Becky Olive-Taylor, associate director of academic advising, delivered a presentation about developmental advising during the Associated New American Colleges (ANAC) Summer Institute, held June 16-19 at Hampton University.
Olive-Taylor said academic advising frequently includes asking questions about other aspects of students’ lives.
“Details of students’ lives cannot be neatly compartmentalized,” Olive-Taylor said. “Students intuitively know this. Revered thinkers in higher education espouse this. We are frequently the ones who ‘don’t get it’ when it comes to actual practice….For example, a student who comes in to discuss whether or not to drop a chemistry class may really need to talk about his fears concerning whether or not he has what it takes to become a doctor.”
She also recommended institutional advising mission statements to guide faculty and staff in their interactions with students.
“For a mission statement to exist in practice, everyone who advises students needs to have some level of input into such a statement,” Olive-Taylor said. “Once agreed upon and written, it still takes time to create an institutional culture that values and rewards developmental advising.”
To see more of Olive-Taylor’s comments, visit the Web site below: