Assessment of Resources for Academic Advisors in Northern Illinois University’s College

of Education

Department of Counseling and Higher Education, Northern Illinois University

Cristina Chavez, Hannah Fisher, Julia Hoelzer, & Aik Paung Seinn

HESA 573: Applied Assessment Methods in Higher Education

Dr. Nichole Knutson

 Executive Summary: Assessing Academic Advisor Resources

Academic advisors need support as they work towards improving their connections with

students. An important way institutions can support their advisors is through training and

professional development resources. This assessment investigated the access to and interest in

training and professional development resources for academic advisors at Northern Illinois

University (NIU). Specifically, we worked with Jennifer Johnson, Senior Director of Student

Success from the College of Education (COE) at NIU, to create a resource database for advisors.

Main Points

This assessment consisted of three interviews, a survey, and benchmarking. The

interviews gave us insight in resource accessibility in three different departments as well as what

obstacles were faced in accessing them. It was also discussed what would be ideal to better

inform advisors of these different opportunities. The survey allowed us to look at the advisors

within our client’s department, the COE, and their perspective on this topic. All respondents

stated that there is value in opportunities such as training and professional development. There

was also insight on the type of resources they would like to see within their reach. Lastly,

benchmarking was done against the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA)

Standards, along with peer institutions. This comparison allowed us to see how different

institutions attempted to meet standards and how they provided resources to their advisors on

their webpage.

Recommendations

With the information gathered, creating a resource database on the COE’s webpage was

an accessible outcome for advisors to refer to. This database includes information on:

 NIU specific tools such as EAB Navigate, OnBase, MyNIU

  Literature like journals, books, and news sources

 Advising standards and approaches

 Professional development opportunities like workshops and conferences

 Funding through awards and scholarships from professional associations

Methods for Continued Assessment

 Establish timeline, resources, and goals

 Collect further data using surveys, interviews, and focus groups

 Benchmark current practices against other colleges at NIU

 Assessment of Resources for Academic Advisors in NIU’s College of Education

Student affairs professionals continue to provide more value to the experiences of college

students. They provide additional support to students as they navigate their college journey.

“Further, student affairs staff provide an additional benefit because of their role in working with

students who are applying what they are learning in the classroom as well as developing life

skills. Staff can engage students in application, integration, and reflection in out-of-class

experiences” (Henning & Roberts, 2016, p.4). As there is a growing importance of this role, the

preparation and support these professionals have in their work environment becomes a crucial

factor in their ability to successfully work with students. Having resources as such can allow

advisors to better connect with and support their students. Taking this into consideration, the

purpose of this assessment was to investigate the access to and interest in training and

professional development resources for academic advisors at Northern Illinois University.

Specifically, we worked with the College of Education as the primary department.

This assessment consisted of three interviews, a survey, and benchmarking. The three

interviews were done with three professionals in this field that work at NIU, one from the

College of Education and two from other departments. These professionals were asked about

their experiences with training and professional development as well as their personal opinions

on these resources. We then created a survey to be sent out to advisors within the COE. The

survey consisted of questions focused on their experience in the field, experience with training

and professional development, and their opinions on these resources. Lastly, we benchmarked

NIU against the NACADA standards, along with a few other universities to compare how each

standard was presented. Based on the client’s expectation of this assessment, it led to creating a

resource database that would be available to advisors.

 Literature Review

Training and development as a new hire is standard across all careers. For federally

funded organizations, there are training courses legally required to remain employed. When

moving into the field of higher education and student affairs, individualized development can be

seen differently throughout departments at an institution. While this is essential in creating

content experts in their specified field, it does not always provide opportunities for learning

across the board. This is where centralized resources for continual growth come into play. To

narrow in on a specific sector, the focus of this review will be on academic advising at public,

four-year institutions. The goal is to highlight the importance of ongoing, university-wide

training and professional development for academic advisors.

