Post on 13-Apr-2018
Higher Education
in the 21st
Century: The
Importance of
Academic
Advisors in
Student Success Karen Sullivan-Vance, Ed.M.
Director, Academic Advising and Learning Center
Western Oregon University
sullivak@wou.edu
Higher Education in the 21st
Century Value of higher education post the Great Recession
Funding
Completion Agenda
Increased Student Debt
Education vs. Job Training
Employability
Skills Gap
Re-envisioning the “business” functions of higher education
The academic year as an academic year
Students as customers
©Kit
Flickr.com
©Quinn Dombrowski
Flickr.com
Higher Education in the 21st
Century
Challenges
=
Opportunities
Students are…
…the reason we are here. They are our
priority in the midst of ever changing and
demanding challenges.
Students Today
Hyper-connected
Attitude of Entitlement
View of Failure
Increased Mental Health Issues
Increased debt and time to
graduation
Moving home with
mum and dad
Students Today The Global Economic crisis
News 24/7 and constant information
Emerging Adulthood
First generation to not exceed their
parents
The Role of Academic
Advising in Student Success
Good advising may be the single most
underestimated characteristic of a
successful college experience.
Richard Light (2001)
Academic Advisors Are…
Guides
Navigators
Mentors
Coaches
Advocates
NACADA: The Global Community
for Academic Advising
I’ve learned that people
will forget what you said,
people will forget what
you did, but people will
never forget how you
made them feel. Maya Angelou
Student Success
Persistence vs. Retention
Academic Achievement
Academic Milestones
Support High Impact Practices
Educational Attainment
Supporting Students in Reaching Their
Goals
Challenge to Advisors
Be advocates for advising
Conduct advising assessment
Promote best practices
Model our own active learning
Create annual professional development
plans
We advise…
…and make a positive difference in the lives
of our students.
In Closing…
There are no
insignificant
conversations. Larry Roper, 2002
Resources
Light, R.J. (2001) Making the most of college. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
NACADA. (2005). NACADA statement of core values of academic advising. Retrieved from the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources Web site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Core-values-of-academic-advising.aspx