"What I Learned at NACADA"

October 18, 2013

UC Berkeley sent a contingent of advisors to Salt Lake City from October 6-9 for the annual conference of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). At the conference,a team of Berkeley advisors received an award for "best in show" at the regional NACADA conference over the summer. In addition to learning about the latest scholarly research around advising and sharing experiences with peers at other institutions,  UC Berkeley advisors had a chance to have some fun -- and make plans for hosting the NACADA Region 9 conference this spring.

Berkeley advisors shared their takeaways and lessons learned from the conference:

"There were several sessions about the Theory and Philosophy of Advising.  The application of Positive Psychology and Appreciative Advising were two of the trends present at this years conference, and making the transition from theory into practice dominated many of the theory conversations.  I also attended an interesting session about students who lie.  As advisers, we tailor our advice and services for a student based on what they tell us.  The presenter challenged the audience to think about the reason students might lie, and if the student is lying to you, or to himself or herself." -- Lauren Worrell, Undergraduate Advisor, College of Environmental Design

"Assessment in advising is still an emerging area in NACADA and ample best practices and research on assessment are needed. Berkeley can be a leading institution in advising assessment, so I encourage advisors to take advantage of the assessment resources generated through the Advising Council Initiative and be proactive in disseminating your assessment practices beyond our campus." -- Yukiko Watanabe, assessment and evaluation specialist, Center for Teaching and Learning

"Program evaluation and assessment of Student Learning Outcomes were recurrent topics in the course of the conference. Keith Powers from the University of Kansas shared information from his dissertation on academic advising assessment practices. He specifically discussed the results of a national survey he conducted to determine current practices in advising units. The results emphasized the need for developing best practices in the field and particularly the importance of using multiple measures when conducting assessment (e.g., not basing decision making solely on the results of a survey)." -- Noam Manor, Assistant Director, Fall Program for Freshmen

"Our professional academic advising organization continues to evolve, as evidenced at the NACADA national conference in Salt Lake City this October. I’m thrilled to be part of emerging conversations about academic advising and social justice; philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of advising; and academic advising as a unique vehicle for learning, transformation, and curricular integration. The conference-wide Common Reading on envisioning the future of advising (by Marc Lowenstein), which many of us also reviewed in preparation for a recent NACADA webinar, was thought-provoking and inspirational. I returned to UC Berkeley after the conference with a deep commitment to advancing the role that Berkeley Advising can and will play in the future of academic advising. I challenge all of us (myself included!) to stay up-to-date on research, theory, and trends in the field; to conduct our own assessment, analysis, and research; to publish our findings; to participate in peer review of other’s work; and to continue presenting what we are learning in webinars and at conferences."  --Susan Hagstrom, Director Office of Undergraduate Advising, College of Environmental Design

For further reading, Hagstrom shared the following resources as being particularly meaningful: