Building on the Successes of the Past and Setting High Expectations for the Future

Jennifer L. Bloom, President, NACADA

There are many reasons why I think that NACADA is the best professional organization on the planet, but the Annual Conference is certainly one of the top ones. The opportunity to get together with over 3,000 people who share the same passion for student success and appreciation for the important role that advisors play on college campuses throughout the country is reinvigorating and inspiring. The 2007 Annual Conference in Baltimore was outstanding, and I want to thank Stacey Woycheck and her planning committee for their efforts to ensure its success. The keynote speakers, Patrick Terenzini and Sharon Fries-Britt, both highlighted the importance of the work that we do and inspired us to continue to grow and expand our horizons. The Conference also gave attendees the opportunity to congratulate Charlie Nutt on his selection as Executive Director of NACADA. Congratulations, Charlie!

Another highlight of the Conference for me was the opportunity to meet the inaugural class of Emerging Leaders from the new Emerging Leaders Program. This program is designed to increase the diversity of our leadership ranks in NACADA. This impressive group of nine new Emerging Leaders had the opportunity to participate in professional development workshops and to select a Mentor to partner with during the next two years. As one of the Emerging Leader Mentors, I am looking forward to working together with my Emerging Leader, Cornelius Gilbert, of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

I want to thank Susan Campbell for her leadership as President of the NACADA Board this past year. Susan led the Board through a thorough review and update of the by-laws, oversaw the creation of a set of written policies for the Board and the entire leadership team, and much, much more. Most importantly, she accomplished these important tasks by collegially leading with integrity, passion, and determination to make NACADA the best organization it can become. On behalf of everyone in the organization and the Executive Office, I want to publicly thank Susan and her Vice President, Nancy Walburn, for all they did to make 2006-07 a successful year.

B. Joseph White is the President of the University of Illinois and he said, “Education is the most powerful means of increasing individual opportunity and creating more prosperous, fairer, and more just societies. So to have the privilege of participating in that mission is as much as anybody could hope for in life.” It is important for all of us to remember what a blessing it is that we have the privilege of working in higher education. I also feel privileged and honored to be elected to serve as President of NACADA – an organization that has meant so much to me personally and professionally over the past 17 years. Having just moved two months ago from my Associate Dean position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to the position of Clinical Associate Professor of the Higher Education & Student Affairs Program at the University of South Carolina, I can honestly say that I would not have had this opportunity were it not for the experiences that I gained through my association with NACADA. NACADA gave me the opportunity to not only hone my presentation and writing skills, it has also afforded me the opportunity to meet, work with, and become friends with some of the best people I know. Serving as your President gives me a multitude of ways to “Pay it Forward.”

Vice President Casey Self (Arizona State University) and I inherit the leadership reins of an organization that is at an all time high in terms of number of members (9,903), number and variety of programs offered, and the amount of money we have in reserve. However, our pledge to you is to not settle for good enough. As B. Joseph White also said, “I don’t think that we’re put into leadership jobs to maintain the status quo. I don’t think we’re put into leadership jobs to preside. I think we’re put into leadership jobs to set high aspirations for the future and to achieve those aspirations.” So, Casey Self, the Board of Directors, the Executive Office, and the rest of the leadership team are going to be working together to advance the field of academic advising and to better serve you so that you can better serve your students. First, the Board is going to continue our work on building a solid infrastructure for the organization, by continuing to formulate policies and by designing concrete goals for fulfilling the strategic plan we recently passed. We made excellent progress toward this goal at our Board meeting after the Conference. We adopted 13 new policies and established a new Board Policy Subcommittee to be chaired by Board member Phil Christman to further consider 33 more policies for Board approval. Second, as part of the strategic plan, I believe that we need to focus on advancing the scholarship and research agenda on academic advising and measuring the impact we are having on our students and our institutions. Third, we must continue to proactively replenish our leadership ranks by involving more of you in the organization’s leadership structure, and we must ensure that that we have representation from our entire and diverse constituency. I will keep you updated on our progress through this column throughout the year. In order to accomplish these goals, we need your support and your involvement. There will be a member of the Board of Directors at every Regional Conference this spring, and I personally plan to attend 6 of the Regional Conferences myself. We want and need to hear your input. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or any of the Board members if you have a need that you think NACADA can fulfill.

