Beyond the Bubble: Exploring External Perceptions of Academic Advising in Higher Education

Ryan Scheckel (Texas Tech University)
Craig McGill (Kansas State University)
Matthew Markin (California State University, San Bernardino)
Tyler Rund (Kansas State University)

Tuesday, April 8, 2025 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM

ENGAGEMENT

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Session Outline

This presentation examines how academic advising is perceived and discussed in literature outside its primary academic journals, offering crucial insights into its broader conceptualization within higher education. Drawing from a structured literature review, we explore four key themes: advising's peripheral treatment in non-disciplinary literature, its positioning as a response to student diversity, its role in institutional retention efforts, and its rare association with faculty roles or learning. These findings illuminate the challenges and opportunities for advancing the professionalization of academic advising and its integration into the broader higher education landscape. This study contributes to the conference theme of "Learning Well" by addressing how external perceptions impact the development and recognition of advising as a critical component of student success.

Learning Outcomes

Attendees will gain:
1. Insights into how academic advising is perceived outside of its primary literature
2. Understanding of the challenges and opportunities for advancing the professionalization of academic advising
3. Ideas for enhancing the recognition and integration of advising within their institutions
4. Strategies for addressing the "PR problem" of academic advising in higher education

Bibliography

Selected References:
Houle, C. A. (1980). Continuing learning in the professions. Jossey Bass.
Lowenstein, M. (2013). Envisioning the future. In J. K. Drake, P. Jordan, & M. A. Miller (Eds.),
Academic advising approaches: Strategies that teach students to make the most of college (pp. 243–258). Jossey-Bass.
Lowenstein, M. (2015). General education, advising, and integrative learning. The Journal of
General Education, 64(2), 117-130.
Lowenstein, M. (2021). Learning and its tokens: A fallacy and its implications for advising.
Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal, 23.
McGill, C. M. (2018). Leaders' perceptions of the professionalization of academic advising: A
phenomenography. NACADA Journal, 38(1), 88-102.
Pavalko, R.M. (1988). Sociology of occupations and professions (2nd ed). F. E. Peacock.
Rocco, T. S., Plakhotnik, M. S., McGill, C. M., Huyler, D., & Collins, J. C. (2023). Conducting
and writing a structured literature review in human resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 22(1), 104-125.
Shaffer, L., Zalewski, J., Leveille, J. (2010). The professionalization of academic advising:
Where are we in 2010? NACADA Journal, 30(1), 66–77. https://doi.org/10.12930/0271-9517-30.1.66
Troxel, W. (2019). Scholarly Advising and the Scholarship of Advising. NACADA Journal,
39(2), 52–59. https://doi.org/10.12930/NACADA-19-203
Troxel, W., Bridgen, S., Hutt, C., Sullivan-Vance, K.A. (2022). Transformations in academic
advising as a profession. New Directions for Higher Education, 21, 23–33.
https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20406
Venable C.J., Howard, S., Rudy, J., & Scheckel, R. (2024) Panopticon advising: Surveillance
capitalism in service of the completion agenda [Manuscript submitted for publication]. The Mentor: Innovative Scholarship on Academic Advising.

Competencies
This session addresses the following competencies of the UKAT Professional Framework for Advising and Tutoring