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Member
Produced Publications
- Resources.
Examples of member produced advising handbooks
- Overview
with steps for producing advising handbooks
Producing A Comprehensive
Academic Advising Handbook For Faculty Utilization
Jerry
L. Ford
J
& S Enterprises
Houston, TX 77036-4941
Using a comprehensive
academic advising handbook that is attractive, useful, versatile,
and inexpensive is the cornerstone of a well-developed and implemented
academic advising program. The interweaving of faculty enthusiasm
and active participation in both planning and implementing all of
the steps and procedures is the mortar of such an academic advising
program. The following seven steps have proven very effective in
handbook utilization and development.
Obtaining the Commitment
The appropriate campus administrator(s)
must make a threefold commitment-financial resources, human resources,
and zealous endorsement-to develop an advising handbook. The administration
must demonstrate commitment by providing the financial resources
necessary for the completion and survival of the handbook project.
The administration must also commit the human resources necessary
for the development and production of the handbook. And, finally,
the administration must zealously support and endorse the utilization
of the handbook by the faculty once the handbook project has been
completed. Without the administrative commitment, the project's
effectiveness will be severely hindered.
Clarifying Responsibility
The administration must designate the office,
department, and/or person responsible for developing and producing
the handbook and the chain of command to be followed in seeking
assistance with major decisions and budget considerations. A specific
office and person must be designated, or the handbook, being everyone's
business, is not completed because it becomes nobody's business.
Identifying the Objectives and
Purposes
The following critical questions should
be addressed when determining the purposes of the advising handbook:
A. Who is the
targeted audience, or who will use the handbook on campus? Should
the handbook be designed for:
•
All faculty?
•
Faculty in only one college/school?
•
Faculty in a single department?
•
Peer advisors?
•
Professional advisors?
•
Staff personnel?
•
Advising center personnel?
• All
of the above or some of the above?
B. What are some
of the general purposes/objectives of the advising handbook? General
purposes might include:
•
Promoting quality academic advising
•
Improving academic advising
•
Educating faculty advisors
•
Assisting students to get a "fair shake"
•
Helping faculty members to advise properly
•
Using the handbook as a training aid
•
Raising the profile and importance of academic advising
• Providing
a definition of good academic advising
C. What are the
specific purposes of the handbook? The academic advising handbook
might include some or all of the following specific purposes:
•
To provide correct and accurate information
•
To provide concise information
•
To provide consistent information
•
To provide referral sources/resources
•
To articulate administration's policies and procedures
•
To provide standardized assistance to students
•
To provide descriptions of the advising process
•
To define good advisement
•
To facilitate continuous, ongoing advisor training
•
To provide resource materials and information
•
To simplify the advisement process
•
To consolidate advising information
•
To disseminate current information to all advisors
•
To establish responsibilities and procedures for advisors
•
To communicate the philosophy and goals of advising
• To
serve as a quick and easy reference for advising-related questions
D. How can faculty
provide significant input? For maximum advising success, strategies
and procedures for faculty involvement and participation can be
provided through combinations of the following:
•
Questionnaires for faculty
•
Discussion groups
•
Committees
•
Informal suggestions
•
Formal planning sessions
•
Memos or letters both paper and electronic
•
Administration/faculty workshops
•
Advisor/advisee workshops
• Special
requests from faculty
Developing the Content
The content of
the handbook will determine whether or not the intended users actually
utilize the handbook. Closely allied to the purpose and objectives,
the content should be a conduit for achieving those objectives.
The content should include some or all of the following as related
to the specific audience for which the handbook is being developed:
•
Definitions of the advisor and the advising process
•
Responsibilities of the advisor, both general and specific
•
Specific regulations/guidelines for assisting during the registration/scheduling
process
1)
Ground rules for placing students in the appropriate English
classes
2)
Guidelines for advising students into the appropriate mathematics
classes
3)
Course sequencing guidelines
4)
Unique issues
•
Academic policies and procedures
•
Philosophy and objectives of the advising system
•
Advising techniques
•
Examples of advising forms used by advisors and students
•
Directory of various on-campus assistance sources for referral
purposes
•
Legal responsibilities of advisors (Buckley Amendment)
•
Procedures for advising specific populations of students
1)
Students on probation
2)
Provisionally admitted students
3)
Teacher certification candidates
4)
Transfer students
•
Advising schedule/calendar as it relates to the registration schedule,
emphasizing key dates
•
Easily used table of contents
•
Appendixes with tables or charts summarizing advanced standing--CLEP,
ACT, SAT, etc.
•
Student assistance items
1)
Time management guidelines
2)
Help for low-achieving advisees--a self-inquiry routine for
advisors
3)
Listening skills summary
4)
Study tips for the learner
5)
Scholastic difficulty analysis form
6)
Sample lecture notes
•
Characteristics of a good advisor
•
Strategies of advisement
•
Referral skills summary
•
The do's of academic advising
•
The don't's of academic advising
•
Thirty reminders of effective advising
•
Letter of explanation briefly describing the organizational pattern
of the handbook
• Complete
bibliography listing the sources of all handbook entries and sources
of material
The following
seven points are important in selecting the content for the faculty
advising handbook. The first three items--the "Should Not's"--are
especially noteworthy.