Jennifer L. Bloom, President

National Academic Advising Association

803-957-6309

jenny.bloom@sc.edu

Thoughts from the Executive Office

Charlie Nutt, NACADA Executive Director

What a wonderful way to spend the first week of your new job – with over 3,000 of your best friends in the wonderful city of Baltimore ! The 31st Annual Conference of the National Academic Advising Association was clearly a first in so many ways – my first in the role as Executive Director, the celebration of the superb and memorable leadership of our first Emeritus Executive Director Roberta “Bobbie” Flaherty, the introduction of our first Charter Class of Emerging Leaders and Mentors, the first time our NACADA chorus opened our Conference, and our first Conference overseen by a Pirate!

However, the Conference was also steeped in tradition: nearly all of our Past Presidents on stage to acknowledge the tremendous work of Bobbie Flaherty over the past 17 years; as always a phenomenal conference planning team led this year by Stacy Woycheck; thought-provoking, powerful, and informative keynote speakers like Patrick Terrenzini and Sharon Fries-Britt; an outstanding set of preconference workshops, concurrent sessions and panel discussions; and an Executive Office team led by Nancy Barnes and Rhonda Baker dedicated to making this year’s conference immensely successful for each participant in attendance! As our President Jennifer Bloom says in her column, we are building on our past successes and traditions as we set high expectations for the future of our Association.

As you settle back into your routine and the rush of registration on many of your campuses, please take time to begin now to plan for the variety of NACADA events you can take part in for the rest of the year. I encourage you to utilize our successful Webinar series as a means to provide campus-wide professional development for your institution - the next Webinar is on the very exciting topic On the Horizon: The Future of Academic Advising and Technology on December 12, 2007. In addition, in February 2008 in beautiful San Diego, California, we will hold our annual Academic Advising Administrators’ Institute and our Assessment of Academic Advising Institute, as well as our National Seminar this year entitled Advising by Design: Planning the Future of Academic Advising on Your Campus. We are excited to announce that this year’s Administrators’ Institute has a new track focused specifically at experienced administrators who have campus-wide responsibilities for advising. Last, our ten excellent Region Conferences will begin in March. These Region Conferences are a wonderful opportunity to network with professionals in your Region. I encourage you to not only attend your Region Conference, but to also to submit a proposal to present there.

I also encourage you to continue to explore the variety of publications and CDs we have available for you as grow in the profession and work to provide quality material to your colleagues on your campuses. The quality of our monographs, the NACADA Journal, Academic Advising Today and Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources articles are truly without compare in higher education. I also urge you to take advantage of these publication opportunities for your own research and growth!

I am honored and excited to take on the new responsibility as Executive Director for our Association. As we continue to grow, reaching 10,000 members in the next year, I am committed to work hard to be sure that we continue to have the open, inclusive, and welcoming culture that NACADA is recognized for. Our strength must continue to be that our new members and professionals to the Association are welcomed and mentored by our seasoned members and professionals. I also am committed to increasing the diversity of our membership and leadership and feel strongly that our Emerging Leader Program is a wonderful step forward to meeting that goal. And, last, I am committed to working with our leadership and our superb Executive Office staff to ensure that we are offering the best and most comprehensive services and events possible in as many delivery mediums as we can.

The title of Bobbie’s last column as Executive Director was ”We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby! It’s Been a Wonderful Journey!” I agree we have and it has been! But We Have a Long Way to Go and Our Journey Will Be New and Exciting! I look forward to walking side-by-side with each of you on this journey!

Charlie Nutt, Executive Director

National Academic Advising Association

(785) 532-5717

cnutt@ksu.edu

Annual Conference a Huge Success!

