• Joe Martin, founder and president of RealWorld University, will speak at the opening plenary Wednesday evening. He will share strategies to increase student retention.
• Robert Sherfield, from the Community College of Southern Nevada, will speak Friday morning on how high quality advising creates an atmosphere of success for students.

The Early Bird deadline is fast approaching: Register by September 16 to save $55 - payment does not need to accompany your registration form, so sign up now!  Conference presenters are requested to register by September 9. Registration forms are available at the above link.

• If you sent a registration form before 8/30/05, but haven't received an email confirmation, call the Executive Office at (785) 532-5717 or email nacada@ksu.edu immediately.

Hotel availability is at a premium. If you are still looking, check the above link for the latest information. There is also information if you are interested in sharing hotel accommodations.

Conference opportunities include:

• NEW! You'll find links to information on what to do after hours, including one developed especially for our attendees by UNLV students.
• NEW! If this is your first NACADA National Conference, there are some special HINTS for you!
• NEW! Interactive Schedule Planner. Get a head start on identifying sessions you don't want to miss. There are over 300 sessions-using this planner can free up your time at the conference and help you get more out of the experience.
• NEW! Breakfast for New Advisors. If you've been advising three years or less, join NACADA leaders for continental breakfast on Friday morning to discuss how NACADA can support you in your career and in your work with students.

VOLUNTEER!   A good way to get involved and meet new people is to volunteer for a couple of hours at the Conference. It doesn't have to be an all-day commitment. Contact Sherri Theriault.

For more details, visit the Conference homepage.

Regional Activities at National Conference!

The Conference will be an excellent opportunity for you to collaborate with others from your region. 

• During the opening reception on Wednesday, sections of the ballroom will be designated for each Region - so seek out old friends and meet new ones!
• Regional Meetings are scheduled from 4:30-5:30 on Thursday, so be sure to add this to your personal schedule!
  • Learn what is going on in your region - new initiatives, regional conference, state conferences!
  • Volunteer to help with the conference or on various committees
  • Consider running for leadership positions in your region or on the national level.
  • Regional awards are now given by some of the regions - investigate and apply!
• "Best of Region" Presentations are scheduled throughout the Conference. Here's your chance to see sure fire excellent presentations!
• Congratulate those from your region who have received various NACADA awards! (Click on your region and then Awards!)

Congratulations to the 2005 NACADA National Award recipients. All award recipients will be formally honored during the NACADA National Conference in Las Vegas this fall. Click here for complete listings of these award recipients. Photos for many of these award recipients are linked to their names on these listings — perhaps you'll recognize them!

Two potential Interest Groups will be meeting at the Conference to determine their viability and level of interest among NACADA members:

• New Advising Professionals - The focus of this potential group will be to enhance professional development opportunities and provide a network for individuals new to academic advising.
• Advising Urban Affairs Majors - This group will be of interest to academic advisors of students in disciplines such as Public Administration, Social Work, Criminal Justice, Environmental Studies, and other areas that affect public policy and professional practices in our communities. 

If you are interested in either of these special interest areas, please plan to attend the initial meeting for that group to show your support:

New Advising Professionals - Friday, October 7, 10:00-11:00 a.m., Co-Chairs: Ben Chamberlain (Iowa State University) and Nathan Vickers (University of Texas at Austin)
Advising Urban Affairs Majors - Friday, October 7, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Chair: Adam Sikula (University of Nevada-Las Vegas)

NACADA members interested in these potential interest groups but NOT planning to attend the Las Vegas Conference are encouraged to send an e-mail indicating their interest prior to the Conference to the contact person listed above.

Three NACADA events are scheduled back-to-back for February in Clearwater Beach, Florida. 

Information will be posted as it becomes available.

A discount will be available to those participants signing up for more than one event. See the registration form for discount breakdowns. 

Registration brochures will be available at the Las Vegas National Conference and mailed by October 1. Visit the NACADA booth in Las Vegas to pick up information on the three events and the Clearwater Beach, FL area, or visit our web sites listed below:

Ethical/Legal Issues in Academic Advising Seminar

Join us on the Gulf of Mexico's white sandy beaches in Clearwater Beach, Florida, February 2-3, 2006, for this one and a half day seminar. The Seminar Faculty, three nationally recognized experts in the field of legal issues in higher education, will provide a framework for appreciating the ethical context of academic advising and will use this to bring participants up to date on legal developments in the higher education areas related to advising issues. The point of the Seminar is not to provide you with a misleading list of "do's and don'ts" in advising, but to give you insight into how our area of higher education law can be understood as an extension of ethical academic advising. For more information click here.

4th Annual Academic Advising Administrators' Institute

NACADA's 4th Annual Academic Advising Administrators' Institute will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Clearwater Beach, Florida, February 5-7, 2006. This institute will focus on the knowledge and skills needed to be successful advising administrators as well as provide an opportunity for in-depth discussions and development of strategies for dealing with issues that advising administrators face daily. Join us for this opportunity to gain knowledge and network with colleagues at the Institute while enjoying the Gulf of Mexico's white sandy beaches!  For more information click here.

2nd Annual Assessment of Academic Advising Institute

Learn more about making your academic advising program more successful and effective! The Assessment of Academic Advising Institute will be held at the Hilton Hotel, February 8-10, 2006. The Institute will focus on the components of a successful assessment program as well as provide specific strategies for developing and implementing an assessment program on your campus. For more information click here.

Regional Conference dates and locations are now available!

As always, your Region Chairs welcome your ideas and input. 

Visit the Regional Web page for contact information! 

