For decades, advising practitioners and scholars have worked toward developing an identity for advising as a unique field of scholarly inquiry and practice. To date, the identity crisis in advising remains. This study presents an examination and description of the function, purpose, and identity of a university advising system through comparisons of ideals espoused by advisors and administrators with practice. Based on systems theory as a framework, this study shows that the identity of academic advising can be misunderstood because of systemic issues. Addressing systemic flaws may help clarify the identity of academic advising within a specific system and possibly the field as a whole.
As the function of advising has shifted across the higher education landscape, the role of the academic advisor has also evolved. This chapter explores historic and emerging trends in the roles, functions, and professionalization of academic advising, while stressing the need for institutions to situate academic advising within their learning and teaching mission. Drawing from literature surrounding the theories and contexts of academic advising as a profession, as well as research and resources from NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA), information surrounding the impact and influences of the role of the academic advisor on student success and equity will be addressed alongside the contexts around which the work takes place.
As a field's literature base deepens, an academic discipline can emerge and lead to the development of a profession. For an academic discipline to thrive, new scholars must be trained in its specialized knowledge. Kansas State University was the first institution to offer graduate programs in academic advising. Subsequently, other graduate programs have been developed at various institutions across North America. The purpose of this collective case study is to examine graduate education in academic advising through two separate but related cases: an interview study of NACADA leaders and a content analysis of graduate programs in academic advising. The growth in graduate programs, along with the expanding knowledge base, will strengthen academic advising's potential as a bonified, recognized academic discipline.
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