June included a new experience for me - participating in an international conference on academic advising. This conference gathered over 240 academic advising professionals and faculty from around the globe to talk about strategies, techniques, and research that impact students and our institutions. My experience included presenting on advising assessment and facilitating a workshop on building a mission statement as well as attending a number of informative sessions. Another new experience was presenting in a chapel with beautiful stained glass windows (see below). Let me share a few thoughts and photos from this experience.
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| University of Maastricht- Lecture Hall (formerly a chapel for a convent) |
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| I looked at these windows as I made my presentation. |
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| Here is a photo of me presenting in this lecture hall that was a chapel at one time. |
Two sessions I attended made me even more intrigued with the use of technology in advising. One session was facilitated by the colleagues from Zayed University. The focus of their presentation was the introduction of iPads for everyone on their campus with the aim of enhanced student engagement and transformative learning. The expectation was that the iPad would become the focus of learning in the classroom as well as advising sessions. Faculty accepted this expectation and moved forward in identifying apps, websites, and other tools that could be used on the iPad, sometimes with not a great deal of luck. On the launch day, the first challenge was providing a network that would allow 4000 iPads to log in at one time (oophs). Next came students not bring the device to class and some instructional tools not working in an Apple environment. As Zayed moves forward, they will continue the use of these devices but really believe they have a better understanding of what can be accomplished.
The other presentation was from advisors at the University of WI - Milwaukee. The essence of this presentation was not just the tools shared but the enthusiasm I heard from the facilitators. They shared successes and failures with tools like “Jing”, Twitter & Tweet Deck, Zoho (instant messaging) and many more. They talked about how they used it as just any piece of their advising toolbox and felt it made a difference for their students.
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| Poster by Laura Pasquini at UNT |
Also, I met Laura Pasquini from the University of North Texas. She presented a poster on a research study concerning social media. It was fascinating to talk to her about IT in advising. I walked away from each with even more enthusiasm for technology and started to think about what else we could do at UC.
Since student portfolio’s are a growing topic, I went to a session presented by an advisor from the University of Maastricht. In this session, he discussed using portfolios with graduate students and what had meaning for the students in this experience. His conclusion was that portfolios are a tool that have impact on learning and development through reflection activities but grading it changed the focus for the students. To overcome the challenges of grading, he suggested a team that provides feedback to the student such as a coach or advisor or peer (buddy), which leaves grading to a faculty member. But the faculty member could also follow the dialogue to assess development, too. He admitted that portfolios can be a resource drain but this should be weighed against evidence of learning.
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| Simon Beausaert- University of Maastricht- School of Business & Economics |
I enjoyed two sessions that explained how advising is administered based on a national system. In Japan, the speakers felt that academic advising is part of a layered system. This system makes it challenging to differentiate between advising and counseling. Also, even though faculty are seen as the official advisor, staff often report participating in these interactions. Finally, the perception of the presenters was that higher education officials in Japan create a rivalry on whether the U.S. system or the European system is the best model of Japan. Interestingly, one of the facilitators had become a U.S. citizen and worked in Minnesota higher education. About two years ago, she decided to return to Japan permanently and has found her loyalties questioned as she continues her career in education in Japan.
The other presentation was on student affairs in Germany. First, academic advising is affiliated with the university or college and not seen as a part of student affairs. Student affairs is viewed as a separate entity called the Deutsches Studentenwerk (German National Association for Student Affairs). This “union” creates revenues through housing and food. These funds are supplemented by a small contribution from the government and a student fee. The goal is to provide equal opportunities for all students. Social and psychological counseling fall under the Studentenwerk. I found it very interesting that the Germans are seeing some of the same trends that we are seeing in the U.S. These included helicopter parents, more student using counseling due to increased stress (especially financial), and many students not aware of their resources. The next day when I spoke to an advisor at Universitaet Bielefed about the presentation, she disagreed with the perspective presented by this government official and believes that many of the institutions are offering services similar to the Studentenwerk due to need and access. It was fascinating to me to listen to her perspective and it reminded me how often details are generalized which does not provide a complete understanding. Overall, comparing academic advising by nation was an interesting activity in creating meaning based on the familiar.
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| Presentation by Achim Meyer auf der Heyde on Studentenwerke |
This international conference experience was incredible on so many levels. It offered global perspectives on academic advising and the future of higher education. I want to thank everyone who made it possible on many levels. This reflection with images offers a small taste of my experience. Please feel free to send questions or comments. Also, the conference agenda with some of the handouts can be found at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/apps/intlproposals.php/presenters/handoutslist if you would like to explore the conference further.
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| The Rathaus (Town Hall) in Maastricht |
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| Daily walk to the conference from my hotel "Les Charmes" |
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| Courtyard at University of Maastricht/University College- Indonesian Dinner |
