barbara Walters conducts great interviews. Shaquille O’Neal is a great basketball player. Emeril is a great chef. Everyone wants to be recognized for his/her expertise and it is easy to recognize the talents of these examples. But, how do great advisors and administrators get noticed?

Some are “discovered” through chance observations at conferences, through discussions with others, or reading of their work. Members have expressed interest in being involved more with the association and in contributing to the field, and NACADA is interested in identifying, nurturing, and developing experts within the field. Therefore, NACADA is establishing an Expertise Database. (See article later in this newsletter).

We encourage members to self-identify their areas of expertise for inclusion in a database that will facilitate searches for specific expertise as the need arises. It is also our hope that many members will register so that we can draw expertise from our diverse membership (institutional type or size, gender, ethnicity, advising role, etc.).

The Expertise Database will be utilized in the selection of faculty/presenters for NACADA events, for identification of potential authors or editors for NACADA publications, for consultation referrals, and for media referrals on specific areas of expertise. Additional information may be needed, such as writing samples, etc., but one’s basic areas of expertise will be the basis of the list. So, this is YOUR OPPORTUNITY to highlight your established expertise! http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/expertise.htm

How does one establish an area of expertise? Through experience, reading, studying, research, and thinking! Then write and present on that topic. Each successful professional contribution builds recognition of your area of expertise and will assist those who seek and select members to serve in various “expert” activities.

Want to start on the path to becoming a recognized expert? Presenting at a Regional Conference is a good place to start and most regions are currently seeking presentation proposals for their Spring conferences (see. http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Events/Conferences/Regional/upcoming.htm)
Articles for the NACADA Clearinghouse and the Academic Advising News (the NACADA newsletter) provide good places to begin writing and publishing as are book reviews for the NACADA Journal. By pursuing these avenues, you can build a valuable area of expertise and a reputation that will benefit both you and the profession.

Roberta “Bobbie” Flaherty
NACADA Executive Director

NACADA Member Expertise Database

NACADA is establishing a Member Expertise Database to assist in the identification of members willing to present, write, and consult in the field of advising Members are asked to self-identify and submit information about themselves and their areas of advising expertise to facilitate the construction of this database.

The database will be utilized to identify members willing and able to address specific content areas for the NACADA Institutes, Conferences, Seminars, Newsletter, Journal, Consultations, Clearinghouse, and Media requests.

We are seeking a large pool to adequately represent the diversity within the association – institutional type and size, advising role, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, etc..

Members can access the submission forms and information at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/expertise.htm and must complete and submit the form plus provide a detailed vita electronically.

NEW NACADA MONOGRAPH:  Advising Transfer Students: Issues and Strategies

Thomas J. Grites, Thomas J. Kerr, and Margaret C. King, Editors

Twenty-seven authors contribute unique perspectives regarding the heterogeneous transfer-student population. In addition to characteristics and experiences of students transferring from community colleges to 4-year institutions, authors discuss issues facing students who matriculate from high school to college, from 4- to 4-year schools, and from 4- to 2-year institutions.

Experts on transfer advising describe model programs as well as advisor and administrative strategies for enhancing transfer student success. Readers will glean an overall view of issues surrounding students in transition and find specific recommendations that will relate to their own transfer student populations.

This monograph is currently at press and should be available by the end of the year. Watch the monthly NACADA member Highlights for details.

Assessing Student Learning in Academic Advising

Charlie Nutt, NACADA Associate Director

Many institutions struggle to integrate accreditation criteria for assessment with their efforts to improve and enhance programs for their students. In this climate, the interest in and need for assessment of our students’ academic advising experiences has become a major issue on our campuses.

The first and often overlooked step in assessing academic advising is the development of an institutional mission for academic advising. White (2000) states, “Without such a statement (advising mission), assessment, if it can be conducted at all, would be an empty exercise” (p. 181). In other words, what is the institution assessing if it has not first determined the mission, purpose, or value of academic advising within the educational experiences of its students? Therefore, it is imperative that an institution-wide mission for academic advising exist regardless of whether a variety of delivery systems exist on a complex multi-campus institution or only one advising model is used on a small college campus.

Any institution-wide mission for academic advising must answer two simple questions: “What does our institution value about academic advising?” and “What is the purpose of academic advising at our institution?” An advising mission crafted from answering these questions must clearly reflect the overall mission and purpose of the institution. Only when these conditions have been met can we begin to develop expected outcomes or goals for the advising experience on our campuses.

Just as is the case for teaching, we must recognize the need to assess not only the manner and process used to deliver advising, but the expected student learning achieved through advising experiences. Maki (2004) defines learning as “a process of constructing meaning, framing issues, drawing on strategies and abilities honed over time, reconceptualizing, understanding, repositioning oneself in relation to a problem or issue, and connecting thinking and knowing to action” (p.2). This powerful definition of learning makes it clear that academic advising is an integral piece of an institution’s educational program since through the advising experience students learn the specific skills, abilities, and strategies necessary to navigate their educational experiences, take control of their experiences, and make effective decisions concerning their educational goals, choices, and needs.

Therefore, institutions seeking to assess the advising experience must focus both on delivery and learning outcomes. Many campuses assess delivery outcomes through the use of institutional or nationally normed surveys and inventories. This assessment of delivery outcomes is based primarily on student perception and satisfaction of the delivery processes and methods. This assessment can be extremely valuable to an institution seeking to determine the effectiveness of its delivery model(s), the effectiveness of advisor skills or knowledge base, or to gather information from students concerning advising deficiencies or strengths. However, it is important to understand that assessment of delivery outcomes and utilization of student satisfaction data is only one piece of the assessment of the advising experience. An institution must go beyond this level of assessment to assess student learning in the advising experience.

The development and assessment of learning outcomes for the advising experience is a new arena for most campuses. Developing learning outcomes, and a subsequent assessment plan, will result in a renewed focus on the advising experience and lay the foundation for content of advisor development programs. Learning outcomes assessment provides a clear demonstration that academic advising is a longitudinal process that reaches across the institution. Maki (2004) maintains that a commitment to assessment of learning can determine the effectiveness of instruction, both curricular and co-curricular, and the level of integration of learning and instruction across the educational experiences.

Institutions must begin by asking “What do we want students to learn from the advising experience?” Other questions to ask include: “What do we want students to know? What do we want to students to do? What do we want to students to understand and demonstrate?”

