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Transforming Advisor Development at the Community College

Transforming Advisor Development at the Community College. Session # 175 Deborah R. Hull, Ed.D. Director of Advising Mesa Community College Mesa, Arizona. Overview. Introductions Training or Development? Concepts Practices Summary Contact Information. Introductions. Me ~~ and ~~

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Transforming Advisor Development at the Community College

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  1. Transforming Advisor Development at the Community College Session # 175 Deborah R. Hull, Ed.D. Director of Advising Mesa Community College Mesa, Arizona

  2. Overview • Introductions • Training or Development? • Concepts • Practices • Summary • Contact Information

  3. Introductions Me ~~ and ~~ You How many are “experienced” advisors? How many are “new” advisors? Choose someone you do not know and share: When did you know that academic advising was a career choice? Why do you advise?

  4. Why do you advise?

  5. Training or Development? Train-ing -- noun • 1. the education, instruction, or discipline of a person or thing that is being trained: “He is in training for the Olympics.” • 2. the status or condition of a person who has been trained: “The athletes are in top training condition.” -- adjective • 3. of, pertaining to, or used in or for training: “We’ll be using a training manual.” • 4. intended for use during an introductory, learning, or transitional period: “I have Junior using a training cup.” “Missy is wearing a training bra.”

  6. Training or Development, continued De-vel-op-ment -- noun The advancement of skills or expertise to succeed in a particular profession, especially through continued education: “The academic advisors participated in a professional development retreat.”

  7. Why? “Just as professional development is essential for faculty at a university, the need for professional development of advisors is also critical as a vehicle for advisors to remain current with new information, skills and best practices in the field of advising.” Huggett, K. (2000). Professional development in an uncertain profession: Finding a place for academic and career advisors. NACADA Journal 20 (2), 46-51.

  8. Why? continued Highly skilled and well connected advising professionals are best able to practice advising-as-teaching and developmental advising. The primary goal of an advisor training program is “to increase the effectiveness of advising services provided to students, thus increasing student satisfaction and persistence.” King, N. (2000). Designing effective training for academic advisors. In V. N. Gordon & W. R. Habley, et al. Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass, 289-297.

  9. Why? continued Advisors who participate in training and professional development opportunities report higher levels of job satisfaction. Higher levels of job satisfaction lead to increased time in the position,fewer absences, and higher levels of productivity. Hull, D. (2004). Relationships between personality type and job satisfaction in professional academic advisors, unpublished dissertation, Arizona State University.

  10. Why? continued National data from the 2005 NACADA New Advisor Survey: • 10.7% of respondents had a formal, well-developed, training program. • Many advisors work in isolation from colleagues. • NACADA research indicates: 9% of advisors work alone 52% work with four or fewer colleagues • Less than half of advisors believed they received adequate training. • (Joseph & Carty, paragraph 10)

  11. Why? continued 2009 Survey of NACADA members by Cuccia: Of the 662 who responded…. 81% were employed as an advisor for < 3 years 18% were employed for 3 to 6 years < 4% were employed for more than 6 years They were led to enter the profession because: “Like helping people” (71%) “Wanted to work in higher education” (57%) “Encouraged by a professor or academic advisor” (19%)

  12. Why? continued, Cuccia survey Believe efforts are not appreciated by: • Faculty (53%) • Senior Administrators (40%) • Students (18%) Training within the first 3 months on the job: • Shadowing experienced advisors (73%) • Office/departmental meetings (68%) • Read “intensive advising information” (67%) • Technology training (53%) • Read training manual (45%) • Received observation & feedback from experienced advisors (32%)

  13. Why? continued, Cuccia survey Would have been helpful but was not provided: Case studies (36%) Advising theory (34%) Professional conference or seminar attendance (29%) Revised policy manual (26%) Institutions: Public 4-year (61%) Private 4-year (20%) Public 2-year (14%) For Profit (4%) Institution Size: <10,000 (33%) 10K-20K (23%) 20K-30K (23%) 30K-40K (10%) >40,000 (10%)

  14. Why? continued, Cuccia survey • Gender Female (82%) Male (17%) • Age 20-29 years (43%) 30-39 years (30%) 40-49 years (12%) 50-59 years (13%) • Education Bachelor’s degree (26%) Master’s degree (66%) Doctoral/Terminal degree/ABD (6%) • Ethnicity Caucasian/Anglo (81%) African-American/Black (9%) Hispanic/Latino/a (4%)

  15. What? Habley’s Training Classifications: Conceptual Informational Relational Habley, W.R. (1995). Advisor training in the context of a teaching enhancement center. In R.E. Glennen & F.N. Vowell (Eds.). Advising as a Comprehensive Campus Process. (pp. 75-59). (National Academic Advising Association Monograph Series No. 2). Manhattan, KS: National Academic Advising Association.

  16. Conceptual - definition of advising - student development theories - relationship of advising to retention/persistence - rights & responsibilities of both advisors & students Within this component: - concerns related to gender & ethnic backgrounds - understanding the nature of educational, financial, and personal needs Higginson, L.C. (2000). A framework for training program content revisited. In V.N. Gordon and W.R. Habley (Eds.). Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 298-306.