•
The handbook should not duplicate the catalogue-unless it summarizes
or clarifies items in the catalogue.
•
The handbook should not duplicate the regular faculty handbook
(produced by the faculty senate/assembly or by the institution's
administration).
•
The handbook should not duplicate the student handbook published
by the student affairs, student services, or student development
office.
•
The various sections of the handbook might be color coded--utilizing
a different color for each section.
•
The various sections of the handbook might be emphasized with
tabs on the edges of the pages.
•
In order to make the advising handbook interesting and versatile,
utilize quotations, poems, definitions where extra space is available
at the bottom of pages or at the end of lists.
• Pictures
might also be incorporated in the handbook when space is a luxury.
Selecting the Organizational Pattern
The material
included in the advising handbook must be organized in such a way
that it is as easily accessible to users as possible. The format
or organizational pattern for the handbook is, therefore, of critical
importance. The following three categories of information surface
as necessary for inclusion in any advising handbook:
•
Essential information about the role of the advisor and about
advising regulations in general
•
Articles and other resource materials useful to the advisor who
wishes additional help in improving advising know-how
• Pertinent
information pertaining to specific departments and to specific
regulations at the institution for which the handbook is being
developed
A simplified
seven-item outline for a faculty-advising handbook is exhibited
below. The outline exemplifies a handbook with an organizational
pattern based on the three previously mentioned categories.
•
Table of Contents
•
Letter of Introduction/Explanation
•
Section One - General Research Data
1)
"Advising Mission Statement" of the institution
2)
Definition of advising
3)
Core values of advising
4)
Roles and functions of advisors
5)
Objectives of advising
6)
Limitations of advising
7)
Etc.
•
Section Two - Resource Materials
1)
General responsibilities of the advisor
2)
General responsibilities of the advisee
3)
Characteristics of a good advisor
4)
Referral summary
5)
Time management hints
6)
Legal issues in advising
7)
Etc.
•
Section Three - Specific Department/Campus Regulations
1)
Specific advisor responsibilities
2)
What should advisors be expected to do at XXU
3)
Guidelines for English placement
4)
Ground rules for math placement
5)
Etc.
•
Bibliography
• Appendixes
Other categories
that might be included in the organizational pattern are:
•
Section depicting examples of all forms used in advising on campus
•
General education requirements (not a duplication of the institution's
catalogue)
•
Campus services available - local referral sources
• General
information related to advising philosophy/mission
Final Production
The final phase includes manuscript preparation,
layout and design, and methods of distribution. An important consideration
is the level of technological sophistication of the campus. Will
the final product be printed, bound, and distributed as a hard copy?
Be produced and distributed on a computer diskette for use on individual
faculty computers? Be distributed on-line on the campus computer
network? Or, is there some other technologically advanced distribution
system unique to the specific campus setting? Whatever the method,
the preparation of a flow chart or production schedule, identifying
deadlines and the person or office responsible for each step, is
a very important consideration.
Revisions
As with most publications in academia,
the advising handbook will be out of date the moment it is published;
therefore, one must address the issue of how often the handbook
should be updated, revised, and produced. Since changes occur in
the academic setting on a regular and an irregular basis, and since
advisors must be informed of these changes, the timetable for updating
the handbook becomes even more critical.
Such items as the manner in which the handbook
is bound, the urgency of the specific policy change, the staff support
available for processing and distributing the update, etc. will
help determine the timing on any updates.
Normally, the handbook will be updated,
revised, or reprinted annually. If the handbook has been bound in
a loose-leaf binder, it may be updated more often than annually
and with far less expense.
Several weeks
prior to any planned revision of the handbook, various departments
on campus that have information essential to the success of the
advising system should be notified for their input and the inclusion
of their materials in the revised handbook. This notification will
inform them of the time schedule for the handbook revision. If various
departments have specific pages in the handbook, it is helpful for
copies of these pages to be sent to those individuals with a note
reminding them of the revision deadlines. The person in charge of
typing the updates should make certain that all departments have
responded to the
request for updated information.
In summary, the development of an academic
advising handbook for faculty embodies continual investigation and
change. Involved individuals must envision the handbook as a two-part
entity. The first part becomes a superstructure or skeleton similar
to an outline that can withstand frequent changes. The ideas, procedures,
and suggestions--the second part--that fill in the outline or superstructure
may be changed in whole or part at any time without disturbing the
basic structure. This creates a highly usable product that will
most nearly meet the needs of a diversified user group. The handbook
developer should think of the handbook as a firm superstructure
with flexible, changeable parts. Then the unique needs of departments
and individuals can be addressed in the college or university setting.
Handbook
Examples
Bibliography
Ford, Jerry. Producing a Comprehensive
Academic Advising Handbook. NACADA Journal. 3 (2) October, 1983,
61-68.
Ford, Jerry, and Ford, Sheila Stoma.
Step-by-Step Guide to Producing a Comprehensive Academic Advising
Handbook. NACADA Journal. 13 (2) Fall, 1993, 50-51.
Cite the above resource
using APA style as:
Ford,
J. L. (2003). Producing a comprehensive academic advising handbook
for faculty utilization. Retrieved -insert today's date- from the
NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources Web
site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/createhandbook.htm
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