Answers to these questions will guide us as we formulate learning outcomes for the advising experience that could include:
• Students will be able to read and utilize a degree audit in their educational planning.
• Students will develop an educational plan for successfully completing their degree goal.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the value of the general education requirements.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to make effective decisions concerning their degree and career goals.

As with the advising mission, learning outcomes for advising must reflect clearly the mission and purpose of the institution. So, learning outcomes for a technical college might, and possibly should, differ greatly from those for a liberal arts university.

Once desired outcomes are determined, an institution moves to the “meat” of the learning outcomes assessment process – mapping the advising experiences necessary for achievement of outcomes across a student’s institutional career and the development of multiple measures to assess this achievement. Mapping of these outcomes clearly demonstrates that advising learning experiences are not simply focused in one or two advising sessions during a students’ first year of college but instead are gained across the entirety of students’ educational careers. Through outcomes mapping an institution is able to communicate to all constituencies, i.e., students, advisors, faculty, staff, parents, and administrators, that learning is clearly strengthened from a long-term advising relationship in which an advisor teaches the student how to access needed campus resources, how to make connections across all campus areas, and how to gain the knowledge and skills needed to successfully meet his or her goals and aspirations.

It is essential that institutions develop and utilize multiple measures for the achievement of the learning outcomes. While these measures may include student surveys, an institution cannot rely solely on survey data. Instead, institutions must look beyond surveys toward the utilization of advisee portfolios, freshman and senior seminars courses, required advisee assignments in advising sessions, and careful tracking of student utilization of campus services. While more difficult to utilize than traditional surveys, the development and utilization of these multiple measures are necessary in order to carefully assess learning and to clearly demonstrate that academic advising is more than student satisfaction.

Assessment of academic advising can, and will, bring a new and exciting focus to advising on our campuses. NACADA encourages and supports our members in their assessment efforts through the work of the Assessment of Advising Commission and the annual Assessment of Academic Advising Institute. For more information on these and other assessment opportunities, see “Resources and Challenges in the Assessment of Advising” in this issue or go to http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/.

Charlie Nutt
NACADA Associate Director
785-532-5717
cnutt@ksu.edu

References

White, E.R. (2000). Developing Mission, Goals, and Objectives for the Advising Program. In V.N. Gordon, W.R. Habley, & Associates (Eds.), Academic advising: A comprehensive handbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Maki, P. L. (2004) Maps and Inventories: Anchoring Efforts to Track Student Learning. About Campus, Volume 9, number 4. pp. 2 – 9.

The Real Meat and Potatoes: Why I Go to the Assessment and Administrators’ Institute

One of the most innovative and beneficial programs NACADA sponsors is the Assessment and Administrators’ Institutes, held mid-winter for the purpose of congregating administrators to share ideas and programs for the enhancement of our profession. Working in small groups, administrators from all types of educational institutions discuss the nitty-gritty of advising in order to establish positive programs that will be of use in their own unique environments.

I attended the first Institute in San Antonio in 2002 because I had recently been put in charge of a new and innovative advising center at my university. Our advising center is, in reality, a combination of two separate but complementary facets—academic advising and mentoring—and the administrative aspect has become somewhat complex as both sectors continue to grow and impact our student body. While attending NACADA conferences I have found that although the structure of our advising center may be unique, we ultimately have much in common when we are dealing with our students and their needs. This aspect of both the national conference and the administrators’ institutes is the real meat and potatoes of our profession and the crucial importance of attending these functions. Along with the lasting friendships, the unforgettable war stories, and the small-group discussions, the administrators’ institute offers us a pleasant atmosphere and the expertise of those who have already gotten their battle scars through the years.
One of the requirements for our new advising enterprise was to develop a mission statement; this is required by our accrediting agency. During one of the small discussion meetings at the Administrator’s Institute, we discussed the development of an appropriate mission statement for our advising entities. Several colleagues talked about relating the mission statement to their university’s statement and then we discussed reflecting NACADA’s core-values paradigm as a guide to developing our own. After working with many ideas and utilizing concepts I got from the Administrators’ Institute, I was able to formulate a mission statement for our advising center that reflects our existence: “The mission of the Student Advising and Mentoring Center (SAM Center) at Sam Houston State University is to provide intrusive academic advising and mentoring to all students assisting them in discovering methods to set personal goals, establishing strategies to achieve their objectives, enhancing skills to sharpen academic accomplishments, and providing incentives for realizing educational success.”

William Fleming
Sam Houston University
(936) 294-4450
fleming@shsu.edu

Resources and Challenges in the Assessment of Advising

Victor Macaruso, Assessment of Advising Chair

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?”

The assessment of advising is much indebted to the assessment culture that has developed on campuses as a result of the work of regional accreditation associations. One of these associations’ recurrent themes has been the necessity of developing multiple measures and multiple modes of evaluation. Too often, institutions depend on satisfaction surveys and contact volume to measure the success of the enterprise. While satisfaction surveys used by many institutions assess the delivery of advising services, they do not address the outcome of advising, namely, student learning. The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in its 2003, “Commission Statement on the Assessment of Student Learning,” wrote “an organization committed to understanding and improving learning opportunities and environments it provides students will be able to document the relationship between assessment of and improvement in student learning.” As have the regional accrediting agencies, NACADA encourages the profession to develop student learning outcomes. Yet survey results show that approximately 25% of responding institutions have developed student learning outcomes for their advising units.

Many survey respondents were interested in discovering instruments to use in assessing advising. The NACADA web page “Assessment of Academic Advising: Instruments and Resources” (http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Links/assessment.htm ) lists many resources for assessment of advising services. One instrument, the Academic Advising Inventory (AAI), is a nationally normed instrument available to NACADA members without cost. Two other nationally normed instruments are the ACT and Noel Levitz. The web page lists the CAS Standards for Advising, a definitive program assessment document. The web page also provides links to individual advisor evaluations and other advising resources.

It is good to note that while particular instruments may find a place in a comprehensive assessment program, they are not a substitute for such a program. Any assessment program must follow from the values, vision, and mission statement of the institution. Because each institution is unique, each assessment program must of necessity be unique so that it will be consistent with the values of the institution. Once developed, the assessment program must be ongoing and not episodic. It should not be mustered up only when there is a need to produce data for some internal or external constituency, but it must become an integral part of what we do.