Over 3100 colleagues came to Baltimore October 18-21 to share information on current advising topics. To paraphrase one participant: “Thanks for putting on a spectacular conference.  As a newbie to NACADA, and a relatively new professional in Student Affairs, I appreciated the breadth and depth provided in the sessions; and especially enjoyed the welcoming NACADA veterans that made me feel at home."

It was announced during the Opening General Session that Charlie Nutt will succeed Roberta “Bobbie” Flaherty as Executive Director of the Association. Congratulations, Charlie!  Opening keynote speaker Patrick Terenzi (co-author of the two-volume series How College Affects Students) discussed From Myopia to Systemic Thinking.

During the second General Session, outgoing NACADA President Susan Campbell passed the gavel to incoming President Jennifer Bloom.. Sharon Fries-Britte gave the second plenary address.

Retiring Executive Director, Roberta “Bobbie” Flaherty, was honored with a plaque and other items.

The 2007 NACADA Award recipients were honored at a special Awards Ceremony and Reception.  Pictures of all recipients will soon be available on the Awards Website.

After Conference hours, attendees enjoyed the numerous nearby dining and entertainment opportunities. Congratulations to the Conference Committee: Stacy Woycheck (Chair), Bill Elliott, Karen Lewis Law, Susan Fread, Bruce Norris, Karen Archambault, Paulette Lail Kashiri, Bethany Spore, Paula Ashby, and Kathie Sindt – along with Conference Director Nancy Barnes – for a job well done!

And thanks to “Pirate Bill” for providing for the photo ops!

We look forward to seeing everyone next year in CHICAGO!

ADVISING ISSUES

In the following articles, advisors from Kansas State University, the University of South Carolina Aiken, and the University of Notre Dame share their perspectives on the "Hot Topic" of technology usage in advising.

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant, Which Language Do You Speak?

Brad Cunningham, Kansas State University

There is no question that students have changed over the past decade. Every generation uses different slang and has new fashions, but the differences in today’s students go deeper. Today’s students use technologies to explore their world in entirely new ways. With these new technologies they speak an entirely different language, one they expect us to understand. In his article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Marc Prensky (2001) presents two new terms that can be used to describe both ourselves and the students we advise.

The first concept Prensky describes is the Digital Native. The current generation of college students is the first to grow up immersed in technology. They have always had the Internet, laptops, cell phones with text messaging, AIM, Facebook™ or MySpace™, PlayStations™, digital cameras, DVD players, blogs, and any other number of digital technologies that allow them to instantly capture or communicate with their world. They use these tools as extensions of their bodies and minds, fluidly incorporating them into their daily routines (Prensky 2005). They have learned the language of technology as they communicate instantly with their peers. These students, like all natives, adapt quickly to changes in their environment and look for new ways to incorporate the latest technology into their fast-paced lives.

On the other hand is the Digital Immigrant. The Digital Immigrant is the latecomer in the technology revolution and as with any immigrant, there is a certain “accent” that is readily apparent to the native speakers. Examples of this “accent” are things like calling and asking if a recipient received the email that was just sent, typing out text messages with full words rather than the standard abbreviations (OMG ur my bff!), or going to the library before searching the Internet. Digital Immigrants still try to work around or second guess technology; Digital Natives know no other way. It is important that we understand the differences between ourselves as Immigrants and our students as Natives. When we teach and advise our students using a language different from their own, we shouldn’t wonder why they aren’t listening!

One major difference between Natives and Immigrants is the way we process information. Natives retrieve information and communicate with their peers very quickly (Prensky, 2001). Text messaging has become a primary form of communication because messages can be sent and received quickly in situations where a phone call can not be taken. Whether students are in lecture, at work, or out with friends, a text message can be sent with little disruption. Through texting, Facebook, and use of the Internet as a search tool, students access information right now, sift through what they need, and ignore the rest. Why should students go to the library when they can Google™ their topic and have hundreds of articles at their fingertips? Why call friends when their Facebook pages will tell them where they are and what they are planning to do tonight? Just a few seconds and they know everything they need to about their social networks.

