Comprehensive Advisor Training and Development: Practices That Deliver

Co-published with NACADA

Advisors are focused on the success of their students. They do the work of advising not for money or fame, but because their meaningful work ensures that students reach their goals. In order to do so, those who serve students must have the knowledge, skills, abilities, and encouragement to do their work. This edited collection provides a practical framework for advisor training and professional development, underpinned by the theoretical rationale for those frameworks. This text is not focused on the “what” of advisor training but is instead intentionally focused on the “how” and the “why,” encouraging those responsible for development and implementation to have a clear means by which to support advisor success. Readers of this text will identify the centrality of the NACADA Core Values and Core Competencies to effective training and development but will also gain a practical suite of tools to be used in various higher educational contexts. Including, but not limited to initial program creation, the authors consider complex concerns such as funding, technology, intercultural competence, and self-care--among others--as components of a comprehensive program to support advising professionals.

Dr. Karen L. Archambault has been working in higher education for more than 2 decades and currently serves as the vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Success at Rowan College at Burlington County. In this role, Archambault leads the efforts to impact student enrollment and success including admissions; financial aid; registration, student life and activities. She also oversees the college’s retention efforts including programs for honors students; low-income students; military and veteran students; and students with disabilities. A historian by training, Archambault teaches history of higher education at the graduate level, with a focus on historical equity in higher education. She writes on transfer students, first-year advising, and cultural competence for advisors. Archambault received her undergraduate degree in history from Salisbury University, her master’s degree in history from Old Dominion University, her master’s degree in counseling from Trinity Washington University, and her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Rowan University.

Dr. Rebecca L. Hapes is an associate registrar at Texas A&M University and an assistant lecturer within the Department of Entomology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. In these roles, she oversees FERPA compliance and training for the university and teaches within the first-year experience program, assisting students in their institutional transition and working to build departmental community and foster belonging. She received her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology; a master’s degree in agricultural education; and a doctorate in agricultural leadership, education, and communication, with a specialization in educational human resource development; and graduate certificates in advanced pedagogy in agriculture and leadership education, theory, and practice, all from Texas A&M University. Her research interests focus on student development, success, and thriving. Hapes is a member of the board of directors for NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. She has served as a two-time mentor within the Emerging Leaders Program, Advising Communities Division Representative on the NACADA Council, chair of both the Advisor Training and Development and Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commissions (now Advising Communities), and has served in all divisions of NACADA during her years of association involvement. With more than 80 advising-related presentations at local, state, regional, and annual conferences, Hapes has dedicated her career to enhancing and promoting the field of academic advising and the professional development of academic advisors.

Dr. Jenny Bloom is a Full Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). In addition, she is the Coordinator of the Higher Education Leadership Master’s Degree Program and Founder of the Office of Appreciative Education https://www.fau.edu/oae/) at FAU. She previously served as a Clinical Professor and Director of the M.Ed. program in the Higher Education & Student Affairs Program at the University of South Carolina. Prior to UofSC, she served as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs & the Medical Scholars Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Bloom served as the 2007-08 President of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and was named the recipient of NACADA’s Virginia N. Gordon Award for Excellence in the Field of Advising in 2017. Dr. Bloom has co-authored six books and numerous articles and has presented her work at over 500 higher education institutions and conferences.