Courses, Certificates, Degrees
Pros: Formal education offers high value.
Cons: These options take a considerable investment of time and money.
Look into:
- Advising-related courses, certificates, and degrees at your own institution
- Kansas State University’s Certificate in Academic Advising (see NACADA website)
Publications
Pros: Because publishing requires a lot of time and effort, it is highly valued and considered a significant contribution.
Cons: Publishing takes a lot of time, and the larger the project, the more time it takes – share the joy by collaborating!
To get started, consider:
- Writing a book review (see the NACADA website)
- Writing online articles (for example, for Kuanaʻike: Hawaiʻi Academic Advising Today)
- Writing articles for the journals of national organizations, such as NACADA or in your specialization
- Creating and maintaining a website
- Developing advising materials for your office
- Summarizing a conference or conference presentations for colleagues (on your campus or in your area)
- Compiling a bibliography of resources
- Conducting and then summarizing a survey
- Summarizing, assessing, and evaluating a project or departmental initiative
- Researching and then summarizing an area of interest
- Maintaining a social media site on advising (a blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- Developing podcasts for your office
- Writing a book
- Starting an “advisors club” dedicated to professional development
- …and more – get creative!
Conferences
Pros: Attending conferences is good, but presenting at conferences is even better. Conferences offer everything membership does, plus:
- opportunities to present; and
- even more opportunities for service.
Cons: While local conferences are inexpensive and require little investment, regional and national conferences
typically require a significant investment of both time and money.
Try some of these:
- Advising conferences offered locally
- Join a Professional Organization related to the field of advising or higher education
- Regional and national conferences by NACADA and by organizations in your specialization (Health Professions, Student Services, First-Year Experience, etc.)
- A national association in your area of specialization