Another major difference between Immigrants and Natives is a sense of identity (DigitalNative.org, 2007). To Digital Immigrants, a cell phone, email, or the Internet is just a tool that can be used to reach someone or set up a “real” face-to-face meeting. Digital Natives look at the same technologies and see an extension of who they are. Each method of communication allows the Native to harness a different set of capabilities and skills when communicating with others. Texting may be better for communicating one idea, while Facebook might be better for the next thing. Regardless of which medium is used, they are part of who the Native is, not just a separate tool that can be used to create a “real” meeting. Digital communication is just as real to a Native as the face-to-face meetings are to an Immigrant.

Our students look to us to incorporate these new technologies into our advising practice. Students increasingly want to contact us via email, text messaging, and instant messaging rather than meet with us in our offices. We may not think that the same level of interaction and connection can be achieved in digital advising, but that is our “accent” showing. We must remember that students feel that a digital meeting is just as real as an office meeting, and they take away the same meaning and feeling as from an office meeting. If we only offer services in ways in which we are comfortable, then students may never feel that we are meeting them at their level. How can we practice developmental advising if we will not expand our comfort zones? Are we helping students when we force them to meet us on our terms? Or are we holding them back?

How do we bridge the gap between Natives and Immigrants? There are some strategies that we can employ that will help us reach our Native students:

• Expand our comfort zones to meet students where they are.
• Listen to what students tell us about technology; work with them and value their knowledge.
• Place importance on how we communicate over what we communicate. Students actively multi-task to hold their interest in the material we present. As one student said “there‘s so much difference between how teachers think and how students think” (Prensky, 2007).
• Decide with students, not for them (Prensky, 2005). Students today have a whole new set of needs and require an entirely new approach in terms of advising. We learn their language so we can help them make sound decisions.
• Allow Natives to teach and learn from each other. They often aren’t given the chance to do so because Immigrants view themselves as the experts.

Natives do not see memorizing information as an education. Instead they define an education as the ability to know where information can be found and how to retrieve it (Prensky, July 2007). With instant gratification avenues such as YouTube™, IM, chat rooms, and social networking sites and WiFi hand-held PDA’s with instant Internet access, why should students memorize when they can browse? Immigrants should be willing to teach natives how to find the important information and put less emphasis on forcing the students to learn exact information.

Finally, Natives know that we are not as comfortable or familiar with technology as they are and do not expect us to keep up with them. They do expect us to know what they are referring to and be willing to incorporate some of the new technologies in our advising. They want to share the volumes of information they have about technology if we will just listen. They know that they may need to speak slowly, but they are learning our “accent” as we are learning theirs.

Brad Cunningham

Academic Advisor

Kansas State University

College of Business Administration

bradc@ksu.edu

References

Digital Natives. (November, 2006). In Digital Natives Wiki. Retrieved October 9, 2007 from www.digitalnative.org/Main_Page.

Prensky, Marc. (October, 2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Retrieved October 9, 2007 from www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf.

Prensky, Marc. (December, 2005). Listen to the natives. Retrieved October 9, 2007 from www.ascd.org/cms/objectlib/ascdframeset/index.cfm?publication=http://www.ascd.org/authors/ed_lead/el200512_prensky.html .

Prensky, Marc. (2007). To educate, we must listen. Retrieved October 9, 2007 from www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-To_Educate,We_Must_Listen.pdf.

Prensky, Marc. (July, 2007). Changing paradigms. Retrieved October 9, 2007 from

www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-ChangingParadigms-01-EdTech.pdf.

Podcasting: Helping Advisors Get Connected to the “Net Gen”

Sarah Keeling and Stephanie M. Foote, University of South Carolina Aiken

Introduction

Communicating essential and often timely information to students can be a daunting daily task for academic advisors. Although today’s students are often considered more “connected” to technology than previous generations, this connectivity can present a new obstacle: competing to get students’ attention.