Academic Advisor Development

The sector of higher education and student affairs seemingly values the idea of ongoing

learning. Yet, there are still institutions that need work in this area. For instance, Northern

Illinois University does not have an easily accessible resource database for training and

professional development. They technically cite the NACADA standards, but it dates to 2012

and is not updated to the current model. There is no current university-wide training

implemented at NIU. This indicates that academic advisors at this institution are not able to meet

the standard for all advisors in higher education today. Advisors who do not feel supported in

their own development may be worse off than those who have access to training and professional

development resources. The subsequent literature in this section will seek to explore this claim

and aim to formulate ideas on where to take academic advisor development from here.

Why it Matters
 Professionals in higher education and student affairs most likely need a degree to work in

the field and herein implies the need for training through education to become an academic

advisor. This idea of a pre-service approach will provide future advisors with the necessary skills

and knowledge to better understand the scope of higher education (Gordon, 2019). However,

learning should not stop after graduation. A study about harm reduction posted in the NACADA

journal indicated that students are directly harmed by meeting with an advisor who is less trained

than the advisor that engaged in ongoing development. By working in a people-serving sector, it

is essential that professionals are evolving to best inform their students. An advisor who is more

informed on ever-changing policies and regulations, resources, and theories is more adaptable to

the diverse needs of their student population (Voller, 2012).

Additionally, as is often quoted socially, knowledge is power. When a student walks into

an academic advisor’s office, they expect them to be the guide or leader that can best support

their various needs. While academic advisors today can be trained in higher education programs,

not all have gone this route to work with college students. The characteristic of an effective

academic advisor is defined as knowledge gained through research and scholarly literature

specific to academic advising that promotes skill development in areas of accountability,

communication, integrity, advocacy, and much more (Harrison, 2009). It is imperative that these

individuals are as informed as the colleagues who went through specialized degree programs.

Ongoing training and professional development resources are steppingstones towards achieving

that.

Serving students is not the only benefit of ongoing training and professional development

for academic advisors. When assessing the impact of academic advising, Zarges et al. (2018)

shares that “In using data-driven outcomes, advisors are creating new concepts, approaches, and
theories within academic advising that can be shared in scholarly journals and conference

presentations” (p. 51). Institutions can look at models by their partner universities and develop

their own methods. This supports the formation of a job sector that provides effective advisors

for students regardless of major, college, or university. Through assessing the current state of

training and developing academic advisors, higher education can continue to move forward.

Where to go From Here

The importance of academic advisor development is clear. For both student and

institutional success, advisors should take advantage of ongoing training and professional

development resources. Yet, there are institutions that are falling behind in this area. For

example, at NIU, the Director of the Academic Advising Center shared that accessible,

university-wide trainings for academic advisors remains on the back burner because other

administrative needs take precedence (Personal Communication, M. Pickett, 2022). So, where do

universities like NIU go from here? The first step is to make existing information available.

Accessibility to what is already known will jump start the learning for what is needed by

academic advisors in the coming years. The next step is to create that university-wide program.

This would centralize skills and knowledge beneficial to professional development throughout an

advisor’s career to best serve themselves and the student population. The underlying factor that

supports these steps is monitoring the systems in place and giving advisors the tools to manage

that development (Folsom et al., 2015).

Implications for the Field

The need for ongoing academic advisor development supports the call for assessment in

higher education. Institutions will need to take steps towards assessing the current systems in

place and taking actionable steps. The struggle with this notion is that it forces universities to
prioritize assessment on the same level as student success. This means more resources and

people need to be in place. Implementing this can be difficult as there is only so much money to

go around. If there is no way to bring in new people and sources of support, this will require

current employees to make the effort. Does this mean that those employees should be paid more?

Or is it assumed to be covered under “additional responsibilities as assigned?” The narrative for

assessment is essential here. According to a study examining academic advising approaches and

assessment models, He & Huston (2016) note that, “assessment in academic advising needs to be

connected with other functions in higher education organizations…so that the assessment

findings can be used to promote refinement and positive change at the institutional level” (p.

221). If the demand for academic advisor training and professional development resources is

vocalized across universities as a correlation for student success, assessment can be viewed at the

forefront of higher education. This would move forward establishing equitable change to best

support the academic advisors who provide so much to the institutions they serve.

