Studied the learning outcomes experienced by 24 alumni of a higher education/student affairs program through interviews with the students and some faculty and support staff members. Students experienced the thesis process in eight identifiable stages, and four areas of growth were identified: personal development, skills development, content…

Summarizes current programming efforts to enhance the graduate student experience. Includes a focus on programs for the entering student, programs that support student persistence, and programs that facilitate a successful entry into careers. (SLD)

Presents a user-friendly seven-step model for the career decision process and discusses how advisors can use it to help students make career and academic choices. Offers practical guidelines for discussions between advisors and advisees. (SLD)

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)

Examined the relationship between prematriculation understanding of college and the unrealized expectations of freshman students (n=201). Although levels of college knowledge predicted degree of disillusion for community college students, a similar relationship was not found for students attending public or private four-year institutions. (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…

Student majors (n=159) and faculty (n=26) in the sociology department of the University of Akron (Ohio) each rated academic advisors' level of responsibility for 42 advising tasks. Statistical analysis found the groups differed significantly on two of four dimensions: advising students on campus resources and planning for the future. (Author/DB)

Summarizes key findings from counseling, advisement, and intercultural communication literature that are associated with multicultural competence, including the academic and modeling role of the advisor. Offers a conceptual framework of standards for developing multicultural communication advisement competence. (Author/DB)

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…

Describes a workshop at the University of Hawaii at Manoa targeted at students overcoming academic difficulties and readmitted after a one-semester suspension. Participants are encouraged to use campus resources, make better decisions, and connect with other students and the institution. Preliminary evaluation suggests the workshop is an efficient…

Describes "walking office hours," an activity in which students (n=64) in introductory health topics and human resources management classes each took a one-half hour walk with the professor around the campus. In both classes students unanimously reported higher "comfort levels" with the instructor following the walk. (DB)

In preparation for the medical school admission interview, prospective students should be able to explain why they chose medicine as a profession and to relate experiences that confirm their interest, be aware of the economic/ethical atmosphere in which medicine is practiced and its challenges, display good communication skills, and convey…

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 O'Banion model of academic advising, used for over 20 years, and presents a variation that is both nonlinear and holistic. Applying O'Banion's five dimensions (exploration of life goals, exploration of vocational goals, program choice, course choice, scheduling options) to two case studies, the authors demonstrate how advisors and…

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…