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Academic advising is, according to the National Academic Advising Association, "a series of intentional interactions with a curriculum, a pedagogy, and a set of student learning outcomes. Academic advising [1] synthesizes and contextualizes students' educational experiences within the frameworks of their aspirations, abilities and lives to extend learning beyond campus boundaries and timeframes." [2]
Academic advising traces its beginnings to the earliest of American colleges including Harvard University. [3] The book Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook, sponsored by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), contains chapters on the historical foundations, theory, current practices, ethics, and legal issues of academic advising. [4]
According to Kramer (as cited in Harrison, 2004 [5] ), the history of faculty as academic advisors can be traced back to 1841 at Kenyon College. At that time, the college required students to choose a faculty member to be their advisor. The faculty member would then help the student determine what courses they needed to take in order to graduate. [6]
Of significance to the profession of academic advising are the Standards and Guidelines for Academic Advising that have been developed by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) and endorsed by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). These Standards and Guidelines are available at the NACADA web site. The Standards and their accompanying Guidelines cover thirteen areas from Mission to Assessment. The current Standards and Guidelines were last updated in 2005. [7]
A variety of approaches exist to academic advising, each of which is informed by the goals of the advisor-student interaction. Three principle models of advising include developmental advising, prescriptive advising, and intrusive advising.
Developmental advising was first introduced by Crookson in 1972. [8] This approach is focused on helping students explore and define academic, career and life goals and pathways, and develop problem-solving and decision-making skills through collaborative and process-oriented advising. Fostering a relationship between the advisor and student is critical to this model, which is based primarily on adult development theory and student development theory. [8] Although many studies have shown that students generally prefer this approach [9] [10] it can require a greater commitment of time and resources compared to other advising models. [11] It also allows for advisors to honor the life and career experiences of adult learners in higher education. [12] [13]
The prescriptive or traditional advising model is focused primarily on providing students with information directly related to their academic program and progress, such as academic policies, major/program requirements and course selection. [11] Prescriptive advising is normally initiated by the student as the goal of this approach is to address immediate questions to facilitate the student’s progress through their academic program, rather than play a role in helping the student form long-term goals beyond their academic pursuits. This type of advising is sometimes equated to a doctor-patient relationship model. [8]
A model for intrusive advising (also known as high involvement or proactive advising) was first introduced by Glennon in 1975. [14] A defining feature of this approach is that contact is initiated by the advisor rather than the student. [11] Generally, contact with students is initiated at critical periods throughout a student’s academic career, such as during a student’s first year of study, while taking developmental or remedial courses, [15] before they must declare a major, or as they approach graduation. Additionally, particular cohorts of students may be targeted such as academically at-risk students (e.g. students on probation), or high-achieving students. In practice intrusive advising has been shown to have a positive impact on developmental/remedial undergraduate mathematics course pass rates, [15] as well as student retention and degree attainment rates, [16] and research indicates that students prefer this approach to advising over strictly prescriptive advising. [11] However, it is important to note that some students may find this approach invasive. [11]
Academic advising is shown to be more successful when advisors hold face-to-face appointments with their advisees, particularly with topics like future classes, and careers. [17] Face-to-face interactions make advising more meaningful for the students. [18] Additionally, students place more importance on the supportive and caring nature of their relationship with their advisor than on the particular approach to advising. [10]
Participation in academic advising has been shown to increase student satisfaction and mitigate students’ feelings of isolation or disconnection from the institution as a whole, [19] both of which according to Tinto (as cited in Gravel, 2012 [20] ) are linked to increased university student retention and graduation rates, and reduced attrition and withdrawal rates. This effect has been documented for both traditional ‘on-campus’ institutions [21] and institutions which offer courses and/or entire programs through online/virtual formats. [20] [22]
Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated, and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that people work together to actively construct artifacts. But while social constructivism focuses on cognition, social constructionism focuses on the making of social reality.
The Association of College and Research Libraries defines information literacy as a "set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning". In the United Kingdom, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals' definition also makes reference to knowing both "when" and "why" information is needed.
Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalize on one another's resources and skills. More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetric roles. Put differently, collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task where each individual depends on and is accountable to each other. These include both face-to-face conversations and computer discussions. Methods for examining collaborative learning processes include conversation analysis and statistical discourse analysis.
Neurodiversity is a framework for understanding human brain function that recognizes the diversity of human cognition as a biological fact. The neurodiversity paradigm argues that diversity in human cognition is normal and that some conditions classified as mental disorders are differences and disabilities that are not necessarily pathological.
Student affairs, student support, or student services is the department or division of services and support for student success at institutions of higher education to enhance student growth and development. People who work in this field are known as student affairs educators, student affairs practitioners, or student affairs professionals. These student affairs practitioners work to provide services and support for students and drive student learning outside of the classroom at institutions of higher education.