Howe and Strauss (2003) discussed this current generation of college students in their book, Millennials go to College. Students of the millennial generation, or “Net Gen,” are key players in a technological surge. “Millennials will gravitate easily toward – even insist upon – information technologies that simplify and streamline their educational experience” (Howe & Strauss, 2003, p. 127).

As technology becomes more dynamic, moving from email to MySpace/Facebook and beyond, advisors may find themselves searching for ways to reach their advisees. Podcasting is just one of many tools advisors can and should consider using.

What is Podcasting?

Wikipedia (2007) defined podcasting as a method of distributing multimedia files via the Internet for playback on mobile devices and personal computers; the term comes from combining the words “pod” (portable on demand) and “broadcasting.”  Podcasts can be accessed with a personal computer or any portable music player. According to Lum (2006), “national studies show that more than 80 percent of college students own at least one device that can download and play recordings” (p. 4). Carrie Windham’s 2007 article, “Confessions of a Podcast Junkie,” further indicated the popularity of mobile music devices and said that in 2006 these devices were the most popular items on college campuses.

Although podcasts can be downloaded on mobile music devices, students can also access podcasts on their personal computers, in campus computer labs, or on virtually any computer that is connected to the Internet. The vast opportunities to access podcasts can make this technology appealing to advisors, faculty, and campus administrators. Another important aspect of podcasting is that students can often “subscribe” to podcasts and receive updated versions of the podcast when new information is available. The subscription option also makes it possible to produce a series of podcasts connected to a particular topic and make all of those available to students who wish to subscribe.

Types of podcasts range from a simple recording – a person or a few people talking about a specific topic – to enhanced podcasting featuring pictures, Web links, and/or slide shows. Video clips can also be added to podcasts to create a “vodcast.”

Why Podcasting?

Very simply, podcasting can help advisors maximize the impact they have on campus by reaching a potentially larger audience through a more innovative medium. Advisors can not only reach more students through podcasting, they can often do so with scarce resources. Simple podcasts require little more than a microphone and recording software, and there are many online resources to help advisors learn the basic steps to develop and upload podcasts.

Recently many campuses have begun to draw on what they know about the “Net” generation’s interest in technology and have found ways to incorporate myriad technologies into pedagogy. In “Top Ten Teaching and Learning Issues, 2007,” John Campbell and Diana Olbinger described what they referred to as the current generation’s expectations regarding technology: “…they expect it to be integral to their lives and to serve them, including in education” (p. 18).

While various technologies are often grouped together, not all are equal. For example, unlike email, which is often passive and solitary, podcasting usually provides some level of interaction. McNeely (2005) confirmed that interactivity is a learning characteristic associated with today’s students. The versatility of podcasting may also appeal to students with various learning styles and may be used to reinforce instruction and knowledge (Brown, 2006). Further, Brown stated that the novelty of podcasts appeals to both students and administrators.

How Can Advisors Use Podcasts?

Advisors can and are using podcasts in a variety of ways. One way advisors can begin using podcasting technology is to convert workshops to podcasts, either by uploading audio files (procured as the workshops are presented) or by adding slides or video clips to the audio to create enhanced podcasts or vodcasts. The usefulness of podcasts is not limited to communicating information to students; podcasting also presents professional development and training opportunities for advisors. Podcasts can be created to train advisors and made available for them to access on Web sites or in Web portals.

Conclusion

Today’s advisees are utilizing “technology to elevate the community” (Howe & Strauss, 2003, p. 21). Their community is your college campus. Podcasts are not meant to replace face-to-face interactions between advisor and advisee, but are a means of reaching out to the students in ways that are attractive to them. Podcasting, like other forms of technology, will likely grow and change, but for advisors who are willing to learn, podcasting can present limitless opportunities.

