Commission/Interest Group:    Small Colleges and Universities Commission   

Chair:    Maura M. Reynolds, Hope College

Summary of Annual Meeting at National Conference (agenda items, issues, discussion topics, announcements, etc.)

We took a brief look at the NACADA membership profiles-by institution type and commission-just to see our commission in a broader scope.

Several expressed disappointment about how few presentations were offered for small colleges/universities. (see below for some suggestions) While many of the "large school" offerings were well done, they were not at all applicable to small colleges with few resources and staff.

We thanked Marty Hemwall with a small gift and a hearty round of applause for shepherding the new NACADA monograph to production (at last!). It was a long and cumbersome process and Marty stuck with it. We reminded members that copies were on sale at the NACADA booth.

We spent the bulk of the time discussing and brainstorming issues of concern to our commission and encouraging each other to make proposals for future conferences-both regional and national.

Suggestions made about the conference:

1. Please schedule the commission meeting EARLIER in the conference. Small colleges/universities have trouble finding each other at the national conference, and we come to network. This year (and last year) the commission meeting was scheduled late in the conference.
2. Please offer at least one pre-conference workshop aimed at small colleges/universities (see some possible topics below). These have been well attended in the past. According to an attendee, a proposal for a workshop aimed at this group was rejected for this year's conference. Given the number of workshops offered, it was disappointing not to have something for small schools.
3. Please post a conference attendees' list on the NACADA web-site-again, this helps networking. The list was posted at the conference Internet Café, but we weren't able to print this list. Could the list also include commissions and region membership? Help those of us at small school connect with each other-it's hard when we're the only person on our campus who works with advising.
4. Please consider letting small college/universities be identifiable on attendees' name tags-a ribbon was used in the past-again, this helps us connect.
5. Please consider reducing (even slightly) conference fees for presenters. Many of us pay our own expenses; others have very limited budgets from their colleges. 

Approximate Number of Commission/Interest Group Members in Attendance :    30   

Critical Issues of Concern or "Hot Topics" Identified:

We identified these topics and encouraged each other to make proposals at NACADA conference. List generated by attendees-in no particular order:

• Parents/families
• Juggling our many hats
• Students with disabilities at small colleges
• Technology impact and courseware applications at small colleges
• Probation-readmission-dismissal decisions at small colleges
• "When do I 'give up' on a student?"
• How can we best serve faculty at small colleges?
• How can we help students at small colleges handle graduation anxiety?
• How do we assign advisors to students-issues of politics and equity at small colleges
• Models for advising systems at small colleges
• Peer advising at small colleges
• Orientation/registration models at small colleges
• Who "supervises" advising at small colleges-staff, administration, reporting lines
• "You're the one"-helping faculty at small colleges advise well
• Sophomore year issues at small colleges
• Increasing our (advising's) clout at small colleges
• Assessment of advising at small colleges
• Diversity and retention of diverse students at small colleges
• Promoting and preserving faculty relationships at small colleges
• What is advising-a small college perspective
• Advising transfer students at small colleges

Unit Goals and Objectives for Next Year:

1. Work diligently to generate more participation from small colleges at national and regional NACADA conferences.
2. Continue to find creative ways to gather information and connect with others at small colleges-increased use of list serve, publicity at regional conferences.
3. Find a replacement for Maura J ; my term ends in 2004. Several candidates are possible and being courted.

Future Activities Planned:

1. We will have an article in the June NACADA Newsletter.

Volunteer Opportunities Available Within the Unit :

• A number of people volunteered to help on an ad hoc basis-reading proposals, developing sessions-we welcome help of all sorts.

Members Serving this Unit (committee members, liaisons, etc.) :

We function as a committee of the whole.