Project design

To understand the accessibility and interest of academic advisors training and

professional development opportunities, this project primarily utilized a qualitative approach

supplemented by quantitative results. The methods used for data collection were interviews, a

survey, and benchmarking. These methods allow to collect existing data on training and

professional development (PD) opportunities available for academic advisors at NIU’s college of

education and to examine their needs in terms of continuous professional development.

Therefore, the main clients of this project were academic advisors from the College of

Education.

Interviews
 The assessment team interviewed three people in different leadership roles by using semi-

structured questions. First, the team met Jennifer Johnson, Senior Director for Student Success at

COE and discussed the current availability of access to resources and training opportunities for

academic advisors, and the outcomes for this project to provide a growth model for academic

advisors and to create a resource database available to academic advisors in the COE. The team

also talked to Steve Estes, the Director of Academic Advising at the College of Liberal Arts and

Sciences (CLAS). In the meeting, Steve shared information on current professional training

opportunities, resources, working culture during the Covid-19, technology, and challenges. In

addition, the team also had a conversation with Michelle Pickett who is the Director of Academic

Advising Center. Through this contact, the team researched the supports, resources, and training

available for advisors at NIU and looked at the existing data that can be used for this project.

Unfortunately, the team did not receive the existing data available at NIU.

Survey

A survey was also conducted and sent to academic advisors from NIU’s COE. There

were seven academic advisors who took the survey. These advisors are from different

departments of COE such as counseling and higher education, curriculum and instruction,

educational technology, research and assessment, kinesiology and physical education, leadership,

educational psychology and foundations, and special and early education. The goal of this survey

is to examine if they have access to ongoing training and professional development

opportunities, their perspectives on the importance of training and resource, and on what college

of education could offer for these opportunities and resources so that they could better serve

students at NIU. There are 16 questions to complete the survey. The survey questionnaire is

attached (Appendix B).

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is also utilized to see what other institutions are implementing in terms of

access and training opportunities for academic advisors. Each team member benchmarked NIU

with selected institutions against NACADA Academic Advising Core Competencies Model. The

selected institutions are University of South Carolina, Miami University- Oxford, Western

Michigan University and Ohio University because they are peer institutions in size, and they

have public resources and training for academic advisors. Particularly, The University of South

Carolina recently established a notable model for training and developing academic advisors.

Directly under Advisor Certification, the university stated that “the Academic Advisor Training

and Certification Program is a multi-level program that covers seven different competency areas,

which are aligned with the National Academic Advising Association Academic Advising Core

Competencies Model and framework” (McConville, n.d.).

Developed by NACADA's Professional Development Committee, NACADA Academic

Advising Core Competencies Model outlines competencies such as the conceptual component,

informational component, and relational component. NACADA (2017) states, “the purpose of

the model is to identify the broad range of understanding, knowledge, and skills that support

academic advising, to guide professional development, and to promote the contributions of

advising to student development, progress, and success.” Therefore, this model was used to see if

NIU and other institutions meet the standards of delivering effective academic advising training

and accessibility.

To benchmark, team member Julia Hoelzer created a rubric for this model which

highlights the rubric scales from advanced model to no model. Advanced model means satisfying

all the core competencies while no model refers to inaccessibility in academic advising training
model at an institution. The rubric is attached (Appendix A). Each member looked at academic

advising trainings, academic advisor resources and academic advising program reviews and

rubrics on the websites of each institution and then compared these data with the model. Each

member looked at key words and highlighted with color coding if they met the requirements.

Then data were analyzed by using the color coding and determined whether they satisfied the

core competencies of the model.

