Faculty Advising Examined: Enhancing the Potential of College Faculty as Advisors (review)

At any campus on any typical day, students and faculty members meet for purposes of advising. In recognition of the importance of this aspect of academic work, this edited book is a comprehensive compilation of chapters that address virtually all aspects of the process through which faculty members advise students. The preface states: "This book not only examines faculty advising as a potential contributor to student college success, but more important, provides information on how to organize, deliver, and improve overall faculty advising on the modern campus" (p. xv). Noting that faculty advising has not been the focus of much previous study, the editor has prepared this book for academic leaders—vice presidents for academic or student affairs, deans, department chairs, faculty development leaders, directors of advising offices, and faculty members who serve as advisors. Throughout the book, chapter authors emphasize the underlying premise that excellent advising contributes to many important outcomes—student persistence, motivation, satisfaction, cognitive development, and academic success and achievement.

The book begins with a conceptual framework through which to understand the advising process. Asserting that "good teaching and advising share the same principles" (p. 6), Kramer presents several key elements in "advising as teaching": vision, role, assessment and evaluation, skill development and campus collaboration, and technical interface. Stated more fully, institutions should indicate the purpose and the framework within which advising occurs. The roles and responsibilities of the institution, the advisor, and the student should be specified. Plans should be developed for assessing student learning and assessing the role of the institution in improving students' educational experiences. Faculty should be supported so that they know how to connect students with relevant campus services and resources. Additionally, advising should involve a mix of technologically supported opportunities and personalized links between faculty members and students.

The book argues for "intrusive" or "developmental advising," meaning that faculty members should take a proactive approach to connect with students and to encourage student growth and success. Such advising involves "three concepts of shared responsibility—aligning institutional and student goals, helping students increase their capacity to take charge of their educational career, and showing concern for students by asking questions that help them make connections" (p. 5).

Following the preface and first chapter, the book includes 11 more chapters that consider an impressive array of topics concerning faculty advising. These include chapters on the role of chief executive and academic officers in setting the institutional context within which advising occurs, the importance of setting expectations and providing training for faculty advisors, and the role of evaluation and reward in advising systems. Other chapters address organizational models and delivery systems for faculty advising, key factors to consider in ensuring the success and quality of advising, resources available nationally (including associations, centers, publications, and electronic materials) to support an institution's advising program, and examples of best practice.

The editor has included a chapter on legal issues relevant to advising as well as a chapter on the possibilities offered by technology and the pitfalls to avoid. The most interesting chapter, in my view, is written by Susan H. Frost and Karen E. Brown-Wheeler. They emphasize advising as "a vital and organic component of teaching at any university" and trace its cultural and philosophical foundations over time. Their discussion of historical patterns and future challenges for faculty advising is situated in a highly creative analysis of what they call "three parallel and mutually reinforcing achievements": "the evolution of the city, the evolution of the university, and the evolution of advising" (p. 223). As universities evolve into "global cities," they call for continued attention to the close alignment of advising with an institution's teaching mission and faculty culture.

Several key themes appear throughout the chapters. One such theme is that excellent faculty advising contributes to student success and institutional effectiveness. A second is that approaches to faculty advising should be consistent with an institution's...