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Mission:
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To promote the
advancement and improvement of academic advising of undecided and exploratory
college students through the greater dissemination of resources and research
pertinent to this educational endeavor.
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Rationale for
Creation of the Commission:
Undecided/exploratory
students represent a significant proportion of the entering student body
at most colleges and universities. Many other students (between 60% -75%)
who begin university studies as declared in majors, change their majors
at least once before they graduate. Retention becomes an issue if programs
are not available and strategies are not developed to help students understand
how to progress from being undecided to declared in a major that fits their
abilities, values and interests. Strategies developed for undecided students
will ultimately impact the majority of students on campus.
The number
of students who are undeclared and who have a high attrition rate is even
more dramatic at community colleges and open-access institutions.
Advising students
who are undecided is a challenge because of the variety of reasons they
are undecided. Students may be feeling pressure from family and friends,
they may not be at a developmental stage to make a decision of this magnitude,
they may be "good" at and interested in many things, or they may not be
able to find anything that holds their interest. It is important to try
new approaches and tailor approaches to the individual needs of the student.
Developing
a commission to address the challenges that undecided/exploratory students
present will provide a forum for discussion of new strategies and an opportunity
to network with individuals who have responsibility for advising this
significant
group.
Commission
Goals:
1. To address
the issues of advising undecided/exploratory students
2. To promote
membership in CUES
3. To recruit
CUES members to present programs at the National and
Regional Conferences
4. To encourage
members to submit articles for the NACADA Journal
and newsletters
5. To promote
use of the CUES web site and and list serve
6. To provide
a forum for exchange of ideas and information regarding
undecided/exploratory students among CUES members and all
NACADA members
Additional goals:
1. To clarify
the role of the advisor in career advising/exploration.
Are advisors doing too much in this area, or not enough?
Should advisors be "career counselors"?
What do advisors need to know to be effective in this area?
2. To identify
which standardized tests and inventories have been found the most effective
in helping students clarify their interests, values, and abilities.
3. To determine
what approaches work with students who remain undecided.
What attempts did the adviser make?
What kind of effort did the student put forth?
What becomes of the chronic "major changer"?
4. To encourage
the development of innovative programs (i.e. cluster classes, group advising,
etc.)
5. To improve
students' persistence.
6. To identify
successful advising techniques.
7. To share
all information with the NACADA membership.
