The Status and Future of Academic Advising: Problems and Promise.

256 Pages·2007·4.82 MB·English

DOCUMENT RESUME
4
ED 346 903 JC 920 328
Habley, Wesley R., Ed.; And Others
AUTHOR
The Status and Future of Academic AdVising: Problems
TITLE
and Promise.
American Coll. Testing Program, Iowa City, Iowa.
INSTITUTION
National Center for the Advancement of Educational
Practices.
PUB DATE
88
275p.
NOTE
Collected Works - General (020) -- Reports -
PUB TYPE
Descriptive (141) -- Tests/Evaluation Instruments
(160)
MF01/PC11 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
DESCRIPTORS *Academic Advising; Administrative Organization;
College Faculty; Community Colleges; Counselor Role;
Counselors; Delivery Systems; Faculty Advisers;
Higher Education; Models; National Surveys; Program
Descriptions; *Program Design; *Program Improvement;
Student Attitudes; Student Development; Teacher Role;
Two Year Colleges; *Undergraduate Study
ABSTRACT
The status and future of academic advising is
examined in this American College Testing Program (ACT) monograph,
providing an in-depth look at the topics consistently viewed as
critical to the success of advising programs. In chapter 1, Wesley R.
Habley introduces the monograph by examinidg the trends in advising
over the past 15 years, focusing on current problems and areas with
potential for change. In chapter 2, hThe Third ACT National Survey of
Academic Advising," Habley and David S. Crockett analyze data drawn
from a national sample (n=447) of two- and four-year public and
private institutions, while in chapter 3, "What Students Think about
Academic Advising," Julie Noble uses findings from the same ACT
survey to compare student responses at two-year, four-year public,
and four-year private institutions. Chapters 4 through 8 focus on
practical approaches to and components of academic advising services.
The chapters present "Developmental Advising," by Virginia N. Gordon;
"The Organization of Advising Services," by Habley; "Advising
Delivery Systems," by Margaret C. King; "Advisor Training," by
Michael Keller; and "Evaluating and Rewarding Advisors," by Crockett.
In chapter 9, "Concerning Changes in Advising," Sara C. Looney looks
at the role of advisors as change agents. "Exemplary Academic
Advising Programs" are explored by Diana Saluri and Pabley in chapter
10, which includes brief synopses of programs of 71 institutions.
Finally, chapter 11 provides a 105-item bibliography compiled and
selectively annotated by Habley and Lois Renter. (JMC)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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#(7.
Future of
Status and
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and Promise
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U S. DEPAPTTMENT OF EDUCATION
Onice of Educational Refearch and improvement
"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
Habkly
MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
esley
CE NTE R (ERIC)
r. This document has been reproduced as
P. A. Farrant
ratetveCt horn the pareon or organization
)(Mriginating it
inor changes have been made to improve
felpfOduCtiOn quality
Points of view or opinions staled in this dzx u
ment cto not neCestliarily iepreaent official
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
0E111 position of policy
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
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The .Nri National Center
Educational Practices
fop 11w Advancement of
MOM
May 1988
VLLL
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1,
Fore ward
The Status and Future of Academic Advising represents the long-term and
comprehensive commitment by the American College Testing Program to the
topic of academic advising on college and university campuses. Since its inception
in 1959, ACT has held as one of its major thrusts the development of better tools
to assist students in the transition from high school to college.
This commitment has been demonstrated by multiple approaches to supporting
Through presentations at association meetings, a series of
advising and advisors.
national and regional seminars on advising and, most recently, the inauguration of
the ACT Summer Institute on Academic Advising, ACT staff members have
endeavored to share the latest concepts in advising with audiences throughout the
In addition, ACT staff have adm;nistered and published the results of
nation.
three national surveys on advising, developed the widely used Academic Advising
Audit, and under the direction of David S. Crockett, published and disseminated
Finally, ACT has
the monograph Advising Skills, Techniques and Resources.
cellaborated with the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) in a
to recognize both outstanding advisors and quality
comprehensive program
institutional advising programs.
