Overview

Academic advising, particularly with the advent of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) in 1977, has assumed an increasingly significant role in higher education in terms of retention, graduation and transfer rates (Tricoli, 2009).  Whatever method of advising is employed by the institution of higher education, the goal remains essentially the same:  to provide a structured relationship wherein students can satisfy all academic requisites, maintain the necessary cumulative average, fulfill athletic and scholarship requirements, properly prepare for graduate school mandates, and graduate in a timely fashion.  At the same time, many in the academy express concern regarding the legal implications of erroneous guidance given a student which hampers his or her ability to comply with these objectives.  Unquestionably, education at every level operates within an increasingly complex arena of national and local regulations.

References in the literature describe a posture of increasing consumerism adopted by college and university students coupled with an evolving legal responsibility on the part of the advisor (Makar, 2002). Yet an examination of case law in the university context suggests that the traditional deference exhibited by courts with respect to the academic decision making of colleges and universities endures.  Research indicates that despite the employment of a variety of theories upon which students sue advisors, including educational malpractice, breach of a fiduciary relationship, estoppel, and breach of contract, generally the academic advisor and his or her institution will not be deemed liable for errors in advice tendered, barring gross negligence, fraudulent conduct, or arbitrary and capricious behavior. So what do academic advisors and advising administrators need to know to protect themselves, their institutions, and their advisees?

Audrey Wolfson Latourette, J.D. joins NACADA Past President Thomas Grites in the AdvisorConnect platform to discuss the potential legal implications of academic advising.  They will review the posture of the courts with respect to intervention in both the public and private college and university context, share an analysis of a variety of legal theories employed by students to enforce statements issued by academic advisors or other representatives of the university, and share strategies to limit individuals’ and institutions’ potential liabilities.

Presenters

Audrey Wolfson Latourette, Professor of Business Law, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Audrey Wolfson Latourette, J.D., is a cum laude graduate of Temple University School of Law where she was an Associate Editor of the Temple Law Quarterly.  A former associate at a large Philadelphia law firm, Latourette is a Professor of Law at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. She has given numerous presentations at regional, national and international conferences, garnering several Best Paper Awards, and has been invited to speak at various colleges and universities throughout the country.  Latourette’s recent publications include “Legal Implications of Academic Advising,” Advising Administration (National Academic Advising Association, in press, 2011); “Papish v. Board of Curators of University of Missouri,” in Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (Macmillan Press, 2008);   “Copyright Implications for Online Distance Education,” 32 The Journal of College and University Law 613-654 (2006);  “American Federalism and Abortion,” in Federalism in America (Greenwood Press, 2006);  and “Sex Discrimination in the Legal Profession:  Historical and Contemporary Perspectives,” 39 Valparaiso University Law Review 859-909 (2005).  Latourette’s most recent publication, "Plagiarism:  Legal and Ethical Implications for the University,” was published by Notre Dame Law School and the National Association of College and University Attorneys as the lead article in 37 The Journal of College and University Law 1-91 (2010).

Thomas Grites, Assistant to the Provost, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Thomas J. Grites has been directly involved in the academic advising process in higher education for over 40 years. He has served as a consultant, program evaluator, and faculty development workshop leader on more than 100 campuses. He was instrumental in forming the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and served as its second President for two terms.  He has authored more than 80 journal articles, book chapters, program evaluations, and consultant reports, and he has delivered over 120 conference presentations. Grites co-edited the second edition of Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook and recently co-authored an orientation textbook for transfer student seminar courses entitled the Transfer Student Companion. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Illinois State University and completed his doctoral work at the University of Maryland. Both institutions have honored him with Distinguished Alumni Awards. He was inducted into the College of Education Hall of Fame at Illinois State in 2007. He has also served on his local Board of Education in Absecon, NJ for over 25 years.