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 “At a NACADA regional conference I presented our Advising Center's method of training advisers. The presentation pleased half of the attendees and displeased the other half. One attendee's comment said that our method was too easy. In retrospect, when I observe our newly trained advisers I have come to the conclusion that our training method was too easy, not because of anything we did but because we hired people who had adviser qualities. By that I mean someone who has the ability to listen between the lines, who can hear the body language, and who treats people with respect. If we look for these qualities in the people we ask to be advisers, training becomes an easy task.”~ Cathi Kadow, Purdue University Calumet, December 4 “I'm going to respond to this topic by not responding to the questions posed. The reason for this is that I think the questions are premature and/or suggest some rather large assumptions.I am referring to a much more fundamental question that first needs to be answered, that is, what are the expectations of the advising program? Only when the program's mission, goals, and objectives have been clearly defined can a “best” way to train new advisers even be considered. Readers might want to review the NACADA publication “Designing an Effective Advisor Training Program,” which helps to address this issue (I happened to be a co-author of that document). Finally, the training effort must be kept in the overall context of the selection, evaluation, and reward aspects as well. How have these new advisers been chosen? Is the training “mandatory?” Are participants rewarded in any way – for the training or for their actual advising? This topic might be the cart ahead of the horse, perhaps analogous to how we orient students. Is there a “best” way to do this? Are there differences in the ways we orient new first-time frosh vs. new transfer students? How do/should we evaluate orientation programs for their effectiveness? IMHO, these questions should also be framed according to the mission, goals, and objectives of the orientation program. Sorry, I have no answers today ... ” ~ Tom Grites, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, December 7 “As a new adviser, I wish to address this
question because of my positive experience in
the “training” I received. I think it's
important for supervisors to ask the new adviser
what their learning style is and formulate the
training based on that. The two most effective
types of training for me were to watch other
advisers “in action” and to have a reference
manual that listed all the policies and
procedures I had to know. I probably learned
more from watching other advisers and having my
own advising sessions critiqued, but it is
imperative to have a binder or Web page that
houses important advising information. Of
course, it also helps to have colleagues who are
always willing to answer questions!”~ Soundhra Lakshmanan, University of Missouri, December 18 The Mentor is published by Penn State's Division of Undergraduate Studies Available online at www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/ Privacy and Legal Statements | Copyright | © The Pennsylvania State University | All rights reserved | |