Another concern of survey respondents was to be able to find consultants with assessment expertise at reasonable cost. The NACADA Consultants’ Bureau has been a resource for members for more than twenty years (http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/ConsultantsBureau/index.htm). For a very reasonable fee the Consultants Bureau matches institutions with experts in the advising fields most applicable to the institution's needs.

For the past several years there have been pre- and post-conference workshops on the assessment of advising. In response to the growing interest in the topic of advising, NACADA offers a national institute solely devoted the assessment of advising. If you would like to gain hands-on experience in assessment, consider attending the Assessment of Academic Advising Institute, 2-4 February at St Pete Beach, Florida (http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/AssessmentInst/index.htm ). This institute will focus on the components of a successful assessment program and participants will learn specific strategies for developing such a program on their home campuses.

As a result of the success of the previous Assessment Institute and in response to an expressed need of the members (validated by 61% of the respondents to the status of the assessment of advising survey), the Guide to Assessment in Academic Advising will be published in spring 2005. In the text, Susan Campbell, Charlie Nutt, and Richard Robbins outline a framework for the assessment of academic advising. They characterize their framework as a model that draws from elements common to the many assessment models found in the literature. They carefully stress, “This model is NOT to be a pre-packaged, all-inclusive document on what assessment in academic advising should include.” The book provides a five part framework that can be used to direct assessment on campus.

Survey results lead us to believe that advisors have a responsibility to make assessment an integral part of our practice; a practice that makes up but one dimension of the complex paradigm of students’ academic experience. Only through assessment can we truly know how successful we are in discharging our responsibilities to our students and to our institutions. With that knowledge we will be able to discover ways to do better what we do well.

Victor Macaruso, Assessment of Advising Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
608-262-2778
vmacaruso@issaa.wisc.edu

References

Commission Statement on Assessment of Student Learning. (February 21, 2003). The Higher Learning Commission. A Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Retrieved November 5, 2004 from http://www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org/resources/positionstatements/assessment/

Susan Campbell, Charles Nutt, Rich Robbins. (2005) Guide to Assessment in Academic Advising. Manhattan, KS: NACADA. Note: Projected publication date is Spring 2005.

Vantage Point

Reflections from the field: Advice for new advisors

Misty Altiparmak, 2004 NACADA Outstanding New Advisor Award Recipient

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.

As a new advisor I struggled with several things including developing confidence in my work, thinking that I should know all the right answers, and understanding how I could become involved in advising activities. Later I had to learn how to balance my new family with work. Based upon these experiences I provide the following advice to new advisors:

• Have confidence in your work. Admit when you don’t have the answers, but let the student know that you will provide an answer in a timely manner. When you must make a judgment call on you own don’t question yourself - be the authority. Know that you based your judgment on facts and information you hold to be true. Since I have learned to be confident in my decision making , I enjoy taking a leadership role within the office.

• Give yourself permission to prepare answers for the “quick questions” that come from telephone calls and walk-in students. When I first began advising, I felt obligated to accept and immediately answer every quick question that came my way. I found I was often “put on the spot” and unprepared to help the student.

Each student is unique and each will pose a different question or concern that needs to be addressed with individual attention. If the question is truly not a quick question, let the student know that his/her question is important and you would like to make an appointment to sit down and address the situation one-on-one. Then research the answer.

• Have a plan in place to balance work and family obligations. Personal emergencies happen. If you have family or other obligations, know that issues and illnesses will arise that need to be addressed during work hours. This does not mean that your students’ needs have to go unaddressed. Have a flexible plan in place that will allow you to assess the importance of the items on your schedule for the next day and week.

For example, if a situation arises when I can’t be in the office the next day, I prefer to call my students individually. Even in unexpected situations I know what is on my schedule and can make informed decisions on how the students should be rescheduled or if they can be seen by another advisor. Just remember that no matter how prepared, balancing work and family is not always easy. Don’t give up.

• Get involved in advising activities at your institution and through NACADA. On your campus connect with a senior advisor or mentor who can help guide you through your first years of advising. If you don’t have centralized advising make sure to meet regularly with other campus advisors and departmental faculty to stay abreast of changes in curriculum and policies, and to share your advising concerns. Next, get involved with NACADA at all levels. I started out by attending the various conferences and workshops in the state and at the regional level. Put in a proposal to present. I had the opportunity to present a workshop at the state level that led to various opportunities for presenting and coordinating advising activities on campus. Attend the national conferences to keep up with the latest student trends and to network with other advisors.

I look forward to upcoming NACADA conferences to refresh my motivation and to seek out new opportunities in leadership and service. It is wonderful to have such a strong network of advisors and resources to call upon at UAB and nationwide when I need them.

Over time, I have come to realize that my advising style has evolved and I have quickly transitioned into my role as an advisor. The advice and suggestions I receive from my colleagues is instrumental to my professional growth and development. I encourage new advisors to remain open and accepting of assistance from senior advisors. I also encourage senior advisors to readily relate their experience and wisdom to newcomers in the field. Remember, advising does not occur in isolation.

Misty Altiparmak
University of Alabama at Birmingham
205-934-6135
maltima @uab.edu

NACADA Career Services Corner

Dear Career Corner: I just started a new position six months ago, but am already starting to think about what I should be doing now in order to be a competitive candidate for my next position in two to three years. Do you have any suggestions? – Signed, Trying to Be Prepared

Dear Trying: Excellent question – it is always a smart idea to be thinking ahead and to proactively shape your career. The first thing I would encourage you to do is to keep an active eye on the job market even though you are not planning to enter it until later. There are a number of on-line tools that can assist you, including the NACADA position announcements (http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Position_Announcements/index.htm ), the Chronicle of Higher Education website (http://www.chronicle.com), and Academic360.com (http://www.academic360.com ). If you are thinking about pursuing a position at a specific institution, you would also want to carefully monitor that institution’s on-line job listings. Pay careful attention to the jobs that seem intriguing to you, the minimum qualifications required for those intriguing positions, and the minimum level of education that is required. Also be on the lookout for trends – for example, does the same job seem to be coming open every six months? This could be an indicator that something may be amiss and worthy of further investigation if and when you decide to apply for a position in that department.

