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Creating Connections: Integrating Academic and Career Advising

Creating Connections: Integrating Academic and Career Advising . Betsy McCalla-Wriggins NJ NACADA Conference June 9, 2009. Why consider integration…. Student and parental expectations Impact on student retention and graduation Success after graduation

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Creating Connections: Integrating Academic and Career Advising

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  1. Creating Connections:Integrating Academic and Career Advising Betsy McCalla-Wriggins NJ NACADA Conference June 9, 2009

  2. Why consider integration… • Student and parental expectations • Impact on student retention and graduation • Success after graduation • Opportunity to support students to “make meaning” of their lives • Feedback from advisors

  3. Students tell us… • Factors influencing their decision… • This college has a very good academic reputation 64.7% • This college’s graduates get good jobs 54.2% • I was offered financial assistance 43.0% CIRP, 2008

  4. Students report these essential or very important objectives • Being well off financially 76.8% • Raising a family 75.5% • Helping others who are in difficulty 69.7% • Becoming an authority in my field 60.2% • Obtaining recognition from my colleagues for contributions to my special field 57.6% • CIRP, 2008

  5. Parental Expectations • Return on Investment • Financial Issues • Involvement

  6. Retention and Graduation • Academic advising plus career advising creates added value • Retention leads to improved graduation rates; key measure of rating institutions

  7. Success After Graduation… World of Work Economy Skills

  8. Make meaning of their lives… • “For too many students, their education neither makes much sense to them nor is it in conversation with their lives, personally or professionally.” AAHE, February, 2000 Faculty Forum on Roles and Rewards Laff and Levy

  9. Power of Passion… • 1500 Business School Graduates, 1960-80 • Category A…make money first, then do what they really wanted to do later 1245 people, 83% of population • Category B…pursued their true interests, sure money would eventually follow 255 people, 17% of population

  10. Impact of Power of Passion… • 20 years later….101 millionaires in total group • Category A Graduates had 1 millionaire • Category B Graduates had 100 millionaires Making a Life, Making a Living Mark Albion

  11. Feedback from advisors… • 2007 NACADA Survey: 2161 respondents • 74% agreed that helping students make career decisions was important to their role as academic advisors • 79% wanted to know more about how to effectively help students make career decisions • 81% responded that they would like more information about how to respond to career issues in advising sessions

  12. The challenge becomes… • To integrate opportunities for self discovery into the fabric of the institution • To demonstrate that what students study has relevance • To collaborate with others across departments and disciplines to transform the environment

  13. How to address these challenges.. Understand foundational components Address concerns Identify implementation options Develop a plan

  14. Foundational Components… Definitions Commonalities

  15. Career Advising… • “The emphasis is on information and helping students understand the relationships between their educational choices and general career fields rather than how to cope with intense career-related personal concerns.” Career Advising: An Academic Advisor’s Guide V. Gordon, 2006

  16. Career Advising… • “Helps students understand how their personal interests, abilities, and values might predict success in the academic and career fields they are considering and how to form their academic and career goals accordingly.” • V. Gordon

  17. Advising Programs… • …promote learning and development in students by encouraging experiences which lead to intellectual growth, the ability to communicate effectively, appropriate career choices, leadership development, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively. Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education

  18. Advising… • ….“It is teaching in an out-of-classroom setting to promote student learning and personal development.” • Academic Advising Handbook Don Creamer

  19. O’Banion • Exploration of Life Goals • Exploration of Career/Educational Goals • Selection of an Educational Combination • Selection of Classes • Scheduling of Classes

  20. Decision Making… • Elements in both career advising and academic advising; • Self assessment • Exploration • Reality testing • Making a choice

  21. 3 I Process… • Inquire • Inform • Integrate • V. Gordon, 2006

  22. Common Skills… • Listening • Referring • Communicating • Challenging and supporting • Teaching

  23. Impact of Self Knowledge… • If we do not assist students in the process of knowing themselves, how can we expect them to understand and appreciate others? Dr. Alexander Astin, FYE Conference February 5, 2005

  24. Identify obstacles to integration… • Feelings • Information • Time • Resources • Current responsibilities • Structural, territorial issues

  25. How to address concerns… • Identify commonalities • Identify advocates • Reach out • Identify resources • Start small • Be open and flexible • Be intentional

  26. Be Intentional… • Individual Interactions • Cross Departmental/Divisional Collaborations • Curricular Integration • Formal and Structural Integration

  27. Individual Interactions… • The questions frequently asked… • What major are you considering? • How are your classes going? • What do you want to do after graduation? • What classes are you considering for next semester?

  28. Individual Interactions… • Reframe the questions… • Won the lottery… • When you were a child… • Favorite activities… • Would not fail… • Your dreams… • The most important thing…

  29. More Questions… What life skills are being developed in this experience? How can the content knowledge in that course be used in a career or a vocation? How do these skills and knowledges relate to your interests and passions?

  30. John Crystal… • The best way to find out what someone wants to do…. “Ask them”

  31. Collaborations… • Career and Major Expo • What Can I Do With a Major In…..? • Departmental Liaisons • Combined Staff Meetings • Joint Programming

  32. Curricular Integration… • Learning Communities • Courses required of all students… • College Composition I and II • Public Speaking • FYE Course

  33. Curricular Integration… • Courses required in the major • Intro to ….. • Internship • Field Experience/Practicum • Senior Seminar

  34. Curricular Integration… • College Initiatives • College of Business • Business Perspectives • Principles of Finance • Senior Seminar

  35. Provide Resources… • Printed materials • The Handbook of Career Advising • Career Advising: An Academic Advisor’s Guide • Websites • www.nacada.ksu.edu • www.naceweb.org

  36. More resources… • Computer assisted programs • Discover • MyRoad.com • SIGI • Faculty, staff, and employers • Professional Associations

  37. Formal Integration… • Units that support the academic advising and career development process throughout the student’s entire collegiate experience. • University Wide • College Specific • Population Specific

  38. The Power of One… You can make a difference where ever you are in the organizational structure … Develop a plan to identify what you will do differently the next time you meet with a student…

  39. Consider these questions… What questions do I currently ask students about their interests, skills, values, and passions? How do I help them connect that self knowledge with the academic decisions they are making? What are the most frequent career questions that my students ask?

  40. More considerations… Which of these questions could I answer that would help my students make wiser academic decisions? Who currently provides answers to those career questions? What are ways I could collaborate with those individuals to help us all better serve our students?

  41. Enhancing Connections… • By integrating opportunities for self discovery into the fabric of the institution • By demonstrating that what students study has relevance • By collaborating with others across departments and disciplines to transform the environment

  42. Our Goal… • “Higher education…should be about providing learners of any age with the opportunity to reflect on the purpose and meaning they create with their lives and the contribution to the world they can make with their gifts. That, to me, is the highest calling of the academy.” Dr. Monica Manning Assoc. for General and Liberal Studies Richmond, Virginia October 1999

  43. Advising Locally, Thinking Globally

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