Academic Advising:

1

• Academic Advising
• Teaching Our Students to Be Independent Learners

Charlie L. Nutt, Ed. D. National Academic
Advising Association Associate Director Kansas
State University cnutt_at_ksu.edu
2

• People will forget what you say. They will even
  forget what you do. But they never forget how you
  made them feel
• Maya Angelo

3

• Good advising may be the single most
  underestimated characteristic of a successful
  college experience.
• Richard Light Making the Most of College
  (2001)

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• Advising is viewed as a way to connect students
  to the campus and help them feel that someone is
  looking out for them.

George Kuh Student Success in College (2005)
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• Advisors are interpreters who help students
  navigate their new world. As such, academic
  advisors have to make connections.

Nancy King 2005 Summer Institute on
Academic Advising
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• Key Issues in Higher Education Globally
• Time to Graduation
• Retention/Persistence
• Transferability
• Assessment of Student Learning
• Cost of Education
• General Education Core
• Value of Higher Education

7

• Dec. 2004 Pell Institute Study What
  Institutions With Higher Than Expected Graduate
  Rates Have In Common
• High student participation in advising and
  counseling opportunities
• Intentional Academic Planning
• Educational innovations to assist students

8

• July 2004 Pell Institute Study
• Institutions Focused on Student Retention and
  Persistence
• Teach students how to effectively make decisions
  and maneuver the system
• Teach students how to make decisions about career
  and/or majors
• Teach students how to identify and utilize campus
  resources and assistance

9

• Advising that contributes to the teaching and
  learning mission of the institution
• Is a student-centered process
• Facilitates behavioral awareness and
  problem-solving, decision-making and evaluation
  skills
• Encourages both short-term and long-term
  goal-setting

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• Makes the students feel that they matter
• Stresses the shared responsibility between the
  student and the advisor, with an emphasis on
  the advisor helping the students to
  make decisions for
  themselves and teaching them the
  skills and knowledge they need make decisions and
  be successful.

11

• Questioning Skills
• Focus questions on the concerns of the students
  not on the concerns of the advisors
• Use open-ended questions focused on the student,
  not on advisor --
• not How can I help you - instead What do you
  want to talk about today?
• not What can I do for you today - instead
  What issues do you have about semester
• Closed-ended questions are used to gather vital
  information and are necessary -- but be aware
  they are indicators of your interest in only
  facts, not concerns or interests of the students

12

• Referral Skills
• all referrals must be based on the students
  needs, concerns, and life issues - not on the
  advisors own feelings or views
• explain in a clear and open manner why the
  student should seek assistance from another
  source
• advisor and student must joint develop a plan of
  action for the referral and expected results
• provide all information to the student for the
  referral -- reason, possible results, location,
  telephone, email

13

• Referral Skills
• Assist student with making appointment by making
  phone call, walking student to referral source,
  etc.
• ALWAYS set a time for a follow-up session on the
  outcome of the referral -- without this some
  students see no reason for following through on
  the referral as well as student believes referral
  was not important, unnecessary, or just a way to
  get him out of the advisors office

14

• The questions we raise, the perceptions we share,
  the resources we suggest, the short-term
  decisions and long-range decisions we help them
  think through, all should aim to increase their
  capacity to take charge of their future.
• --Arthur Chickering