It is also important to assess and then build your personal and professional skills portfolio. Are the positions that you are seeing on-line asking for skills that you have not yet had the opportunity to develop? Examples of professional skills that are important in higher education today are: strategic planning skills, budgeting expertise, leadership experience, and relationships with alumni and donors. Personal skills such as a commitment to continuous learning, networking, and updating/refining your communication skills are also important. Note that you do not need to gain all of these experiences through your current workplace. For example, if your son is active in a hockey club, you can volunteer to be the treasurer and/or chief fundraiser. The experience is what matters most, not necessarily where you gained that experience.

The last suggestion is to keep your resume current. You should update your resume/CV at least once a quarter. Your resume is your professional diary and it is vitally important to keep it as accurate and current as possible. Plus, if you do not have anything new to add to your resume every three months, that should be a clear signal that you need to be more proactive about building your skill set.

Do you have a career related question? If so, submit your questions on-line at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/AdministrativeDivision/career.htm. Questions will be answered anonymously.

Jennifer L. Bloom, NACADA Member Career Services Committee Chair
University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
(217) 244-1512
jlbloom@uiuc.edu

Now is the time to begin planning an advising research project!

The NACADA Research Committee announces a Request For Proposals (RFP) for NACADA grants that support advising research. Stipends up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) are available to support a single-year proposal. Practicing professionals (administrators and faculty), as well as graduate students seeking support for dissertation research, are eligible.

Preliminary proposal drafts are be due February 1, 2005 for committee feedback. Full proposals will be due May 16, 2005. Find information and applications at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Research_Related/Grant-Guidelines.htm

Need research ideas? The Committee has delineated a research agenda listing ten advising topics deemed to be critical within advising research. Find these topics at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Research_Related/researchagenda.htm.

Have a research topic? Want to discuss your topic with other members researching similar topic? Join the Research Registry at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Research_Related/index.htm#reg.

NACADA Professional Development Opportunities for 2005!

Effectively Engaging Faculty in Academic Advising Seminar

January 27-28, 2005
This seminar will provide participants with the opportunity to enhance faculty advising programs as well as gain essential insights into effectively working with faculty in the advising realm of their responsibilities. An overview of the scope of advising and exploration of the many opportunities and strategies for enhancing academic advising through faculty will be provided.

Academic Advising Administrators’ Institute
January 30-February 1, 2005
The 3rd Annual Academic Advising Administrators’ Institute is the only professional development opportunity that focuses specifically on the issues facing academic advising administrators. This NACADA-sponsored institute will be held at the TradeWinds Island Grand Hotel, St. Pete Beach, Florida.

Assessment of Academic Advising Institute
February 2-4, 2005
This intensive institute will focus on the components of a successful assessment program as well as provide specific strategies and tools for developing and implementing assessment programs. The institute will be held at the TradeWinds Island Grand Hotel, St. Pete Beach, Florida.

Rocky Mountain Regional Conference
March 2-4, 2005
“Peak Advising: Scaling The Academic Mountain” is the theme for this regional conference in Denver, CO. Are you striving for excellence and is your personal "peak" within reach? Are you exploring trails within the "valley" of academia? Does advising feel like an uphill climb? Can you see the summit? Meet with colleagues to share experiences and knowledge of the climb, the valley and the summit. With the right tools you and your students can make it to the top of any “Academic Mountain”.

South Central Regional Conference
March 3-5, 2005
It is amazing and inspiring to learn what our students have encountered and overcome as their paths cross ours in the role of advising professionals. Even more, it is humbling to know how we as advisors and mentors can become part of each student’s story of success and goal attainment. “Every Student Has a Story” is the theme of this conference to be held in Oklahoma City, OK.

Southeast Regional Conference
March 6-8, 2005
“Advising STARS (Students-Teachers-Advisors Reaching Success) Fall on Alabama” is the theme for the NACADA Southeast Regional Conference to be held in Tuscaloosa, AL. A sample of topics that may be covered include advisor training, using technology, stress and the advisor, as well as many other sessions of vital interest to advisors, faculty, and advising administrators.

Great Lakes Regional Conference
March 17-19, 2005
The conference theme “Academic Advising: Reaching New Heights” raises numerous thoughts, ideas and creations. It is important to bring together a variety of people with a variety of experiences, expertise, and perspectives to discuss academic advising issues – it is the involvement of many which makes the conversation enriching and raises the perspective of academic advising. This conference will be held in Toronto, Canada.

NACADA Northeast Regional Conference
March 23-25, 2005
Academic advising is a critical link in student persistence and success. However, advising work doesn’t always receive the attention it deserves. For the 2005 conference, to be held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, we are putting Academic Advising sur scène (on the centre stage)! We want to ‘raise the curtain’ on academic advising and learn from the successes and knowledge of our colleagues.

Mid-South Regional Conference
April 10-12, 2005
Our goal as advisors is to guide students to be winners in the academic arena. This is a challenging, invigorating, exciting workout demanding our very best efforts. When we are successful, students are winners. When students are successful, we are winners! Join us in “The Winner’s Circle” at the famous and historic Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY, as we learn more about this race for excellence.

Pacific Regional Conference
April 13-15, 2005
“Navigating the Course: Advisors Helping to Chart the Way” is the theme of this regional conference to be held in Emeryville, CA (San Francisco area). As academic advisors we help our students to navigate through their educational endeavors. During this time we serve as counselors, advisors, friends, and/ or mentors. Within these roles we partner with students to chart their paths. During this conference we will increase our skills in navigating the course, learn how to help students navigate the course, and how to navigate and chart our own professional development.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference
April 17-19, 2005
This conference focuses on the “Advising Toolkit – Advising Tips, Techniques, and Tactics for Diverse Audiences.” People use tools to create, adapt and repair all kinds of items. Advisors use advising tools to create, adapt and improve the advising process. At many institutions, advisors are viewed as the most important “tool” available to students and faculty. To learn how advisors have found ways to be creative in offering “tools” to support services to faculty and students, attend this conference in Virginia Beach, VA.

Northwest Regional Conference
April 20-22, 2005
How do advisors meet the diverse needs of our students, while also striving to find balance in our own lives? As advisors we must be sensitive to the concerns of our varied student populations, as well as those of our colleagues, both in and out of our own institutions. How do we as faculty and professional advisors aspire to the ethic of C.A.R.E., which is the hallmark of our profession? Explore the conference theme of “C.A.R.E. - Connecting All, Reaching Everyone! - Academic Advisors in the 21st Century,” in Portland, OR.