A school counselor is a certified/licensed professional that provides academic, career, college readiness, and social-emotional support for all students. There are school counselor positions within each level of schooling. By developing and following a school counseling program, school counselors are able to provide students of all ages with the appropriate support and guidance needed for overall success.
Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, especially in "language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living". Developmental disabilities can be detected early on and persist throughout an individual's lifespan. Developmental disability that affects all areas of a child's development is sometimes referred to as global developmental delay.
Self-regulated learning (SRL) is one of the domains of self-regulation, and is aligned most closely with educational aims. Broadly speaking, it refers to learning that is guided by metacognition, strategic action, and motivation to learn. A self-regulated learner "monitors, directs, and regulates actions toward goals of information acquisition, expanding expertise, and self-improvement”. In particular, self-regulated learners are cognizant of their academic strengths and weaknesses, and they have a repertoire of strategies they appropriately apply to tackle the day-to-day challenges of academic tasks. These learners hold incremental beliefs about intelligence and attribute their successes or failures to factors within their control.
A reading disability is a condition in which a person displays difficulty reading. Examples of reading disabilities include: developmental dyslexia, And alexia,
A learning community is a group of people who share common academic goals and attitudes and meet semi-regularly to collaborate on classwork. Such communities have become the template for a cohort-based, interdisciplinary approach to higher education. This may be based on an advanced kind of educational or 'pedagogical' design.
Student development theory refers to a body of scholarship that seeks to understand and explain the developmental processes of how students learn, grow, and develop in post-secondary education. Student development theory has been defined as a “collection of theories related to college students that explain how they grow and develop holistically, with increased complexity, while enrolled in a postsecondary educational environment”.
Peer mentoring is a form of mentorship that usually takes place between a person who has lived through a specific experience and a person who is new to that experience. An example would be an experienced student being a peer mentor to a new student, the peer mentee, in a particular subject, or in a new school. Peer mentors are also used for health and lifestyle changes. For example, clients, or patients, with support from peers, may have one-on-one sessions that meet regularly to help them recover or rehabilitate. Peer mentoring provides individuals who have had a specific life experience the chance to learn from those who have recovered, or rehabilitated, following such an experience. Peer mentors provide education, recreation and support opportunities to individuals. The peer mentor may challenge the mentee with new ideas, and encourage the mentee to move beyond the things that are most comfortable. Most peer mentors are picked for their sensibility, confidence, social skills and reliability.
Grade retention or grade repetition is the process of a student repeating a grade after failing the previous year.
The First-Year Experience (FYE) is a program at many American colleges and universities designed to help students prepare for the transition from high school to college. FYE programs often foster the participation of students in co-curricular events such as common reads, concerts, art exhibits, guest lectures, and organic leadership development initiatives.
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficulty learning in a typical manner", this does not exclude the ability to learn in a different manner. Therefore, some people can be more accurately described as having a "learning difference", thus avoiding any misconception of being disabled with a possible lack of an ability to learn and possible negative stereotyping. In the United Kingdom, the term "learning disability" generally refers to an intellectual disability, while conditions such as dyslexia and dyspraxia are usually referred to as "learning difficulties".
Age appropriateness refers to people behaving as predicted by their perspective timetable of development. The perspective timetable is embedded throughout people's social life, primarily based on socially-agreed age expectations and age norms. For a given behavior, such as crawling, learning to walk, learning to talk, etc., there are years within which the behavior is regarded appropriate. By contrast, if the behavior falls out of the age range, it will be considered age-inappropriate. Most people are adhered to these age norms and are aware of whether their timing is "early," "delayed," or "on time."
Remedial education is assigned to assist students in order to achieve expected competencies in core academic skills such as literacy and numeracy.
Appreciative Advising (AA) represents an academic advising approach designed to enhance student-advisor interactions, whether in one-on-one or group settings. Rooted in David Cooperrider's organizational development theory of appreciative inquiry, this philosophy aims to foster positive student experiences and outcomes.
Robert L. Selman is an American-born educational psychologist and perspective-taking theorist who specializes in adolescent social development. He is currently a professor of Education and Human Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a professor of psychology in Medicine at Harvard University. He is also known as the author of the 1980s G.I. Joe public service announcements.
Donald H. Meichenbaum is an American psychologist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, Ontario. He is a research director of the Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment at the University of Miami. Meichenbaum is known for his research and publications on psychotherapy, and contributed to the development of the technique of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). In 1982, a survey of 800 members of the American Psychological Association voted Meichenbaum the tenth most influential psychotherapist of the 20th century. At the time of his retirement from the University of Waterloo in 1998, Meichenbaum was the most-cited psychology researcher at a Canadian university.