Findings

While this assessment involved multiple forms of data collection, our core findings are

based in survey results. However, to create a baseline understanding of current training and PD

practices at NIU, the assessment team interviewed advising directors from the College of

Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Academic Advising Center. While no

longer current, a previous method addressed by all advising directors were the campus-wide new

advisor onboarding trainings. These trainings were led by the NIU Advising Council, which was

created to spearhead an advisor training program that would “provide a centralized ideology to

support individualized trainings in the departments across campus” (Personal Communication,

M. Pickett, 2022). These trainings occurred during the pandemic in 2021, but stalled after

members left the Council, and financial resources and interest waned. Without these trainings,

there is no longer a centralized method for new advisors to learn about NU advising standards

and approaches. The legwork has now turned to individual departments and colleges.

While COE and CLAS are not comparable in terms of size, they both include the most

teaching licensure programs, which provided a foundation for understanding advising culture and

functions of professional development. Both colleges used developmental and proactive advising

approaches. The advising directors try to create opportunities for sharing knowledge between
advisors. They also have both used Microsoft systems to share resources. CLAS advisors use a

shared Microsoft Teams portal with curriculum resources, communication templates, fillable

PDFs, NIU contacts, lists for orientation or probation, advising nuances for different

departments, and a 40-page, in-draft handbook of generalized resources. COE used to have a

similar Microsoft SharePoint for resources, but it has been unused and has not been updated

since the creator left their position. These examples of education and community building among

advisors in the colleges provided foundations for understanding how to build

To gain further information on resource databases and what is included, we explored

public information on trainings and PD resources at peer institutions. Where compared against

similar institutions and the NACADA Academic Advising Core Competencies rubric, NIU has

no current, public model for accessible trainings and professional development. Once again, this

highlights a need for improvement in training and professional development resources. We used

the peer institutions to develop the concept for the database, the content, and the format.

College of Education Advisor Survey

The questionnaire sent to COE advisors received seven responses out of a possible 11.

Responses were labeled Advisors A-G to establish identities for discussion without directly

identifiable information. As this sample comes from a small population, some specifications

related to examples and quotes may be mentioned, but all identifiers (i.e. department, student

population type, years of experience) will not be included. This small population makes

confidentiality difficult.

Advisor respondents oversaw a mixture of undergraduate (n=4) and graduate (n=1)

student populations, with some individual advisors overseeing both (n=2). At least one advisor

represented each COE department, with two respondents from Curriculum and Instruction. There
was a wide range in advising experience prior to and while at NIU. All advisors agreed that prior

advising experiences before working at NIU helped them gain skills and experience for their

current role.

Availability and Accessibility

In response to question nine (see Appendix B), three advisors stated that required

trainings were offered, three responded that they were not offered, and one was unsure. The

follow up question (Q10) about content in these trainings was the least answered, with only two

responses. Those that agreed that NIU offers trainings and responded that they attended these

trainings provided insights into the content of these sessions and possible areas of improvement.

For instance, Advisor B “received several weeks onboarding…focused on specifics of advising

at NIU rather than larger scale, how-to-advise type materials.” Advisor C, an advisor to graduate

students, stated that “…trainings were very general and were specific to undergraduate advising.

It would have been helpful to have training specific to graduate advising or trainings specifically

related to programs in College of Education.”

When asked question 11 (see Appendix B), answers were different from the previous

question. Two did not attend required training sessions while the other six did. The responses to

the follow up question (Q12) about content varies, including themes like licensure particular the

Curriculum and Instruction department, other COE sponsored workshops, and general advising

strategies. One response included a NACADA conference as an example of required content,

though it may not have been required. Three advisors address training sessions offered by the

NIU Advising Council, Academic Advising Center, and the Office of Undergraduate Studies

beginning in Fall 2019 which “included advising philosophies/models, diversity and inclusion

content, case studies, etc.” (Advisor E). However, Advisor E claims that they are unsure whether
these were required or not. Advisor F included a new advisor training required for all to

participate to “determine quality and adjustments so there was one baseline training for new

advisors.” This may refer to the 2021 trainings but was not specified. When asked about non-

required options, advisors included opportunities hosted by NIU’s Center for Institutional

Teaching and Learning, Human Resources, the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, and

Undocumented Support. Events outside of NIU, such as NACADA and ILACADA webinars and

conferences, were also included.

