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