Dr. Eric R. White, NACADA Past President, guest edited the most recent issue of The Journal of General Education. In this issue, 64(2), the articles examine "The Foundational Role of Academic Advising in General Education". NACADA members have full access to all of the articles from this issue until January 31, 2016. For the full table of contents click here. 

Curricular Commons, by Eric R. White, NACADA Past President, Guest Editor

• Eric R. White (2015) discusses the role academic advising plays in student retention as well as the interplay between academic advising and general education. As he states “The goals of advising as articulated by NACADA are in sync with the goals of general education” (p. viii).

Academic Advising in Individualized Major Programs: Promoting the Three I’s of General Education, by Kevin Egan, Drexel University

• In this article, Kevin Egan discusses the role that interdisciplinarity, integration, and intentionality play in helping academic advisors make general education relevant and meaningful to the students they advise.

The Academic Adviser, by Ruth Darling, NACADA Past President, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

• In this article, Ruth Darling (2015) emphasizes the academic component of academic advising, stating that “advisers are ‘academics’ who play a major role in connecting the general education curriculum to the students’ experience as well as connecting the faculty to the students’ holistic experience of the curriculum” (p. 90).

“Why Do I Have to Take This Course?”: How Academic Advisers Can Help Students Find Personal Meaning and Purpose in General Education, by Michael Kirk-Kuwaye, University of Hawai’i, & Dominic Sano-Franchini, Virginia Tech

• Michael Kirk-Kuwaye and Dominic Sano-Franchini (2015) examine ways to increase student engagement in general education. They explore trying to connect general education with finding meaning and purpose in students’ lives “through multiple disciplines and perspectives” (p. 99).

Engaging Students in Advising and General Education Requirements, by Rachel Most & Chad Wellmon, University of Virginia

• Rachel Most and Chad Wellmon (2015) examine curriculum and general education requirements at the University of Virginia from a historical perspective, looking at where they were in the past, where they are now in the present, and what they are moving towards in the future.

General Education, Advising, and Integrative Learning, by Marc Lowenstein, Stockton University

• Marc Lowenstein discusses how to use integrative learning—treating advising as coursework as well—to increase student engagement and get students to see how general education integrates with the rest of their coursework.

Helping Student Design an Education, by Elizabeth Guertin, Indiana University Bloomington

• In this article, Elizabeth Guertin (2015) discusses how advisers and faculty need to be able to explain how students’ individual goals are met by the general education courses they are required to take. To do this, advisers and faculty need to explain to students and parents how their general education courses will provide them with a broad foundation that is “essential to their future professional success” (p. 132)

Rebundling Undergraduate Teaching: Scholarship, Instruction, and Advising, by John R. Sopper, University of North Carolina—Greensboro

• Examining traditional thoughts on general education and the learning-centered approach to academic advising, John R. Sopper proposes a restructuring of faculty roles, a redesign of curriculum and courses, and ongoing professional development to enhance student learning in general education.