Perceived Value of Continuous Development

All advisors agreed that training and professional development resources are valuable

when responding to question 15 (see Appendix B). Advisor A explained that professional

development “helps advisors grow and learn new ways to advise to ensure we're helping with

student success and meeting the needs of the student.” Advisor E also connected continuous

learning to student impact:

It is critically important to the success of new academic advisors, both new to profession

and new to NIU, to gain training. Advising is an important part of the student experience

and impacts our students in a variety of ways, so training and development to support

advisors ultimately supports students.

Beyond the broad impacts advising has on students, Advisor F highlights the need for

educational resources that help advisors understand changes in current and future student

populations:

With the ever-changing landscape of education, it is important for advisors to adapt as

well. Our student population has changed significantly, and we need to be up to date on

the new needs of students. Whether it is communication practices, understanding

 different populations, or helping students transition to owning their education and

ultimately their careers vs parents doing that for them. There are so many areas advisors

could brush up on. I find myself seeing new topics I would like to learn more about to be

a better advisor.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, student needs have changed and will continue to do so. If the

primary goals of advising are supporting, leading, and educating students, then advisors

educational backgrounds must meet these goals. COE advisors clearly see the value in

continuous development and learning but need new methods of gaining access to resources to

participate in PD and educational opportunities.

Recommendations from Advisors

The final section of the questionnaire included an open answer section for advisors to

voice their requests for resources and opportunities they would like to see offered by COE or

NIU at-large. The most overlapping responses (n=3) focused on resources and trainings about

forms, processes, functions, and software for new and changing programs or systems used at

NIU (e.g. EAB Navigate). These respondents are also interested in consistent college or

university-wide meetings to share updates and resources about tech and processes. Another top

request (n=3) was for conference and professional association funding and resources. Two

advisors included the need for improved collaboration and effective communication between

undergraduate and graduate advisors, suggesting professional retreats or all-advisor meetings per

term to share knowledge. One respondent sought a balance between trainings that partner with

onboarding new employees and offering ongoing trainings as things change at the university and

within student populations. Finally, one respondent specified that they would appreciate trainings
and resources that focus on dealing with students in crisis, especially with the increase in mental

health issues on campus.

Discussion

As voiced in the interviews and questionnaire responses, there are existing resources at

and outside of NIU that are being utilized for advisor training and professional development.

However, these resources have not been executed or utilized in their full capacity, and there is

more to be desired for advisors at NIU.

Required trainings at NIU

All advising directors interviewed mentioned the university-wide trainings for advisors at

NIU. While they were offered, there seems to be confusion, based on survey results, about the

nature of these trainings. Advisors were uncertain whether they were required or not, and which

offices (e.g. Academic Advising Center, NIU Academic Advising Council, or the Office of

Undergraduate Studies) were presenting training sessions. Some of this confusion may have

caused issues in the program continuing, as it is no longer offered at NIU. Where some

agreement between the advising directors and advisors occurred was the content of the trainings.

Both explained it was created as to set a baseline for expectations, responsibilities, and goals of

new advisors at NIU.

Survey results included desires for further training and PD opportunities. Advisor B

stated the benefits of multiple forms of education best:

Most beneficial when they target and support two types of advising growth. First, for

early-career advisors, foundational training is invaluable to ensure that they're familiar

with best practices, institutional specifics, and current approaches to advising. Second,

for advisors with established experience, training/professional development focused on

 reinforcing best practices and pivoting to newer approaches is more beneficial than

standard, on-going training. Targeting specific types of training/PD to specific

populations of advisors is the most effective approach to ensuring each advisor is fully

supported.

Since the NIU advisor trainings are no longer required, there needs to be another method

in the meantime that educates new advisors on the expectations, responsibilities, and goals of

advising in COE. By using gathering resources into one centralized place, a resource database

could be used by new advisors to build their foundations in advising, and by established to

improve and alter their practices based on current scholarship.

There is desire for more resources specific to graduate advising positions, licensure, or certain

programs, etc.