North Central Regional Conference
April 21-22, 2005
Advisors, administrators, and faculty will join together in Sioux Falls, SD, April 21-22, 2005 to address the theme, “Orienting Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s World.” A few topics that may be discussed include: career planning and advising; advising adult learners, advising students with disabilities; advising student athletes; assessment of advising; cross-cultural advising; ethical/legal issues; technology in advising; and probation/dismissal issues in advising.

NACADA Academic Advising Summer Institutes
June 12-17, 2005
July 31-August 5, 2005
The most comprehensive consideration of academic advising available, week-long Summer Institutes provide administrators, faculty advisors, and advisors (as teams or individuals) an opportunity to develop specific strategies for the enhancement of academic advising. Institutes will be held at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul, MN, June 12-17, 2005, and at the Antlers Hilton Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO July 31-August 5, 2005.

NACADA National Conference
October 5-8, 2005
“Hitting the Jackpot: Making Student Academic Success a Sure Bet,” is the theme of the 29th Annual National NACADA Conference to be held in Las Vegas, NV. Over 2000 advisors, administrators and faculty advisors will attend informative sessions, participate in valuable learning experiences, and network with colleagues from the U.S. and Canada. Presentation proposals are due Feb. 8, 2004.  Visit the web page at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/NationalConf/2005/index.htm for more information and the on-line presentation proposal form.  Submit early to help prevent overload on the system!

THREE NEW NACADA MONOGRAPHS IN 2004!

Order your copy today at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Forms/orderform.htm

ACADEMIC ADVISING PUBLICATIONS

Advising Transfer Students: Issues and Strategies

Students transferring from one institution to another continue to be a significant part of our college populations, and they consume considerable amounts of time and effort by advisors at both two-year and four-year institutions. This monograph attempts to identify many of the issues related to this population and to provide a wide range of potential services, programs, and other resources that serve to strengthen the overall higher education experience for transfers.


Giving Advice to Students: A Roadmap for College Professionals

Giving Advice to Students is designed to help campus professionals, especially faculty and student affairs professionals, blend their expertise to help students understand the underlying assumptions that direct their education and to integrate their college experiences. The monograph is useful as a training handbook and dialog stimulus for professionals. Included essays can be reproduced as tip sheets for students that can help make campus resources readily accessible.


The Status of Academic Advising: Findings from the ACT Sixth National Survey

Want the most up-to-date statistics regarding the delivery of advising services? Required to have comparable data for an accreditation visit? This monograph provides details that illuminate advising practice throughout the academy. ACT/NACADA’s Sixth National Survey on Academic Advising gathered data from over 1,400 institutions nationwide that reported on all aspects of advising practices and services. In addition to survey data, the author provides observations and data-drawn conclusions that can help your institution.

New in the Clearinghouse!

Advising Issues
• ‘FERPA: Basic Guidelines for Faculty Staff A Simple Step-by-Step Approach For Compliance'
• Making Effective Referrals in Academic Advising
• Resources for Advisor Training
•‘Your Ideal Advisor’ AAI Student Inventory

Find these resources and more on the Web at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/overview.htm

The NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources promotes the advancement of academic advising through the greater dissemination of pertinent resources and research.

Academic Advising Summer Institutes 2005

June 12-17, 2005 in St. Paul , MN
July 31- Aug 5, 2005 in Colorado Springs , CO

Student growth, persistence and campus vitality – all are linked to academic advising and influenced by programs and policies that you & your colleagues help deliver or administer! Increasing attention paid to the importance of academic advising is helping many institutions develop effective strategies to implement critical changes or necessary for high quality advising.

Join us for this weeklong, intensive institute focused on the needs of you and your specific institution. Workshops, topical sessions, small group discussions, consultations and general sessions work together to provide an inclusive program.

Registrations are being accepted at this time. Institute registration is limited, so reserve your spot early. More information, instructions and the registration form are found at the NACADA Web page.

2005 Advising Awards Program

Now is the time to begin assembling your awards submission materials for the 2005 NACADA Awards Program. Award nominations/applications will be due Monday, March 7, 2005. Look for your e-mail soon announcing the availability of the 2005 Call for Nominations for the awards program on our web site!
http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/AwardsCall.htm

Recognition at the national level can enhance the visibility of quality academic advising on your campus or in your state or region. There are several award categories, including:

• Outstanding Advising Awards
• Outstanding New Advisor Awards
• Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Awards
• Service to NACADA Award
• Virginia N. Gordon Award for Excellence in the Field of Advising
• Pacesetter Award
• Summer Institute Scholarships
• NACADA Scholarships
• Student Research Awards
• Advising Technology Innovation Awards (formerly Electronic Publications)
• Retiree Recognition

The complete 2005 Awards Call for Nominations, including submission guidelines and nomination forms, is available at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/index.htm on the NACADA web site. The deadline for the receipt of award nomination materials is Monday, March 7, 2005. Please note that an e-mail confirmation is always sent to the nominator upon receipt of each submission. We recommend that nomination materials be sent by a shipping service for which delivery can be tracked. Be sure to contact NACADA at nacada@ksu.edu if you do not receive an e-mail confirming delivery of your materials.

The electronic publication awards will be titled the Advising Technology Innovation Awards, beginning with the 2005 awards program. The practice of having specific subcategories within this award category is being discontinued in an effort to invite nominations of a broad range of electronic innovations. Awards will be given to the best examples of advising technology. Criteria for evaluating these submissions will remain the same except for two additional considerations: interactivity and accessibility. Members will be encouraged to create technological applications that engage students and that are accessible to all students and are ADA-compliant. More detailed information is available on the Awards web site.

Minor changes will be made to Outstanding Advising and New Advisor Award criteria regarding the number of years that must pass after receiving an award or certificate of merit before becoming eligible for an advising award in a different advising category. Please be sure to refer closely to the criteria and guidelines in the 2005 Awards Call before submitting final nomination materials.

Retiree Recognition submissions are due June 6, 2005. An online submission form for these recognitions is located at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/Retiree.htm.

Research Grants are also awarded by NACADA and will be managed entirely by the Research Committee beginning with the 2005 grant proposal process, which now includes two submission cycles during the year. For detailed information on the submission deadlines and guidelines for research grant proposals, visit www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Research_Related/Grant-Guidelines.htm on the NACADA web site.

