National Academic Advising Association
THE STATEMENT OF CORE VALUES
OF ACADEMIC ADVISING
DECLARATION
1) Advisors are responsible to the individuals
they advise.
Academic advisors work to strengthen the
importance, dignity, potential, and unique nature of each
individual within the academic setting. Advisors' work
is guided by their beliefs that students:
In support of these beliefs, the cooperative efforts of
all who advise include, but are not limited to, providing
accurate and timely information, communicating in useful
and efficient ways, maintaining regular office hours, and
offering varied contact modes.
Advising, as part of the educational process, involves
helping students develop a realistic self-perception and
successfully transition to the postsecondary institution.
Advisors encourage, respect, and assist students in establishing
their goals and objectives.
Advisors seek to gain the trust of their students and
strive to honor students' expectations of academic advising
and its importance in their lives.
2) Advisors are responsible for involving
others, when appropriate, in the advising process.
Effective advising requires a holistic approach. At many
institutions, a network of people and resources is available
to students. Advisors serve as mediators and facilitators
who effectively use their specialized knowledge and experience
for student benefit. Advisors recognize their limitations
and make referrals to qualified persons when appropriate.
To connect academic advising to students' lives, advisors
actively seek resources and inform students of specialists
who can further assess student needs and provide access
to appropriate programs and services. Advisors help students
integrate information so they can make well-informed academic
decisions.
3) Advisors are responsible to their institutions.
Advisors nurture collegial relationships. They uphold
the specific policies, procedures, and values of their
departments and institutions. Advisors maintain clear lines
of communication with those not directly involved in the
advising process but who have responsibility and authority
for decisions regarding academic advising at the institution.
Advisors recognize their individual roles in the success
of their institutions.
4) Advisors are responsible to higher education.
Academic advisors honor academic freedom. They realize
that academic advising is not limited to any one theoretical
perspective and that practice is informed by a variety
of theories from the fields of social sciences, the humanities,
and education. They are free to base their work with students
on the most relevant theories and on optimal models for
the delivery of academic advising programs. Advisors advocate
for student educational achievement to the highest attainable
standard, support student goals, and uphold the educational
mission of the institution.
5) Advisors are responsible to their educational community.
Academic advisors interpret their institution's mission
as well as its goals and values. They convey institutional
information and characteristics of student success to the
local, state, regional, national, and global communities
that support the student body. Advisors are sensitive to
the values and mores of the surrounding community. They
are familiar with community programs and services that
may provide students with additional educational opportunities
and resources. Advisors may become models for students
by participating in community activities.
6) Advisors are responsible for their professional
practices and for themselves personally.
Advisors participate in professional development opportunities,
establish appropriate relationships and boundaries with
advisees, and create environments that promote physical,
emotional, and spiritual health. Advisors maintain a healthy
balance in their lives and articulate personal and professional
needs when appropriate. They consider continued professional
growth and development to be the responsibility of both
themselves and their institutions.
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is a "member benefit publication"; it
can be downloaded and used on campuses in accordance
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copyright statement.
The Statement of Core Values provides the guidance academic
advisors seek from the National Academic Advising Association.
The Statement is reviewed periodically to ensure its alignment
with current professional practices and philosophies. The
National Academic Advising Association encourages institutions
to adopt the Statement of Core Values and support the work
of those who provide academic advising.
Revised 2005 Copyright
© 2005 by the National Academic
Advising Association (NACADA)
Links to remaining portions of the Core Values
Statement
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