Most beneficial when they target and support two types of advising growth. First, for

early-career advisors, foundational training is invaluable to ensure that they're familiar

with best practices, institutional specifics, and current approaches to advising. Second,

for advisors with established experience, training/professional development focused on

reinforcing best practices and pivoting to newer approaches is more beneficial than

standard, on-going training. Targeting specific types of training/PD to specific

populations of advisors is the most effective approach to ensuring each advisor is fully

supported. (Advisor B)

Advisors found resources from other areas like professional associations (e.g. NACADA

national and regional, ILACADA) and other departments (e.g. CITL, HR, AAC), but there is still

want for improvement. Use some of the things that were recommendations as resources on

database to begin, but this must be supplemented with conversations

 Recommendations

The assessment team created a mock-up example of how this resource database (see

Appendix C) may look on the COE website. This makes the resources public, highly accessible,

and even open to other advisors on campus. However, this could also take shape through

Microsoft Teams or SharePoint. Microsoft products are highlighted as it is the main software

system of NIU. The resource webpage includes:

 Tools such as EAB Navigate, OnBase, MyNIU.

 Literature like journals, books, and news sources. Journals and books included in the

resource webpage provide starting points for further research into trends, methods, and

scholarship. All options are free through the NIU library, NIU professional association

memberships, or are open access. News provides updated information on the needs of

students. Therefore, it is encouraged to include news related to recognizing and

addressing systems of oppression and fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment both

in the workplace and on campus, which is one of the CAS (Council for Advancements of

Standards in Higher Education) standards for academic advisor professional

development. As a result, advisors can use this knowledge to best all students, especially

historically underrepresented populations such students of color, undocumented students,

LGBTQ+ students, etc.

 Advising standards and approaches. As there is no longer a university-wide training

program for advisors at NIU, links to webpages, articles, and books provide a point of

research and conversation into advising approaches and standards. These include

competencies, rubrics, and pillars from CAS and professional associations like NACADA

and ACPA/NASPA. Further resources related to approaches and methods can educate
 new advisors on the expectations for how they will advise at NIU or can provide more

experienced advisors with examples of how to improve their practice.

 Professional development opportunities like workshops and conferences. NIU offers

trainings on various topics such as Conversation on Diversity and Equity workshops,

Undocumented Student Ally Training, Gender and Sexuality Resource Center Ally

Training, and Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. These are accessible to

advisors within NIU. Other sites such as NACADA and edX also offered free

opportunities with various courses and trainings available. Although not all resources are

free, conferences such as NACADA National, NACADA Region 5, ILACADA, ACPA,

and ICPA were important to include as they provide valuable knowledge to advisors.

 Funding through awards and scholarships from professional associations. To increase

participation in PD opportunities, the webpage includes funding resources, primarily

from local associations like ILACADA and NACADA’s Great Lakes Region 5. These

can help with the costs of attending of conferences. COE could also add information on

applying for internal funding from the department, college, or university.

Continuing Assessment

Assessment leads to change. But without commitment to the task, the purpose of the

assessment will never be achieved. To continue assessment, it is essential to establish a timeline

and roles for the assessment team. It is not feasible for staff and faculty to take on extra

responsibility without knowing their role in the process and how long it will take to complete. It

also holds individuals accountable. Seeing tangible evidence, whether it be calendar reminders or

regular communication with teammates, is more likely to keep assessment moving along and

prevent stagnation.
 Surveys are a great way to gather information on a larger scale. For future assessment, we

recommend creating different versions of a survey especially if those surveyed belong in

different departments. Having a focus on the type of questions that will be included and the way

they are being worded should be prioritized. The way the questions are set up can bring different

results making it difficult to see more valuable results. Lastly, creating a key to summarize

results is crucial to better interpret survey results. Having a way to summarize the results can

lead to efficiency.

To gather further qualitative data, interviews and focus groups can be used, particularly

to follow up on survey results. While these methods may be more time consuming, they often

provide richer context and feedback needed for improvement. An example could be conducting a

focus group about the usage of the resource webpage including questions about what advisors

use most often, what they do not need, how easy it is to find things, when during the semester

they use the webpage or what for, and what they would like to see changed. Continued

discussions, informal or formal, are also needed to understand how advisors feel supported in

their roles and what they need to be more successful.