Become Involved with Commission and Interest Groups

NACADA Commissions and Interest Groups want you!! These constituencies represent members with special advising areas of interest. Each Commission is charged with proposing and facilitating activities, networking, and contributing to publications to advance the professional development of members while focusing on the specific area of that Commission. Interest Groups (IGs) are created when there is a need to focus on specific issues or represent a particular interest of NACADA members. They have no formal governance role and often move to Commission status when they are ready to contribute to the organization by providing additional programs to members.

A proposal submitted by the Commission and Interest Group Division (CIGD) was passed at the leadership meetings in Cincinnati, changes the policy for member selection of commissions and interest groups. In the past, members could choose up to two commissions and/or up to two IGs with which to have official affiliation. The new policy allows members to choose any combination of commissions and IGs up to a total of four (4) selections. This official affiliation primarily identifies those commissions and/or IGs for which you would have voting privileges, receive periodic electronic newsletters and updates, and be eligible to hold an elected or appointed position within, such as serving on a committee or serving as chair. Please note that you can informally be involved with as many other commissions or IGs as you like, such as subscribing to list serves, attending meetings, etc.

Although participation in commissions and IGs is completely optional as a NACADA member, we encourage those of you who are not involved at this time to join those of specific interest to you. The commissions and IGs are valuable resources for sharing information and networking with colleagues. And now, joining is as easy as completing an online form! All you need to do is complete the online form found at the link below. Once this form is submitted, your membership record will be updated accordingly.
www.nacada.ksu.edu/CandIGDivision/CIGD-Commission-IGDesignationForm.htm

The CIGD home page contains several items of interest, including the CIGD brochure with short descriptions of all commissions and IGs, a comparison of the differences and similarities of these units, and links to the individual web pages for all commissions and IGs. To learn more about this important benefit of NACADA membership and the division itself, visit the CIGD homepage at www.nacada.ksu.edu/CandIGDivision/cigdivinfo.htm!

For those members who have already chosen preferred commissions and interest groups, the online form at the above link can be used to change your selections. If you do not recall which commissions or interest groups were previously designated, simply indicate your current preferences via this online form and your previous choices will be replaced.

Thank you for your interest in NACADA commissions and interest groups. Your participation is strongly encouraged and appreciated. If you have any questions, please contact NACADA at nacada@ksu.edu.

2005 NACADA Leadership Election Information

In early January 2005, the online voting system for the NACADA 2005 Leadership elections will become available to NACADA members. Members will receive their login and password information via e-mail at that time. A postcard will also be mailed to you regarding this election. You are strongly encouraged to participate in the election of your NACADA Leadership by submitting your ballot electronically by the deadline date specified in the voting information.

Listed below are those leadership positions that will be elected this year. The newly elected leaders will take office in October 2005 following the national conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Election and voting information, including the complete list of candidates, can be found at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Election/index.htm on the NACADA web site. Each candidate’s platform statement is linked to her or his name for easy reference.

If you have questions about the election in general or the online voting system once it becomes available, contact the NACADA Executive Office at nacada@ksu.edu or call (785) 532-5717.

The leadership positions being elected during the 2005 elections include the following:

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
• President (term—October 2005-October 2006)
• Vice President (term— October 2005-October 2006)
• Board of Directors (3 Positions, 3-year term each—October 2005-October 2008)

DIVISION REPRESENTATIVES:
• Commission & Interest Group Division Representative (elected, term-Oct 2005-Oct 2007)

REGION CHAIRS (term—October 2005 October 2007):
• Region 1-Northeast [CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT, Quebec, Atlantic Provinces]
• Region 3-Mid-South [KY, NC, SC, TN, WV]
• Region 5-Great Lakes [IL, IN, MI, OH, WI, Ontario]
• Region 7-South Central [AR, KS, LA, MO, OK, TX]
• Region 9-Pacific [CA, HI, NV]

COMMISSION CHAIRS (term—October 2005 October 2007):
• Advising Adult Learners
• Advising Business Majors
• Advising Education Majors
• Advising Graduate & Professional Students
• Advising Student Athletes
• Advisor Training & Development
• ESL & International Student Advising
• Liberal Arts Advisors
• Technology in Advising
• Two-Year Colleges

COMMITTEE CHAIRS (term—October 2005 October 2007):
• Awards
• Diversity
• Member Career Services
• Professional Development

Advising Awards Presented at the National Conference in Cincinnati

The 2004 NACADA award recipients were honored at a special Awards Ceremony and Reception on Wednesday afternoon prior to the opening session of the National Conference in Cincinnati. Photos of these award recipients can be viewed at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/2004AwardsCeremony.htm on the NACADA web site. Complete lists by category of award recipients and their institutions can be found at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/PastRecipients.htm

National Conference a Huge Success!

The 2004 National Conference held in Cincinnati this October was a smashing success! Over 2100 people joined Barbara Bucey and her National Conference Committee for this great event. With over 300 presentations to choose from, the participants had the opportunity to share and gain experiences that will ultimately promote student success.

NACADA's 25 th Anniversary was celebrated with the theme of "Lighting Student Pathways for 25 Years". A display of memorabilia led long time members down memory lane and helped other see the progress made in our field over the last quarter of a century. NACADA has grown from a fledgling organization with approximately 500 members to our present 7600+ membership with the help of hard work and dedication of many volunteer leaders.

If you didn't get a chance to come to Cincinnati , you might want to review some of this history on our website at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/AboutNACADA/index.htm .

For the 2100 participants able to join us, look at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/NationalConf/2004/pictures.htm for some snapshots of the event!

Mid-Atlantic Region Two

As the new Region Two Chair I would like to begin by expressing my sincere thanks to Bill “Shoes” Johnson for his excellent leadership of our region over the past two years. In addition to serving as Region Chair, Bill also served as co-chair of our regional conference last March in Princeton. Bill’s dedication and support of our region is greatly appreciated and I hope you will join me in thanking Bill for a job well done. He leaves very large “shoes” to fill.

My name is Suzanne Trump and I assumed the chairship of our region at the end of the annual conference in Cincinnati. I look forward to serving your needs and moving our region forward for the next two years. Please contact me with your questions, thoughts and ideas. I hope to hear from many of you and have the opportunity to meet you over the next two years.