Continuing evidence of commitment is demonstrated with the publication of The
Status and Future of Academic Advisin. This volume is intended to complement
other ACT publications on academic advising by providing the reader with an in-
depth look at the topics consistently viewed as critical to the success of advising
progra ms.
I would particularly like to thank the external authors and the myriad of ACT
staff members who participated in the design and production of the monograph.
The ACT National Center staff has been totally supportive of this effort from
All of thl burden of final editing has been
beginning concept to final publication.
shouldered by Diana Saluri. Her work has been both untiring and complete.
In addition, I would like to thank David S. Crockett who, more than a decade ago,
stimulated me to critically examine the topic of advising, who throughout that
decade helped sustain a vision for the future of advising, and who now has become
a valued colleague.
All rights reserved.
Program.
1988 The American College Testing
t:I
Finally, whatever our achievements, they are unquestionably a product of
affectionate people who nurture our aspirations and urge us into the future by
In that context, I would like to thank my
their expressed faith in our capacities.
family for building a personal support system second to none.
May 1988: W.R.H.
40
4.
iv
Contents
Forward
iii
Wesley R. Habley
The Authors
vii
Introduction and Overview
1.
1
Wesley R. Habley
The Third ACT National Survey of Academic Advising
2.
11
Wesley R. Habley
David S. Crockett
What Students Think About Academic Advising
3.
77
Julie Noble
Developmental Advising
4.
107
Virginia N. Gordon
The Organization of Advising Services
119
5.
Wesley R. Habley
Advising Delivery Systems
141
6.
Margaret C. King
Advisor Training
151
7.
Michael Keller
Evaluating and Rewarding Advisors
169
8.
David S. Crockett
Concerning Changes in Advising
199
9.
Sara C. Looney
Exemplary Academic Advising Programs
209
10.
Diana Saluri
Wesley R.41.abley
References: Selectively Annotated
229
11.
Wesley R. Habley
Lois Renter
The Authors
Wesley R. Habley is the associate director of the ACT
National Center for the
Advancement of Educational Practices.
He received his B.S. degree (1988)
in
music education from the University of Illinois, his
M.Ed. degree (1970) in student
personnel
the
from
University
of
Illinois,
and
his
Ed.D.
educational
in
administration from
Illinois State University (1978).
Habley served as an
academic advisor and later, the director of the academic
advisement center at
Illinois State University.
And prior to joining ACT, he served
as director of
academic and career advising at the University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
In
addition to serving as a consultant, workshop leader,
and speaker on the topics of
academic and career advising, orientation, student involvement,
and peer advising,
Habley is the director of the ACT Summer Institute
on Academic Advising co-
sponsored by the National Academic Advising Association
(NACADA). Habley has
published articles
in the NACADA Journal, the Journal of
College Student
Personnel, and the NASPA Journal as well
as chapters in Developmental Advising;
Student Paraprofessionals in Higher Education, and
Advising Skills, Techniques,
and Resources, and has coauthwed The Third ACT
National Survey of Academic
He has been actve in the development of
Advising.
the National Academic
Association
Advising
serving
(NACADA),
east
central
as
regional
board
representative, treasurer, president, member of the editorial
board for the
NACADA Journal, and chairperson of the Planning and
Development Committee.
David S. Crockett is vice-president for public affairs
at the American College
Testing Program.
He received his B.A. degree (1957) in history
and physical
education from Ohio Wesleyan University and his M.A.
degree (1958) in higher
education
from
the
He has
University
of
Maryland.
teacher,
been
a
campus/agency administrator, and lecturer in higher
education. He is a nationally
recognized authority on the subject of academic
colleges and
advising
in
universities and has done extensive reviews of the
literature and research on
documents designed to assist college personnel in improving
the adVising process.
He has also authored several articles including
two national surveys on academic
Crockett was the recipient for ACT of the First
advising.