Sarah M. Keeling

Academic Advisor

Academic Success Center

University of South Carolina Aiken

SarahK@usca.edu

Stephanie M. Foote

Director of the Academic Success Center and First-Year Experience

University of South Carolina Aiken

stephanief@usca.edu

References

Campbell, J. P., Oblinger, D. G., & Colleagues. (2007). Top-ten teaching and learning issues, 2007. Educause Quarterly, 30 (3), 15-22.

Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2003).  Millennials go to college. Washington, DC: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and LifeCourse Associates.  

Lum, L. (2006, March 9).  The power of podcasting.  Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 23 (2), 32. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ763137). Retrieved August 23, 2007, from ERIC database.

McNeely, B. (2005). Using technology as a learning tool, not just the cool new thing (chap. 4). In D. G.

Oblinger & J. L. Oblinger (Eds.), Educating the net generation (Educause e-Book). Retrieved August 23, 2007, from www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7101.pdf.

Wikipedia. (2007). Definition of podcasting. Retrieved August 23, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting.

Windham, C. (May/June 2007). Confessions of a podcast junkie. Educause Review, 42 (3), 52-65.

Leaving the “Hey" Behind: Advising Communication Etiquette

Marisa Gift, University of Notre Dame

“Hey!”

“What’s up?”

“O dang.”

These statements sound like they should be shouted across a high school parking lot. However, these are just a few of the ways I, an academic advisor, have been greeted in advisee e-mails. Of course, many students also skip a greeting altogether and launch immediately into their questions or requests. Over the last five years, I have noticed a rapid decline in the communication etiquette of students, especially when it comes to e-mail communication. It often seems that today’s text-sending, iPod™-wielding college generation has forgotten that there are real, live people on the other end of their e-mail exchanges. Although e-mail etiquette problems often are lamented at staff meetings, the issue is discussed much less in print.

Most colleges and universities offer students the opportunity to take public speaking and composition courses; many require coursework in these areas. Yet, there is not a similar emphasis on basic, everyday communication skills such as e-mail etiquette. While formal classes addressing everyday communication skills might not be on the near horizon, academic advisors can make an immediate and important contribution to improving students’ communication etiquette. Below are three simple ways advisors can lead this effort.

First, advisors must identify the rules; they must give advisees basic guidelines regarding proper e-mail etiquette. These guidelines may seem common sense, but that does not mean that they are always followed. Reminding students early of these guidelines will cause them to think twice when writing e-mails to faculty and staff in the future. Advisors should emphasize to students that they are free to address their friends in whatever way they please; however, students should take a more cautious, professional tone when addressing faculty and staff in e-mails. A university official should be treated with the same respect in an e-mail that the student would give in a face-to-face encounter. Here are several examples of “common sense” e-mail guidelines:

• Include a subject line that clues the reader into the subject of an e-mail.
• Begin with an appropriate salutation including the person’s name (“Dear Mrs. Smith” or “Hello Dr. Johnson”). Starting with “Hey” is inappropriate.
• Include an adequate amount of background information. Even if the topic of a message has been addressed before, do not assume that the reader remembers the details. Give him or her a quick refresher at the beginning of the message.
• Use proper grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
• Do not compose messages in all uppercase or all lowercase text.
• Minimize (or preferably, eliminate) your use of emoticons and abbreviations.
• Do not use text-message acronyms (“can u meet w me @12?”).
• Proofread the message before you send to catch mistakes.
• Double check the tone of your e-mail.
• Respond in a timely manner: less than 24 hours is best.

Second, advisors must enforce the guidelines. In other words, an advisor must not hesitate to “call out” a student when the student sends an improper e-mail. For example, advisors should let students know when their e-mails look like text messages due to a lack of capitalization and/or punctuation. Advisors are doing a disservice to students if they respond to advisees’ poorly-written e-mails without acknowledging their lack of etiquette. Doing this sends the message that a student’s etiquette was appropriate, and therefore, suitable for future use. The way students address advisors, faculty members and staff now will most likely translate into how they address their employers in the future.