Our region works because we have many committed volunteers. This year we have a full Steering Committee. I would like to extend hearty thanks to Linda Lantaff for serving as the Eastern PA State Representative. Under Linda’s leadership we have enjoyed several outstanding state drive-in conferences. Luckily Linda has agreed to stay on the committee and she will serve as the Publicity Liaison. Please join me in welcoming Chuck Allen as the new Eastern PA State Representative. Other new members of the Steering Committee are Joanne Damminger who joins us as the Membership Liaison, Susan Fread who will be the Regional Conference Chair for 2006, and Sandy Waters who is the Regional Conference Chair for 2005. We have several continuing members of the Steering Committee: Paula Dollarhide (NJ State Representative), Harriet Gaston (Western PA State Representative), Cindy Schenkle (Delaware State Representative), Jenna Dolan (Maryland State Representative), Kimberly Brown (Virginia State Representative), Jeff Gardner (DC Representative), Mike Martin (Site Liaison), and Bill Johnson and Wayne Jackson (Past Conference Co-Chairs).

I hope you will consider joining us for the 2005 Regional Conference in Virginia Beach. We will be staying at a new hotel which is situated in the middle of all the Virginia Beach fun. Sandy and the members of the conference committee are working hard to put together an informative, enjoyable conference that will refresh and invigorate all who attend. There are still many opportunities to volunteer at the conference and we welcome all individuals. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and network.

Speaking of volunteers, there are many opportunities to get involved. State representatives need help planning and delivering state drive in conferences and we need volunteers to help plan the 2006 regional conference which will be held somewhere between the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos in eastern Pennsylvania. For those of you who like to plan ahead the 2007 National Conference for NACADA will take place in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor and we would like to see many Region Two members actively involved in the conference. If you want to get involved, please contact me and I will get you connected with the appropriate person.

Suzanne M. Trump, Region 2 Chair
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
215-596-8758
s.trump@usip.edu

Mid-south Region 3

What a great time we had in Charleston! The “wild and wonderful” mountains of West Virginia provided a fantastic backdrop as Region 3 members gathered to talk about our “advising adventures.” Kudos to Stan Coberly and Maria Watson for their hard work in pulling the conference together, making sure we all had a productive and fun time.

Speaking of regional conferences, don’t forget to block off April 10-12 on your calendars. Region 3 will be gathering in Louisville, Kentucky for our 2005 region conference—“Excellence in Advising: Guiding Students to the Winners Circle.” The steering committee made a trip over to Louisville at the conclusion of the National Conference in Cincinnati, and I can tell you without equivocation that we were IMPRESSED! The Brown Hotel is going to be one fantastic host, and Louisville is going to offer plenty to see and do. Janet Spence (University of Louisville) and Lee Kem (Murray State) are working hard—and doing a great job—to get things ready to go. While we’re talking about the conference, I want to encourage you to consider submitting a proposal to present a session. The heart and soul of any NACADA conference is the sharing that is done among peers.

At press time, the folks in Tennessee and Kentucky were planning a state conference/drive-in for December 2 in Murfreesboro, TN. Carol Ann Baily and Karen Thurmond have taken the lead in putting together a program titled, “Light Up Their Lives—Helping Students Discover Their Strengths and Passions.” A major emphasis for the drive-in will be discussions on strength-based advising, a topic that has begun to garner a lot of interest among NACADA members.

Three individuals who need to be mentioned:

*We have a new state liaison for Tennessee--Amy Davis (UT Chattanooga). We’re glad to welcome Amy to the steering committee, and we look forward to having her lead Tennessee’s NACADA contingent to bigger and better things!

*Julie Galloway (Tennessee Tech) has agreed to chair our 2006 regional conference, and Julie announced in Cincinnati that Nashville, TN has been chosen as the conference site. More info will follow as things develop.

*Congratulations to Henrietta Thomas (UNC Charlotte), our first recipient of the Region 3 “Outstanding Advising Award.” Henrietta will be recognized in Louisville for her accomplishment.

Finally, don’t forget to vote!! While the 2004 elections are over, we still have the NACADA elections coming up, and this is the year we elect a new Region Chair for Region 3 (along with several other slots for commission chairs, etc.). Let your voice be heard---VOTE!
Well, it’s time to end this little update--here’s wishing all of you a great end to your fall semester, and a wonderful holiday season!

Rob Mossack, Region 3 Chair
Lipscomb University
(615) 279-6297
rob.mossack@lipscomb.edu

Southeast Region 4

Greetings to all!

What an honor and privilege it is to be the new 2004 2006 Region IV Chair. Great and exciting things are getting ready to take place. Our goals include the initiation of the following Region 4 award categories: a) Professional Advisor Award, b) New Advisor Award, and c) State w/most members present at 2005 Region Conference. Watch our website for further information.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! "Advising STARS Fall on Alabama" Students Teachers Advisors Reaching Success, is the theme for the Region IV Conference March 6 8, 2005 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Co Chairs, Brandy Frost and Lori Barstow of the University of Alabama, are hard at work preparing to make this the best regional conference ever! We encourage everyone to submit a proposal to present at the conference. All of the programs implemented at our institutions and research findings of advising concepts and models can be shared through varied presentations. Please check the website for hotel, fees, and other details.

It was good to see everyone at the National Conference and a BIG WELCOME to the following Region IV new members and first time NACADA conference attendees!

Alison Grewe University of Miami
Jennifer Holt University of North Alabama
Aparna Shanadi University of Florida
JoAnne Clifford Jacksonville University
Ashley Dunklin Spring Hill College
John Carter Florida State University
Barbara LeBras Ringling School of Art and Design
Judith Traveis University of Florida
Barry Williams Jr Tuskegee University
Kari Ward University of Florida
Betty Doyle Hillsborough Community College
Karla Shakibi Kaplan College
Charles Farmer Georgia Military College
Karyn Brown Mississippi State University
Cheryl Maxwell Atlanta Metropolitan College
Kathy Horton Mississippi Valley State University
Claudia Bonilla Florida International University
Kathy Williams Hillsborough Community College
Cosetta Hill Georgia Institute of Technology
Kelly Smith University of Georgia
David Johnson University of Alabama
Lauren Hinson University of Alabama-Birmingham
Don Killingsworth Jacksonville State University
Laurie Albury Nova Southeastern University
Donna Reese Mississippi State University
Leyla Spahich Nova Southeastern University
Harold Conrad Edge Hill College of Higher Education
Linda Skrotsky University of Central Florida
Jacqueline Nelson University of South Florida
Lisa Thomas Broward Community College
Jason Wilson Hillsborough Community College
Margaret Jenkins Savannah College of Art & Design
Jeannine Kranzow Saint Leo University
Matthew Sayti Rollins College-Hamilton Holt
Jennifer Henry University of Florida

We encourage everyone to get involved and begin to network and learn first hand about academic advising from experts in the field.

