Academic Advisor Training Framework

Training Framework

There is overlap between training and professional development, and people are going to use the term that seems right to them depending on how they view an experience. However, The Office of Student Academic Excellence (OAE)'s Transition & Academic Growth (TAG) undergraduate advisor training program will focus on the basic knowledge and skills necessary to advise students during an advisor's first-year of employment. Professional development involves individual growth: developing leadership skills, learning and practicing advanced advising techniques, planning for and presenting at conferences, developing skills in presenting and facilitating, writing journal reviews, expanding your knowledge of certain technologies, etc. While ACADAOS and TAG will collaborate on a variety of fronts, we are focused on training and ACADAOS is focused on professional development.

Vision

Academic Advising will be an intentional, ongoing, and holistic collaboration between students and advisors, responsive to the emerging needs of students, in order to co-create plans to achieve lifelong learning, success, and citizenship.

Mission

Academic Advising exists to help students explore and engage with their educational goals by providing relevant curricular and campus community information to empower students to reach their full potential. Through care and compassion advisors collaborate with students and campus partners to foster inclusive environments for student success.

Competency Categories

Our training framework is positioned within the core comptencies that NACADA has developed for academic advisors. This design intentionally aligns advising at The Ohio State University with best practices in our field. Strong foundational understanding of these key areas of knowledge enhances advisors' ability to participate meaningfully in professional development opportunities focused on the praxis areas where advisors apply theory to their professional practice.

  • Core values of, ethics in, and role of academic advising
  • Undergraduate advising at Ohio State
  • History and theory of academic advising
  • Institutional student outcomes
  • High Impact Practices
  • Trends in higher education and impacts on advising
  • Personal philosophy of advising

Covers the knowledge advisors must gain to be able to guide the students at their institution.

  • OSU Majors, Degrees, and the GEs
  • Campus resources
  • Buckeye Guide to Academic Policies
  • Self-reflection and active listening
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Effective verbal and non- verbal communication
  • Problem-solving during complex conversations
  • Culturally resposive skills and support

Student Learning Outcomes

Each training experience we provide to advisors is mapped to at least one of Ohio State's twelve defined academic advising student learning outcomes.

Goals:
1. Students understand and successfully navigate the tools and systems of advising.
2. Students thrive academically and make progress toward degree completion.
3. Students plan their future and engage in their education.

SLOs:

  • By engaging with academic advising throughout their undergraduate career, students will:
  • Identify resources based on their needs to help them be successful (Goal 1)
  • Understand university policies and procedures (Goal 1)
  • Schedule and attend advising appointments to discuss course planning (Goals 1 & 2)
  • Actively participate in their major and career planning (Goal 2)
  • Formulate and revise degree plans, selecting appropriate courses based on academic goals (Goal 2)
  • Respond to communication and outreach from the academic advisor or advising unit (Goals 2 & 3)
  • Select academic enrichment and co-curricular opportunities that support academic and career plans (Goals 2 & 3)
  • Proactively engage with support resources to ensure academic and career preparedness (Goal 3)
  • Take responsibility for educational decision-making (Goal 3)