Roberta 'Bobbie' Flaherty, NACADA Executive Director 

It is my hope to keep you all apprised of significant projects within NACADA that may impact your professional life at some point in the future. These projects may simply be “exploratory” or they may be providing the framework for a new service or understanding within the field of advising. My point is, though, that much is happening beyond what the members usually see, and that there is a multitude of volunteers diligently addressing a number of issues at any given time. Without the work of these willing volunteers, NACADA would never be able to accomplish its goals related to enhancing the development of students through effective academic advising. A BIG new year THANKS to all who have contributed (and will contribute) to NACADA’s successes!

There are several such projects underway at this time.

• Definition of Advising Task Force—many members have sought and asked for a comprehensive, succinct definition of “academic advising”. Knowing that there are many such definitions in the literature, this Task Force has been asked to pursue the task of developing one such definition that could be endorsed by NACADA. As you might guess, with variety of expectations of advisors and advising coupled with the variety of organizational and delivery models, this will be a monumental task. Yet, volunteers have agreed to tackle this task.
• Advisor Certification Task Force—another monumental task is the focus of this group. These very dedicated members are researching, analyzing, and building a system to recognize the competencies of advisors. Their charge includes working with the Professional Development Committee on the identification of “advising competencies” and the identification of what competencies are being addressed by current NACADA or outside professional development opportunities. Then they will propose what and how an advisor must demonstrate to earn the NACADA “stamp of approval” - be that a certificate, certification, registry listing or whatever.
• CAS/Core Values Task Force—updating is the challenge to this Task Force. They are working to update the NACADA Core Values and working through the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) to review and update the standards for advising programs. These two elements are critical to the field and such attention will assure that guidelines for the conduct of advising programs remain current and useful to professionals in the field.
• Member Career Services Task Force—reviewing and recommending! With a goal to enhance the career development of NACADA members, this group is looking at how career services can be enhanced - position searches, resume assistance, resource person, career guidance, etc. Much of what we offer to students could be offered to our members!

As you can see, a lot of folks are tackling some tough issues! We look forward to their reports and encourage members who would like to volunteer in such capacities to complete the volunteer form on our website. If there is not space available on current committees or task forces, we will keep you in mind for a later assignment. NACADA’s strength is the work of its volunteer members! And, the members benefit from discussion of the issues with colleagues who often become a national network of friends!

Roberta “Bobbie” Flaherty
NACADA Executive Director
 

Leadership Opportunities 

Those interested in a leadership opportunity in the NACADA organization may want to start as a member of a commission steering committee or serve on a Commission committee. The Chair provides leadership for commission activities in support of the profession. The Chair represents the members of the commission, their needs and concerns, assists with the selection and evaluation of presentations for both national and regional conferences, and communicates with the members through the national newsletter. The Chair attends the fall Division meeting and communicates commission needs and concerns to the Division Representatives on the NACADA Council. To qualify for this elected position as Chair requires at least one year of membership in the commission and a commitment of 2 years of service.

Watch for the Sixth National Survey of Academic Advising

In mid-to-late February, The Sixth National Survey of Academic Advising will be arriving at two-year and four-year public and private colleges throughout the nation. The survey, first conducted by ACT, Inc. in 1979, has been frequently cited by members of the advising profession, and the results have been utilized as a catalyst to upgrade advising services on many campuses. NACADA will, as with the fifth survey, publish the final results of this survey in a monograph.

The sixth survey features an expanded section on technology used to support and deliver advising. And, although previous surveys drew stratified random samples of institutional types, the sixth survey will be mailed to all two-year and four-year public and private institutions.

In a pre-mailing in early February, chief academic officers will be asked to identify the individual most knowledgeable of campus advising. If the chief academic officer responds, on those campuses, the survey will be mailed to the individual identified. On all other campuses, the survey will be mailed to the chief academic officer. The results of the survey will be published in an upcoming NACADA monograph.

Cite this article using APA style as: Flaherty, R. (2003, February). From the executive office. Academic Advising Today, 26(1). [insert url here]