Professional Development Opportunities
Want to find ideas for advising undecided, or non-traditional or first generation students? Do you just want to know more about different advising styles or administrative models, then check out the National Academic Advising Association’s(NACADA) Clearinghouse, http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/overview.htm. Better yet, think about becoming a member and attending either a national or regional conference. This year’s regional conference will be held March 4-6 in Milwaukee.
In Ohio, we have an affiliate organization, The Ohio Academic Advising Association (http://www.academicadvising.org.). They meet annually in mid-June and the conference is often focused on one or two specific student populations or advising issues.
If advising first-year students is your primary focus, then you might consider attending the 26th annual First-Year Experience conference, February 16-20 in Texas. This is a comprehensive conference with sessions ranging from course development, faculty advising, advising special populations, learning communities, and much more.
The Academic Advising Professional Development Fund
In the spring of 2006, an Academic Advising Professional Development Proposal was submitted to the Provost by UAAC and Student Senate. The proposal, which requested allocation of funds for professional development activities related to advising, was approved, and UAAC and University College were given responsibility for oversight of professional development initiatives.
The Academic Advising Professional Development Fund allows faculty and staff representatives to attend National Academic Advising Associaton (NACADA) events, including but not limited to the Summer Institute on Advising, national, regional and state conferences, seminars and workshops. Applications should be submitted to the Provost, who in cooperation with UAAC and University College representatives, will determine need and relevance for each application. Each year, the chair of UAAC will attend one professional development activity.
Upon return from the professional development activity, attendees will share the information and materials from the conference with interested faculty and staff through a "Lunch and Learn" discussion.
For more information on the Academic Advising Professional Development Fund, contact David Descutner, University College Dean (descutne@ohio.edu), or Michael Bila, UAAC Chair (bila@ohio.edu).