  17. Informational Within this component: • The “meat” of the advising process • Institutional policies, processes, procedures • Academic programs • Campus resources

  18. Relational … addresses the skills an advisor needs to communicate the essential information from the other two components to the student. Relational skills include: • Greeting students openly • Active listening skills • Using open-ended questions and other effective interviewing skills • Effective decision-making and referral skills Drake, J. (2007). Components of a success faculty advising program. NACADA Pocket Guide Webinar Series PG05, adapted from NACADA Webinar broadcast February 2007. Higginson, L.C. (2000). A framework for training program content revisited. In V.N. Gordon, W.R. Habley (Eds.). Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 298-306.

  19. Additional Components? McClellan (2007) suggests: Technology – understanding of technology is essential in the delivery of the information within the advising session. Personal component – to address the advisor’s own need for “personal understanding, maintenance, and development.” Higginson (2000) recommends: The need for an advisor to address his/her own questions, attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs as they relate to advising as “advisor self-knowledge” (p. 304). McClellan, J. (2007). Content components for advisor training: revisited. Retrieved August 25, 2014 from the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources website – www.nacada.ksu.edu/resources/clearinghouse/advisor training components

  20. Who? New Advisors • Intensive initial training period • Mutual work between the new advisor and the supervisor to set short-term performance goals • Identify clear and realistic expectations of the knowledge and skills to be learned within the first 3 months, 6 months, 12 months • Identify personal development plan at 6-month performance review • Create long-term goals for training and development for second year and beyond

  21. Who? Experienced Advisors More than one year of experience and less than four years Encourage participation in professional organizations Assign special projects to enhance skills and knowledge Encourage graduate course work, continuing education, conference presentations

  22. Who? “Veteran” Advisors Advisors with more than 4 years of experience Provide opportunities to mentor new advisors Encourage leadership opportunities/positions within professional organizations Offer special projects/assignments to enhance current skills and to gain new skills/knowledge

  23. How? • Local / Campus Resources • NACADA Resources • Other Resources

  24. When? Effective training and development programs are ONGOING Mentoring Workshops Staff Meetings Webinars Brown Bag Discussions Professional Networks Conceptual Development Presentations Conferences Publications 1:1 Coaching Writing for Publication Graduate/Continuing Education Discipline-Specific Organizations

  25. Dr. Deb’s Advisor Development Program 2006 – 2008 > Developed and implemented at Arizona State University, 4 campuses / all colleges & schools / Phoenix metropolitan area 2008 – 2010 > Revised and implemented at Texas A&M University (College Station) General Academic Programs 2012 – 2014 > Revised and implemented at Mesa Community College for general advisors, department advisors, and new faculty advisors

  26. Level 1 New hires and advisors with less than one year of experience The VPSA endorsed the program and requires everyone who advises at Mesa Community College to complete Level 1 within one year of completing the classroom component of the program. Classroom Component & Level One Requirements: Advising History NACADA Core Values Case Studies FERPA Advising Notes & Don’ts Campus Resources Access to SIS NACADA Concept of Academic Advising Student Development Theories Attend 2 Webinars Involvement in Professional Organization Prepare & Deliver 2 Presentations Community/Campus Volunteer Hours Participation in 2 Professional Development Functions Portfolio Preparation

  27. Level 2 Continuing Advisors in their second and third years and have completed all components of Level 1. Increased responsibility for personal commitment to professional development. Portfolio development

  28. Level 3 Increase in… education completion requirements community/campus service hours contributions to the education community & higher education portfolio development

  29. Level 4 Advisors with a minimum of 3 years of experience Continuing membership in NACADA 14 hours of community/campus volunteerism Presenter at an off-campus professional development opportunity Presenter at a campus-based meeting/workshop Research, opinion, best practice, etc. submitted for publication Continuing education hours Updated professional portfolio

  30. Master Advisor – Exemplifies all 6 of the NACADA Core Values Advisors with a minimum of 4 years of experience Active in NACADA Mentor to a new advisor for at least 18 months Published author National conference presenter State/Regional/or National conference planning committee or elected/appointed as an officer for at least a one year term of office Continuing education credits or coursework 16 hours of community/campus volunteerism Portfolio updated and used as teaching tool for newbies

  31. Maricopa County Community College District Advisor Training Modules Created by the District Academic Advising Council – Advising Directors from all 10 colleges 2013-2014 Online course developed by the MCCCD Instructional Developers - Curricular Fundamentals in Academic Advising Online Course (1.2)

  32. Online Course Description Do you want to advise your students properly and help them achieve  their academic goals?   If so, this course will help you to better guide your students to accurate and appropriate course selection, as well as assist you to become more knowledgeable on credit transferability.  This online training course is the second in a four part series intended to explore various advising theories and fundamentals, as well as techniques to better serve our students. This course can be taken by any Maricopa Colleges staff with an interest in educational planning and academic advising at MCCCD.

  33. Best Practices in Advisor Development How does your department, college/school, and institution support training and development for advisors?

  34. Summary Advisor training and professional development programs: • are cost effective and efficient • are based upon NACADA Core Values • are based upon scholarship and research • are ongoing • tend to improve the quality of advising – leading to increased student satisfaction and persistence • have been shown to increase job satisfaction among academic advisors – leading to fewer absences, increased productivity, and overall well-being • can be tailored to meet the needs of new and experienced advisors

  35. Thank You! Please complete the session evaluation – Session #175 Dr. Deborah Hull, Ed.D. Director of Advising Mesa Community College 1833 W. Southern Avenue, KSC 38 Mesa, AZ 85202 480-461-7253 Deborah.Hull@mesacc.edu

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