Finally, advisors must follow the same rules of proper communication etiquette; it is not enough for us to read and enforce the rules. In the hectic world of academic advising, it is easy for advisors to hit “send” on e-mails without a second glance. However, it is essential that advisors follow the guidelines listed above if they expect their students to do the same. Proper communication etiquette will bolster the credibility and professionalism of the daily contacts advisors have with their students. Furthermore, students will realize that their advisors were not just giving lip service to communication etiquette when they explained the guidelines. If advisors lead the way, students might just follow. Adherence to communication etiquette guidelines should help students leave the “Hey!” in the parking lot.

Marisa Gift

Academic Advisor

First Year of Studies

University of Notre Dame

On the Horizon: The Future of Academic Advising and Technology

Live Internet Webinar Broadcast

Join us for our most daring online adventure to date, when Karen Thurmond (The University of Memphis), George Steele (The Ohio Learning Network), Arthur Esposito (Virginia Commonwealth University), Joline Vanderwal (Regent University), Wes Lipschultz (Penn State University), and Clay Schwenn and Kurt Xyst (University of Washington) take us "where no NACADA Webinar has gone before!"  Along with telling us about some of the exciting technology-related innovations they are using on their campuses to engage advisees, our Presenters will be giving us the opportunity to experience what happens when we use "streaming video" in this medium, showing us how they use "flash" technology, and explaining what we can learn from the 2007 Horizon Report.

Registration deadline is December 4, so don't miss your chance!  Learn more and REGISTER now to secure your participation!

Did you miss some of the season's earlier broadcasts?   It's not too late to benefit from 2007-08 Webinar Series package savings and receive CD recordings of our first three events!  Even if you missed the earlier live broadcasts, you can still register for the remaining 2007-08 Webinars and enjoy significant savings PLUS receive CDs of all 11 Webinars!  Enjoy live presentations and add to your professional development library by including the CD recordings of Webinar broadcasts presented by experts in the academic advising field.  Discover how to SAVE on all remaining Webinars or for the five-Webinar package. 

Applying the Concepts of Universal Design for Learning to Advising

Robert L. Hurt, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Today’s college students are the most diverse advisors have ever encountered; with that diversity comes the need to design advising experiences to meet certain fundamental goals while simultaneously ensuring that advising materials, delivery methods and interpersonal communication are accessible and meaningful to each student. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers advisors a framework for designing and delivering high-quality advising to students with varying backgrounds and learning styles. This article will first lay out some background about UDL, then focus on applying its principles in advising contexts.

UDL Background

UDL grew out of the broader architectural concept of universal design. The basic idea of universal design is straightforward: built environments should be usable by all people without the need for after-the-fact additions (Burgstahler, 2005). For example, rather than adding on accommodations for the disabled to an office building, the principles of universal design would advocate designing features into the office building to make it accessible from the start. As a result, the building would have maximum functionality for everyone and still be aesthetically pleasing and cost effective.

At its core, universal design is built around seven fundamental principles (Connell et al., 1997):

1. Equitable use. The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.
2. Flexibility in use. The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
3. Simple and intuitive. Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
4. Perceptible information. The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.
5. Tolerance for error. The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.
6. Low physical effort. The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.
7. Size and space for approach and use. Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user’s body size, posture, or mobility.

The concepts of universal design can also be applied to the design, delivery and assessment of instructional materials in higher education. Izzo (2007) stated:

Universal design is an approach to designing course instruction, materials, and content to benefit people of all learning styles without adaptation or retrofitting. Universal design provides equal access to learning, not simply equal access to information. Universal design allows the student to control the method of accessing information while the teacher monitors the learning process and initiates any beneficial methods.

Universal design for learning (UDL) is not about watering down curricula or expected student outcomes; students should still be challenged to think critically and master basic principles in their learning process. UDL is about breaking down barriers to student learning, making materials more accessible to all students.