The 2005 Summer Institutes brought together 281 administrators, advisors and faculty advisors for a comprehensive look at academic advising today. Along with general sessions, workshops and topicals, participants developed an Action Plan for enhancing or improving advising on their individual campuses. You might be interested in looking at descriptions of some of the Action Plans prepared at the St. Paul and Colorado Springs Institutes. 

Plan now to arrange for teams or individuals from your school to attend next year!  Locations and dates will be posted at the NACADA web site by November.  And YES! - A limited number of scholarships are available for Summer Institute attendance.  Applications will be available in November and will be due by the first of March. 

What is Academic Advising? lays the groundwork for academic advising.  While the primary target audience for this first CD offering is new advisors, it will be very useful to advisors who have been working in the field, but who have never had opportunity to become acquainted with foundational advising information in a single-piece, coherent, sequenced (curriculum) format.  The information presented is "generic" (applicable to any campus setting), rather than institution-type specific.  CD 1 is intended to particularly appeal to audio- as well as visual-learners - to anyone preferring more than just a text-only format.

And, as noted by NACADA President-elect Jo Anne Huber, "In addition to being valuable for advisors, this CD series will also be useful for Administrators who might be trying to help others on their team to understand the importance of advising."

Peer Advising: Intentional Connections to Support Student Learning is designed to introduce readers to the critical elements of successful peer advising programs.  Peer advising is an important way institutions can extend advising services to students; in turn it provides a way to enrich the student experience for those engaging in this professional role on their campuses.

Monograph contents range from theory to design and delivery of a peer advising program.  Recruitment, selection and development of peer advisors are highlighted; program budgets, assessment, and evaluation suggestions are shared.  Exemplary practices from across the country highlight chapter content.

NACADA introduces the Guide to Assessment of Academic Advising on CD to assist institutions with the development of a comprehensive assessment program for academic advising at the unit, college, or institutional level.  The Guide focuses on the development of goals and advisor and student learning outcomes for advising.  The Guide also provides detailed assistance in the process of mapping the achievement of outcomes across the undergraduate experience as well as a process for measuring the achievement of the outcomes in the assessment program.  Sample worksheets are provided that can be utilized in the development of an assessment program and can be reproduced for campus use.

The NACADA Guide to Assessment in Academic Advising is essential for any institution committed to improving the quality of the advising experience through and intentional and carefully developed plan of assessment.

The September edition of our quarterly e-Publication, Academic Advising Today, was sent to all members on August 24th.  If you inadvertently deleted your email notification, you can find it here.

We are also pleased to announce that the publication now has a search feature that we know you'll want to investigate!

Authors have been hard at work preparing their pieces for the December edition, and we are now discussing article topics for the February edition.  If you are interested in sharing your thoughts with your colleagues in this format, check out the Guidelines today!

Thinking about looking for a new job? Anticipate hiring an academic advisor? This month the Clearinghouse collaborates with Academic Advising Today to offer advice on hiring and interviews:

• Linda Chalmers, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies, University of Texas at San Antonio, provides advice on interviewing and hiring new academic advisors in "An Advising Administrator's Duty." The first half of this article appears in the September issue of Academic Advising Today. .
• "Dessert Spoon, What Dessert Spoon? A Simple Guide to Interview and Business Etiquette" is a helpful overview by Nancy Merz, Kansas State University Financial Assistance Assistant Director, that can help interviewee and interviewer alike.

Looking forward to a little downtime after registration?  Consider reviewing a book for the NACADA Journal. Some titles new to the book review list include:

• Addiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and Families

• Becoming a Master Student Athlete

• Designing Effective Instruction

• The Entrepreneurial Community College

• First Aid for Stress: 34 activities for managing stress in the workplace

• Oral Storytelling & Teaching Mathematics: Pedagogical and Multicultural Perspectives

• Preparing Educators to Involve Families: From Theory to Practice

Find these books and more in the Journal web section. Reviewers need to be current NACADA members (note: many NACADA memberships expire 9/1/05).  Reviewers have three months from the receipt of the book to read and write the review. The book becomes the property of the reviewer upon acceptance of the review for publication.

Information is available about the 2006 NACADA Leadership elections, including a list of positions to be elected, eligibility criteria, and an online nomination recommendation form. Election information and printed nomination forms will also be available in the NACADA booth in the Exhibits area at the National Conference in Las Vegas and in the back of the Conference program. Nomination forms can be submitted either online, at the Conference, or by fax or mail. All nominations are due to the Executive Office by Monday, October 31, 2005. 

More information can be found here regarding NACADA Leadership positions. If you have any questions, or would like to inquire as to your eligibility for a particular position or the eligibility of a colleague whom you wish to nominate for a position, please contact the NACADA Executive Office at (785) 532-5717 or e-mail us. We encourage your participation in the nomination process for these Leadership positions!

Two NACADA members who completed the Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising in August were inadvertently omitted from the listing in the August Highlights.  Kathie Palin (University of the Sciences in Philadelphia) and Janice Keim (Purdue University-North Central) completed graduate requirements to receive the Certificate.  Also, Heather Adams is with Kent State University rather than the previously listed Boise State University.  The Executive Office staff regrets the errors.  For a complete list of graduates click here.

Click here to learn more about obtaining a Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising.  The last day for enrollment for the August-December 2005 term is September 6, 2005.

September 1 is the Membership Expiration Date for many NACADA Members!

Many NACADA members have a membership expiration date of September 1.  Membership renewal forms were mailed in July.  If you did not receive your membership renewal form, please use the form at this link.  Thank you to all who have submitted their renewal forms already.  Your continued support of NACADA is appreciated!