Research Award for
Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Academic
Advising from the National
Academic Advising Association. He has directed nearly fifty
national academic
advising seminars and presented the keynote address
at the Second Annual
National Academic Advising Conference.
In addition, he has served
as a speaker
on academic advising at numerous educational meetings and
campus training
programs for academic advisors.
vii
coordinator for academic and career advising in the
Virginia N. Gordon is
University College and associate professor, College of Education, at The Ohio
She received her B.S. degree (1949) and M.S. degree (1973) in
State University.
Education and her Ph.D. degree (1977) in Counielor Education from The Ohio
State University. Gordon is well known for her work in academic advising, career
development, and adult education. She is the author of the The Undecided College
Student and coauthor of Academic Alternatives: Exploration and Decision Making
She is the director of the
and of numerous journal articles and book chapters.
past-president of the
National Clearinghouse for Academic Advising and
is
National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).
Michael C. Keller is associate academic vice president and dean of enrollment
In addition to a
advancement at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
certificate of European studies from the Institute for American Universities, Aix-
B.S. degree (1966) in education from the
en-Provence, France, he holds a
University of Maine, an M.A. degree (1968) in French from Michigan State
University, and has also completed the Ph.D. course work in French literature at
He is a charter member of the National Academic
Michigan State University.
Advising Association (NACADA) and has served on the board of directors as the
church-related and regional representative for the Midwest as well as vice
president for membership. In addition to serving as a faculty member at the 1987
ACT Summer Institute on Academic Advising, he is a member of the Council for
Consulting Network and has consulted and
National
Colleges
Independent
presented numerous workshops and seminars on academic advising.
assistant dean for student development at Schenectady
Margaret C. King is
She received her B.A. degree (1965) in history from
County Community College.
Ursinus College and her M.S. degree (1970) in student personnel services and Ed.D.
degree (1984) in educational administration and policy studies from the State
University of New York at Albany. King implemented a paraprofessional advising
system at Ocean County College and was a founding member of the National
Academic Advising Association (NACADA). She currently serves as interim vice
president for membership and secretary of NACADA. She has been a faculty
member at the ACT Institute on Academic Advising and serves as a consultant on
academic advising in two-year colleges.
Sara C. Looney is associate vice president for administrative services at George
She received her B.A. degree (1965) in English at Marillac
Mason University.
College and her M.A. degree (1967) and Ph.D. degree (1974) in communication
She has developed advising services at several
from the University of Denver.
colleges. The Advising Center at George Mason University, which she founded in
1980 and directed until 1987, won the 1985 ACT/NACADA award for excellence in
viii
Looney continues to be active in the Council for
advising at a public university.
the Advancement of Standards for Student Services/Development Programs. She
is currently on the executive committee of that organization.
Julie P. Noble is a research associate in the Research and Statistical Services
She received her
department of the American College Testing Program (ACT).
B.A. degree (1975) in music education and her M.A. degree (1981) in educational
foundations from the University of Wyoming, and her Ph.D. degree (1984) in
educational psychology from Kansas State University. She has developed surveys
for assessing the perceptions of high school and college students, and has
conducted several validity studies examining the relationships among students'
their perceptions of high school and college, their
personal characteristics,
performance on standardized achievement tests, and their performance in college.
Lois Renter is head librarian at the American College Testing Program.
She
received her B.A. degree (1965) from Cornell College and an M.A. in Library
Science (1968) from the University of Iowa. She has also been a part-time visiting
lecturer in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of
She has compiled and annotated bibliographies on academic advising,
Iowa.
college student retention, the undecided student, and many other topics in
education.
Diana Saluri is publications and marketing specialist at the ACT National Center
for the Advancement of Educational Practices and a visiting lecturer in English
She received her B.A. degree (1971)
and journalism at the University of Iowa.
from Grinnell College in American studies and both her M.A. degree (1977) in
journalism and her Ph.D. degree (1980) in English from the University of Iowa.