Congrats are in order to all Region IV National Award Winners. Awards were presented at the National Conference in Cincy!!!

Outstanding Advising Faculty
Lee D. Dyson, Coastal GeorgiaCommunity College
Cynthia J. Hutchinson, University of Central Florida
Donna S. Reese, Mississippi State University
Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit Primary Role
Nancy M. Gimbel, Georgia Institute of Technology
Paul Viau, University of Central Florida
Kathy Wilson,University of Georgia

Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit Faculty
Jeanne S. Hutchison, The Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham
Robert L. Shewfelt, University of Georgia
Outstanding New Advisor Primary Role
Misty Altiparmak, The University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Katherine Wilson, University of West Florida

Outstanding New Advisor Certificate of Merit Primary Role
Melissa D. Falls, University of Central Florida
Academic Advising Summer Institute Scholarship
Susan Noble Herren, Auburn University
Mohammand Syed, Miles College
Annie Turman, Georgia State University

Programs
Advising First, (Doug Waddell, Program Director), John Carter, Nikki Raimondi, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Certificate of Merit

Advisor Enhancement Program, Judy Sindlinger, DeLaine Priest, Mark Allen Poisel, Tina Smilie, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Certificate of Merit

2004 Electronic Publication Certificates of Merit Web Site Category
FIU’s College of Business Undergraduate Student Services, Lauren Wass, Florida International Univ
Ivan Allen College Students Services, Elizabeth Miller, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Preview Prep, Lynn O’Sickey, Tim Young, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
CD/Other Category
Tutor Vision: Technology and Television as Academic Support, Mark Adelman, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

Annie Turman, Region 4 Chair
Georgia State University
(404) 463-9500
sacaht@langate.gsu.edu

Great Lakes Region 5

Hello!
It’s been a busy semester, and it seems that it just keeps getting busier by the day!

Here’s what’s going on in Region 5:

Our steering committee accepted proposals for 3 Professional Development & Training grants, and presented one scholarship award. Congratulations to Kent Academic Support and Advising Association (KASADA), the State of Michigan Advisors, Fox Valley Technical College and Julie Fischer-Kinney!

Also, looking for a way to really get involved? Three State/Province Representative terms are ending, and we’re currently accepting nominations for these positions: Wisconsin, Ontario, and Michigan.

If you’re interested, feel free to connect with your current state/Province Rep, or myself. These are a great place to grow your leadership skills! Nominations are due by January 31. A Platform statement will need to be submitted by February 2.

Speaking of elections, my current position as Region V Rep is also coming to an end soon. Four individuals have declared their candidacy. You can read their platform statements on the NACADA website, under Leadership Election information. What a great indication of the level of commitment we have in Region 5!

Let us not forget our Regional conference…Here are the facts: TORONTO, March 17-19. Do I need to say anymore? Mark your calendars, you don’t want to miss “Academic Advising: Reaching New Heights.” Submit those proposals to present by December 20, 2004. Come on now, you know you want to!

Now, here’s what’s going on at the grassroots level in Region 5:

Illinois:
Illinois Academic Advisors’ Association (ILAAA) held its annual conference October 22, 2004 at DePaul University. It was a resounding success! The keynote speaker was Mr. Ghingo Brooks, Vice-President of Enrollment Management and Student Services at Malcolm X College. The conference was attended by nearly 200 advising professionals from across the state.

Indiana:
The Indiana State Conference will be held May 13, 2005 at the University of Southern Indiana. The conference will focus on advising and technology. Contact Julie Floyd at jfloyd@usi for more information. IAAN offers a professional development grant to support members with conference travel or other professional development. Applications are due December 1, 2004 and can be found at http://iaan.indiana.edu Each year IAAN recognizes an outstanding faculty and professional advisor in the state. Applications are due April 1, 2005 and can be found at http://iaan.indiana.edu.

Michigan:
Michigan was honored to receive a Training and Professional Development Grant from the Region V steering committee. As a result, a group of advisors are actively planning a one day conference/training/professional development meeting for some time in May, details forthcoming early in 2005.

Ontario:
We’re excited to welcome the Regional conference to our neck of the woods in March!
For information on Toronto, visit: http://www.torontotourism.com/visitor

Wisconsin:
In September, Wisconsin advisors gathered at the WACADA conference in Green Bay. Lambeau Field, home of the Packers, and the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College were the settings for advisor sharing and networking. A highlight was welcoming Charlie Nutt as the keynote speaker. The next WACADA conference will be held at Lakeland College, Sheboygan, September 22-23, 2005.

Four WACADA advising awards were presented. The recipients were: Randy Gentile, UW-Madison, Advising Excellence Award;  Bruce Bukowski, UW-Whitewater, Outstanding Achievement In Advising Award; Mary Minson, Marquette University, WACADA Leadership Award; Tammy Meyers, Marian College, Advising Profession Impact Award

Ohio:
OHAAA Annual conference is Friday, June 17 at the Fawcett Center at Ohio State. Theme and keynote TBA. Contact Julie Fischer-Kinney
KASADA Annual will be held conference May 19 at the Stark Campus Conference Center.

Rebecca Ryan, Great Lakes Region 5 Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
(608) 265-5460
rjryan@wisc.edu

North Central Region 6

Greetings to all North Central Region members! As your new Region 6 chair, I would like to first acknowledge the hard work and commitment done by Kim Roufs these past two years. Thank you, Kim, for your perseverance, professional knowledge, and assistance in helping make my transition so easy. The Region thanks you for your service to NACADA, and we wish you the best.

For those of you able to attend this year's national conference, wasn't it great!! Congratulations to professor Linda Miller Cleary from the University of Minnesota , Duluth , winner of a Faculty Academic Advising Certificate of Merit. Congratulations also to Susan Warfield and the Student Parent HELP Center at the University of Minnesota , Twin Cities , winner of an Outstanding Advising Program Certificate of Merit.

If you missed the national conference this year (and even if you didn't!), please consider coming to Sioux Falls , S.D. ,