There we were–not one or two, but a whopping 12 of the 18 advisers on staff in Liberal Arts–all on our way in a 15-passenger van…to New Brunswick, New Jersey…for three days.
What on EARTH would be the catalyst for a journey like this one? Well, some of the blame would have to go to Psychology Adviser, Courtney Orr, who tends to rally the troops and get things done (read: she has powerful leadership skills–and is a former cheerleader). And some of the blame rests with Advising Coordinator, Jamie Brenner, who is both very supportive and optimistic (case in point: she encouraged us to submit all of the presentation proposals we came up with.) And I guess a bit of the blame would fall on me, Political Science Adviser Drew Yingling. As a former Blue Band member and a true road trip veteran, I know that nothing bonds a group of people together like spending 14 hours in a big, honking van. And then there’s the fact that I also offered to drive the big, honking van.
So, what took us to New Brunswick? We travelled en masse to attend and present at the regional conference of NACADA, the National Academic Advising Association–and the journey was tremendously worthwhile. The NACADA conference was a fantastic opportunity for all of us to learn, share, and network with other advising professionals from all of the Mid-Atlantic states.
The theme of this year’s conference was Sowing the Seeds of Success–ways that advising can influence student achievement. Some of the workshops we attended focused on working with transfer students, nurturing first-year students, assisting students who are having academic difficulties, and many others. We soaked up new and innovative ways to reach out to different student populations, and we are looking forward to implementing the many ideas and techniques we learned at the conference. For example, over the next few weeks, you may notice advisers asking you to identify something that you learned in your advising session that day. This simple exercise will allow us to begin to pinpoint what you learn from meeting with us so that we better can evaluate our work with you. The plan to utilize this technique of quick assessment came from a session at the conference in which experienced advising administrators answered our questions and shared their knowledge.
We also had the opportunity to share some of our own expertise. Months before the conference, we submitted our presentation proposals to NACADA for review–and all four were selected for the conference. Our presentations included:
Campus in Crisis: Fostering Hope, Providing Support, and Encouraging Engagement. In this session, we talked about how advisers supported students through reflection on their identities after the Sandusky scandal impacted the Penn State community.
@AdvisingLAatPSU #SocialMedia #NACADA. This presentation focused on the initiatives the Liberal Arts advising staff are using to connect with our students. (P.S. follow us on Twitter @AdvisingLAatPSU)
Large Roster CPR: Catching Your Breath while Maintaining High Advising Standards. In this presentation, we shared some of the strategies we use to manage our large rosters, avoid advisor burn-out, and feel that we are effectively supporting our students.
Advisors Unite!: Centralized Decentralized Advising. The Liberal Arts advising team is unique in that we don’t work in an advising center. In this presentation, we talked about the challenges and rewards of this system–how we connect and support each other in a collective manner when our offices are located in multiple buildings on campus.
Throughout the conference, the 12 of us went our own ways and then met every day for lunch and dinner. Our group meals (as well as all of the hours we spent in the van) provided great opportunities for us to talk about our individual experiences at the conference. Some folks came back with models for how to run an adviser training program, others are rethinking our presentation during New Student Orientation, and all of us enjoyed networking with advisers from other Penn State campuses and with colleagues from other institutions.
All-in-all, attending the NACADA conference was a very positive experience for us. And we are very grateful to the six Liberal Arts advisers (Tracey Melnick, Julianna Chaszar, Lisa Brooks, Suzanne Bennett, Beth Brown, and Margaret Hammond ) who held down the fort while we were gone.
Want a glimpse of the conference highlights? Check out this short video http://youtu.be/pdLqKanXdVU made by History Adviser, Ben Whitesell, that documents some of our experiences.