Communicating and benchmarking are also important to the success of academic

advising programs. We recommend the COE communicates with other colleges to see what they

are implementing in terms of enriching the development of academic advisors, what resources

they are providing, and what kinds of effective sharing system are using to collaborate among

advisors in case if they require resources related to their work. Then, with the information

received, it is encouraged to benchmark the COE against other colleges by using CAS standard

in terms of access and resource to understand what college of education could offer academic

advisors to their continuous professional development. Communicating and benchmarking with

other colleges at NIU will also promote creating university wide PD and training opportunities,

and shared resources to enrich educational environments for students.

Conclusion

The need for ongoing training and professional development for academic advisors in

higher education is clear. Student affairs professionals provide so much for the students they

work with. It is equally essential that institutions develop their own people as well. Academic

advising directors and advisors alike agree that NIU needs to centralize resources. Providing a

centralized location for accessing training and professional development opportunities can allow

professionals to better themselves for the success of their students. Considering the different

assessment aspects of this project, this team recommends a resource database as the first step to

providing development for both the academic advisors in the COE and NIU.
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Wiley & Sons.

Gordon, V. N. (2019). Training future academic advisors: One model of a pre-service approach.

NACADA Journal, 39(2), 60–63. https://doi.org/10.12930/nacada-19-200

Harrison, E. (2009). (re)visiting academic advising. Nurse Educator, 34(2), 64–68.

https://doi.org/10.1097/nne.0b013e31819907ff

He & Hutson (2016). Appreciative Assessment in Academic Advising. The Review of Higher

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Henning, G. W. & Roberts, D. (2016). Student affairs assessment: Theory to practice. Stylus

Publishing.

McConville, S. (n.d.). Tools & Resources. Advisor Certification - Academic Advising |

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https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/advising/advisor_training/certification/

index.php

NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. (2017). NACADA academic

advising core competencies model.

https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Pillars/CoreCompetencies.aspx

Voller, J. (2012). Advisor training and development: Why it matters and how to get started.

NACADA Clearing House of Academic Advising Resources.

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Zarges et al. (2018). Assessing the impact of academic advising: Current issues and future

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https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20302
 Appendix A.

NACADA Advising Core Competencies Model Rubric

 Appendix B.
College of Education Advisor Questionnaire

Question Original Question Type of answer

#
1 What department do you work in? Multiple choice (CI,
SNEED, KNPE,
CAHE, ETRA, LEPF)
2 Please specify which program(s) you advise: Write in
3 Who do you advise? Multiple choice
(undergraduate,
graduate, both)
4 How many years of experience do you have advising Multiple choice (0-3,
college students? 4-5, 6-10, 11+)
5 How many of these months or years of experience have Write in
been at NIU?
6 Thinking about your prior work experience, to what extent Likert scale (disagree-
do you agree with this statement: “My prior experience has agree)
been useful to my current position.”
7 Based on your answer, explain how or why it has(not) been Write in
useful to your current position.
8 How accessible would you say advising resources and Likert scale
professional development opportunities are for you in your
current role at Northern Illinois University (NIU)?
9 Were you offered opportunities for academic advisor Multiple choice (yes,
training by NIU when you were hired for your current maybe, no)
advising position?
10 If yes, please specify what content: Write in
11 Have you attended any required trainings or professional Multiple choice (yes,
development opportunities specific to your advising role maybe, no)
since working in your current position?
12 If yes, please specify what content: Write in
13 Since working in your current advising role, have you Multiple choice (yes,
attended any trainings or professional development maybe, no)
opportunities for ongoing development?
14 If yes, please specify what content: Write in
15 How valuable do you consider training/professional Write in
development to be in academic advising?
16 What resources, training, and professional development Write in
opportunities would you like to see your department offer
that you believe you would benefit from?

Appendix C.
Resource Webpage example for NIU’s College of Education
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