the NACADA Core Competencies Welcome, introduce myself, note that normally, I try to move around a lot, include some interaction and be less of a talking head, but that today, given the time constraint, this is going to be more direct to cover the material in our time slot. Doug Easterly, Ed. D. Dean of Academic Advising, UCSD John Muir College Pronouns: He / Him / His UAAC Meeting, November 2017

Some assumptions I am making You have initiative and a desire to improve You either currently kick butt at your job or you want to You are a problem-solver and a relationship-builder You can find colleagues, mentors, and advocates at UCSD who can help you grow and develop as a professional Before I get started, I want to put some of my assumptions out on the table. The first is that you are a self-starter – that you have initiative, and a desire to improve, whatever your current level of skill. The second is that you currently are either good at your job or you really want to be. The third is that you have a positive attitude, and look at your job as solving problems and building relationships. The final assumption is that you are part of a community of people who care about the work, and will have your back when you need it. I say this as someone who has been part of the UC San Diego academic advising community for 17 years, and I really see in our group a group of dedicated professionals who have a lot to give the advisor who is new to the field or who wants to grow.

NACADA? What’s That? NACADA is the National Academic Advising Association, a national professional organization for academic advisors. “NACADA promotes and supports quality academic advising in institutions of higher education to enhance the educational development of students. NACADA provides a forum for discussion, debate, and the exchange of ideas pertaining to academic advising through numerous activities and publications. NACADA also serves as an advocate for effective academic advising by providing a Consulting and Speaker Service, an Awards Program, and funding for Research related to academic advising. “ https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/About-Us.aspx What I am presenting to you is a product of the National Academic Advising Association, who is a national organization for academic advising, and a really great resource for the profession. I know some of you have gone to conferences and to workshops or institutes held by NACADA, and many of you are currently members. If you don’t know NACADA, I recommend spending some time learning about the organization and their regional and national conferences.

Advising Competencies The NACADA professional development committee created the model of Academic Advising Core Competencies as a structure for understanding skills needed by advisors, how to structure professional development, how to evaluate advising programs, and to demonstrate our impact on students. I’m going to give you an introduction to the competencies and how to use them as a guide for professional development. You can find the competencies at https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/About-Us/NACADA- Leadership/Administrative-Division/Professional-Development- Committee/PDC-Advisor-Competencies.aspx Okay, so what is this advising competencies model, what am I going to cover, and why should you care?

Advising is Literally gOAL 1 at ucsd Provide coordinated and comprehensive academic, professional, and career advising across all colleges, departments, and units. Goal 1, Strategy 1 of the UC San Diego Strategic Plan It is important for us to build our skills as advisors and the advising profession. Whether we feel like we are always appreciated, advisors still form a key element of the campus’ vision as a student-centered campus, and we play a key role in the trenches with students, helping them navigate the campus, make sense of the curriculum, and stay on track to their academic and personal goals.

Your Key Roles How do advisors affect students’ lives? Through your relationships. Your first job is to connect with students and help them feel seen, heard, and understood. You can make students’ academic experiences make sense in terms of their life and career goals. In a lot of ways, you have the potential to be heroes, to really impact students in a way that moves them from feeling invisible and isolated in a senseless system to being humans who are cared for and valued.

Effective Advising Requires Competencies from 3 Areas Conceptual Informational Relational The NACADA model of core competencies organizes our work into three categories that guide the development of each other

The Competencies are important though Your roles may differ College Advisors Department and Program Advisors Are expected to have a holistic approach Often working with undeclared, transitioning students and students on academic probation May have more chance for long-term relationships May have some autonomy and authority for exceptions May have more infrastructure for training and support May be one-person shops May have conflicting demands May not have co-curricular supports May have very different types of relationships with students May have lower levels of autonomy and authority May not have infrastructure for training and support

Let’s Break down the three competencies

Conceptual (Understanding) History and role of academic advising in higher education NACADA’s Core Values of Academic Advising Theory relevant to academic advising Academic advising approaches and strategies Expected outcomes of academic advising How equitable and inclusive environments are created and maintained The conceptual component provides the context for the delivery of academic advising. It covers the ideas and theories that advisors must understand to effectively advise their students.

Informational (Knowledge) Institution specific history, mission, vision, values, and culture. Curriculum, degree programs, and other academic requirements & options Institution specific policies, procedures, rules, and regulations Legal guidelines of advising practice, including privacy regulations and confidentiality The characteristics, needs, and experiences of major and emerging student populations Campus and community resources that support student success. The informational component provides the substance of academic advising. It covers the knowledge advisors must gain to be able to guide the students at their institution.

Relational (Skills) Articulate a personal philosophy of academic advising Create rapport and build academic advising relationships Communicate in an inclusive and respectful manner Plan and conduct successful advising interactions Promote student understanding of the logic and purpose of the curriculum Facilitate problem solving, decision-making, meaning-making, planning and goal setting Engage in ongoing assessment and development The relational component provides the skills that enable academic advisors to convey the concepts and information from the other two components to their advisees.

Using this model to develop as an advisor Some quick tips on how to grow using the Core Competencies as a scaffold for your development.

