Liberal education remains a mystery to many of the students enrolled in colleges and universities. Academic advisors, standing at the crossroads of the various curricular and cocurricular experiences that make up a student's liberal education, should be prepared to help students recognize the coherence of their education. This article provides…

Immigrant college student populations continue to grow, but the complexity of their unique needs and issues remain relatively unknown. To gain a better understanding of the multiple contextual factors impacting immigrant students from a systems-based approach, I applied Bronfenbrenner's (1977) human ecology framework to the study. Students…

This introduction to the strengths, needs, and challenges of veterans as they transition from the military to higher education is presented within the framework of Schlossberg's transition model (Schlossberg, Waters, & Goodman, 1995). Academic advisors must understand the way that veteran transitions to college are both similar to and different…

Recently veteran academic advisors were asked to share their experiences. The respondents to an E-mailed survey self-identified as advisors or administrators and represented six American regions and various sizes of public and private 2- and 4-year institutions. Their responses reflect a genuine interest in the welfare of students today and a…

Servant. This novel actively portrays Greenleaf's concept of servant leadership by describing the extracurricular work of a university professor. Consequently, some scholars have demonstrated the relevance of servant leadership to classroom instruction (Powers & Moore, 2005). However, it was not as an instructor, but as an advisor that the…

Argues that the model of developmental academic advising of college students should be abandoned and replaced by alternative theoretical traditions. Offers the educational concept of praxis as an alternative way to think about academic advising. This model focuses on dialogue between student and advisor to effect changes in goals and values. (DB)

Discusses the following topics in the context of academic advising of Japanese international students: (1) differences between Japanese and U.S. educational systems; (2) the complexities of cross-cultural communication; and (3) universal concepts in adolescent development. Suggests most of the problems faced by these students fall into one or a…

Uses chaos theory as a metaphor for advising undecided college students. Applies chaos theory concepts of dependence on initial conditions, strange attractors, emergent behavior in complex systems, and fractals to the advising relationship. Suggests the paradigm reinforces the basics of advising, such as the importance of accepting the student's…

Presents a brief history of the National Academic Advising Association and examines the association's role at the turn of the 21st century, including the characteristics of tomorrow's students, the role of faculty, and the role of information technology as they relate to academic advising. Approaches to meeting these challenges based on recent…

Examines the growing demand for multicultural competence in college graduates, describes the course content and academic-advising activities recommended to develop it, and comments on the limits and inherent dangers of providing multicultural exposure universally. Academic advisors are urged to help students maximize their human capital by adding…

Summarizes federal regulations concerning academic advising, including defamation, negligence, privacy, disabilities, civil rights, duty to report crimes, and privilege. Relevant state laws, interpretations, hypothetical situations, and the possible institutional and personal penalties, both civil and criminal, of not following current laws are…

Presents both advice and cautions for the academic advisor working with college students with disabilities, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Includes specific discussion of the dangers of stereotyping people or professions and a reminder to view this population as students, with disabilities secondary to student status, and…

Examines implications of postmodernism, particularly chaos theory, for academic advising. Suggests that postmodernist advising acknowledges student angst and self-doubt, views each individual as a unique person and each advising session as a unique opportunity, views change as an ally rather than nemesis, and believes the advisor's impact is not…

Examines the dynamics of student decision making in the era of information technology. Presents and challenges long-established paradigms associated with decision making. Examines the roles of individual and societal epistemologies, and suggests a new model with a less rational approach that recognizes varied viewpoints and helps students think…

Suggests college students preparing for medical school should be informed about how changes in the health care system, expansion of biomedical knowledge, and new technologies are affecting medical practice, medical curricula, medical school admission criteria and tests, and the shape of undergraduate preparation for medical education. Discusses…