Drawing on Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education (Chickering and Gamson, 1991) and the ideas for universal design noted above, Izzo (2007) offered the following basic principles for UDL:

1. Identify the essential course content.
2. Clearly express the essential content and any feedback given to the student.
3. Integrate natural supports for learning (i.e. using resources already found in the environment, such as a study buddy).
4. Use a variety of instructional methods when presenting material.
5. Allow for multiple methods of demonstrating understanding of essential course content.
6. Use technology to increase accessibility.
7. Invite students to meet/contact the course instructor with any questions/concerns.

Since, at its core, advising is a form of teaching, the principles of UDL can also be applied to advising contexts.

UDL and Advising

With respect to UDL and advising, Burgstahler (2006) stated:

Make sure everyone feels welcome, can get to the facility and maneuver within it, is able to access printed materials and electronic resources, and can participate in events and other activities. Train staff to support people with disabilities, respond to specific requests for accommodations in a timely manner, and know whom they can contact if they have disability-related questions.

Here are some simple, yet effective, ways to promote the principles of UDL in advising:

1. Provide adequate physical space in advising offices for movement and maneuvering. Offices and rooms that look “uncrowded” are more inviting, in addition to being more accessible to everyone.
2. Deliver advising information in a variety of ways: printed material, PowerPoint presentations, videos and via the Internet. Thus, students with diverse learning styles can choose their preferred method for accessing advising information.
3. In preparing printed materials, use built-in “styles” to differentiate headings from text. Screen readers (software that converts printed material into spoken words) can then provide a list of main headings as a search tool, rather than reading an entire document to find one specific piece of information.
4. Also for printed materials, use common fonts without embellishments to improve readability. For example, Arial text is much plainer than Times New Roman.
5. Differentiate material based on position or shape, not on color. For example, in a sheet that lists students’ degree requirements, place all general education requirements on the right side of the page rather than printing them in blue text. While color distinctions may be visually appealing, they are not accessible to students with certain visual disabilities (such as color blindness).
6. Allow students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. For example, some students may want to explain aloud the process for calculating a grade point average. Others may prefer to write down a series of steps; still others may demonstrate their mastery by preparing a computerized spreadsheet.

Those six ideas are just a beginning for applying UDL principles to advising. Advisors can dialogue amongst themselves and with students and other stakeholders, then apply their own sense of creativity to create advising environments that welcome and promote success for everyone.

Robert L. Hurt

Accounting Department

College of Business

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Robert.Hurt@gmail.com

References

Burgstahler, S. (2005). Universal design: Principles, process and applications . Seattle, WA: University of Washington. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Programs/ud.html.

Burgstahler, S. (2006). Equal access: Universal design of advising . Seattle, WA: University of Washington. Retrieved August 15, 2007 from www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/equal_access_adv.html.

Chickering, A. and Gamson, Z. (1991). Applying the seven principles of good practice for undergraduate education. Somerset, NJ : Jossey-Bass.

Connell, B. R., Jones, M., Mace, R., Mueller, J., Mullick, A., Ostroff, E., et al. (1997). The principles of universal design. Retrieved August 8, 2007, from www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/udprincipleshtmlformat.html.

Graduate Education Opportunities

We are pleased to announce that Kansas State University now offers both a Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising in Higher Education and a Master of Science in Academic Advising Degree in partnership with NACADA. Both academic advising graduate programs provide an opportunity for faculty, full-time academic advisors, and administrators to gain an understanding of myriad issues and skills needed to deliver effective academic advising at the post-secondary level of education. These programs are designed for:

1. advisors and administrators who desire more formal education related to academic advising
2. faculty seeking advising knowledge beyond their discipline
3. graduate students anticipating academic advising roles in higher education
4. persons interested in working directly with student-athletes

Goal-Setting for Study Abroad Learning Outcomes

Jodi Malmgren, Study Abroad Advising Interest Group Chair

The NACADA Core Values challenge advisors to “help students establish realistic goals and objectives and encourage them to be responsible for their own progress and success” (NACADA, 2004). As advisors, we know that helping students to set goals and to monitor their progress assists them with achieving