Well, first of all, it’s a checklist One of the great things about the Core Competencies Model is that it’s basically a 20-item checklist of things to master. The challenge is moving from basic knowledge to integrating the knowledge into your practice, which takes reflection and discussion with peers, including more experienced peers, as well as practice in the field.

Development Resources NACADA Clearinghouse: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse.aspx Journal: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Journal.aspx Store: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/NACADA-Store.aspx Conferences and workshops Consulting On Campus Learning UAAC Training and Development Committee UC Learning Center https://uc.sumtotal.host/core/dash/home Limited e-courses, mostly around active listening In-person courses, usually sponsored by UAAC Development Committee Other Helpful Resources Counseling and Psych Services Faculty and Staff Assistance Program Campus Partners (Study Abroad, International Students and Scholars, Campus Community Centers, students, etc.) Other professional groups (e.g., NASPA for student affairs, NODA for orientation, NAFSA for international education, etc.)

That said, You Sometimes need to “manage up” to create opportunities How to sell it… Customize your pitch… How will this benefit your unit? How will this benefit your manager? How will this improve your work? Your manager envisions themselves as a mentor Your manager cares, but doesn’t manage you closely Your manager doesn’t give time or resources for training You have a micromanager

Grassroots Training Development Expertise Space Release Time Funding

Articles and links for Developing your Core Competencies I’m going to breeze through this and then make the slideshow available to you later!

Articles for Conceptual Competency Development C1: History & role of academic advising in higher education: http://bit.ly/HistPhilAdv C2: NACADA core values of academic advising: http://bit.ly/NACADACoreValues C3: Theory relevant to academic advising: http://bit.ly/AdvisingTheory C4: Academic advising approaches and strategies: http://bit.ly/AdvisingApproaches C5: Expected outcomes of academic advising: http://bit.ly/AdvLearningOutcomes C6: How equitable & inclusive environments are created & maintained: http://bit.ly/AdvSocialJustice

Additional Theory For Working with Diverse Students Validation: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01191156 Belonging: Strayhorn, T. (2012). College students’ sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students. New York: Routledge. Advisors as cultural navigators (Strayhorn): http://www.nacadajournal.org/doi/abs/10.12930/NACADA-14-199 Cultural humility: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/268076/summary Equity and Race: Dowd, A. & Bensimon, E. (2015) Engaging the “race question”: Accountability and equity in U.S. education. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Articles for Informational Competency Self-Development I1: Institutional history, mission, vision, values, and culture: http://bit.ly/HistoryofUCSD http://bit.ly/2xlxPVE I2: Curriculum, degree programs, requirements, options: Must be specific to your unit! I3: Policies, procedures, rules, regulations (start with the catalog): http://bit.ly/AcadPolUCSD http://bit.ly/UCSDSenateRegs I4: Legal guidelines: http://bit.ly/AdvLegalIssues http://bit.ly/HighEdPolicy http://bit.ly/UCSD_Confidentiality I5: Characteristics, needs, and experiences of major and emerging student populations: http://bit.ly/AdvStudentPops I6: Campus and community resources that support student success: http://bit.ly/UCSDStudentDiversity http://bit.ly/UCSDTutoringStudybyDept http://bit.ly/UCSDAcadSuccessResources I7: Information technology: http://bit.ly/TechnologyinAdvising

Articles for Relational Competency Self-Development R1: Articulate a personal philosophy of academic advising: http://bit.ly/PersPhilAdv R2: Create rapport & build academic advising relationships: http://bit.ly/AdvisingCommunication R3: Communicate in an inclusive and respectful manner: http://bit.ly/AdvisingCommunication http://bit.ly/AdvSocialJustice R4: Plan and conduct successful advising sessions: Ryan, R. and Woolston, D., (2007), Conducting effective advising sessions: Putting it all together, in Folsom, P. ed., The new advisor guidebook: Mastering the art of advising through the first year and beyond, NACADA, Manhattan, KS, 109- 116 Wicks, J.R. (2017, June). Advising against the clock. Academic Advising Today, 40(2). http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Advising-Against-the-Clock.aspx R5: Promote student understanding of logic & purpose of the curriculum: http://bit.ly/LearnerCenteredAdvising R6: Facilitate problem-solving, decision-making, meaning-making, goal-setting: http://bit.ly/LearnerCenteredAdvising R7: Engage in ongoing assessment and development: http://bit.ly/AdvAssessment http://bit.ly/AdvProfDev

Professional Development resources Work/Life – Professional Development resources: http://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/training/career/work-life.html Staff Equal Opportunity Enrichment Program (SEOEP) funds for individuals, departments, and vice chancellor areas: http://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/training/career/SEOEP/index.html#Individual- requirements-and-sel UCSD Staff Associations Scholarships: http://staffassociation.ucsd.edu/scholarships/index.html Internship Initiative: http://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/training/career/CC/initiative/index.html Staff Mentorship Program: http://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/training/career/CC/mentorship/index.html

Professional organizations NACADA (National Academic Advising Association): https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Member-Services/Become-a-Member.aspx NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education): https://www.naspa.org/about/membership NODA (National Orientation Directors Association): http://www.nodaweb.org/?page=Membership NAFSA Association of International Educators: http://www.nafsa.org/About_Us/Membership/