Effective Programs and Practices
She coauthored Increasing Student Retention:
for Reducing the Dropout Rate and Beacons for Change: An Innovative Outcome
Model for Community Colleges and has worked on several university admissions
She also served as an advisor and learning center coordinator for
publications.
high risk student athletes at the University of Iowa and has written a study skills
manual for student athletes.
ix
CHAPTER 1
Introduction and Overview
Wesley R. Habley
consciously chosen to take
Unorthodox as it may seem to the reader, I have
standard writing practices
advantage of editorial license and violate at least two
introduction and overview of The Status and Future of Academic
this
in
First, because this chapter represents a
Problems and Promise.
Advising:
15 years of trials, tribulations, and
personal commentary, deeply rooted in
academic advising, I will lapse into a first person and
successes in working with
Second, in a move which may seem like
informal style more than occasionally.
monograph with a set of
putting the cart before the horse, I am beginning this
eight recommendations. Those recommendations are:
of the campus
Conduct a thorough assessment of the current state
1.
advising program.
coordinate
Identify one person whose primary responsibility is to
2.
academic advising.
Implement an advisor selection process.
3.
in-service
pre-ser vice
and
advisor
a
comprehensive
Develop
4.
development program.
Develop a scheme for individual advisor evaluation.
5.
Implement an advisor incentive or reward program.
6.
Review the total advising program every five years.
7.
Conduct research aimed at improving the advising program.
8.
academic advising for a jecade or more,
To readers who have been involved with
recommendations. Indeed there
there may very well be a familiar ring to these
Grites in the
They paraphrase recommendations developed by Tom
should be!
Getting Us Throu h the
Advising:
final section of his monograph Academic
Education in 1979. What
Eighties published by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher
2
strikes me about these recommendations and the thoughts they evoke is that they
are as timely today as they were nearly a decade ago. They represent much of the
latest critical thinking about the function of academic advising.
As I read and reread Grites' recommendations, I had the gnawing feeling that to
many readers these recurring themes may be indicative of an inability to improve
the status of academic advising in our colleges and universities.
If one reviews
the prevailing thoughts on advising over fle last three decades, it would be rather
easy to conclude that little has been accomplished.
In the 1950s, Esther Lloyd-
Jones (1954, p.51) discussed the advising function in a book on the involvement of
"Because advisors are either unskilled in
student development:
faculty
in
personnel techniques or have no interest in the student except as an intellect
advising consequently becomes a mere clerical routine of program planning."
Although there were individuals during the '50s who felt that advising should be
more than mundane and clerical, this common position on the advising function
continued into the 1960s. The standard attitude toward advising in the sixties was
publication
the
contained University
Handbook
College
of
and
1969
in
Administration edited by Asa Knowles. "Students complain that advisors do not
know the curriculum and advisors complain that they serve no useful function
other than that of a clerk who signs cards." (p. 2-22)
As higher education emerged from the turbulent decade of the '60s, O'Banion
(1972) articulated a five-stage paradigm for academic advising and Crookston
(1972) contributed a seminal article on developmental academic advising. Each of
these articles provided a glimpse of what academic advising could become. Yet
although the suggestions made in these two landmark contributions were embraced
by some, they were implemented by few. They were seen primarily as theoretical
visions rather than as guides for practical action.
The decade of the seventies
ended with Walsh (1979, p. 447) suggesting that the common perception of the
advisor's role was "to keep records of students' progress toward their degree and
to make sure that students have fulfilled both college and major requirements."
And, when Toni Trombley, the first president of the National Academic Advising
Association (NACADA), addressed the National Conference of the American
Association for Higher Education in 1980, she stated: "Some faculty may not have
or be interested in developing the skills and knowledge necessary to become
excellent advisors." The decade of the seventies also closed with a report on the
first national survey of campus practices in academic advising.
(Carstensen and
Silberhorn, 1979). Among the conclusions of this national status report, were the
following:
Generally, academic advising has been and still
is perceived by
o
administration as a low-status function.