Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” However, if the unexamined life is not worth living, then the unexamined value is not worth holding. To make this argument, perspectives and some tools are offered that may help advisors become better at their jobs. In addition, the suggestions might make all educators into better persons, and of particular interest, demonstrate practical contributions advisors can make to shape a better world.

This is the first in a series of articles in which we will present the results of the NACADA Academic Advising Survey 2000. In this article, we focus upon the reported roles and responsibilities of academic advisors and examine them according to institutional type, mission, and size. Similarities and differences in the roles and responsibilities of professional-staff academic advisors and faculty advisors are also examined.

In a recent report, the authors showed that the academic intervention process, rather than the specific intervention content, was responsible for a short-term influx in at-risk student performance and persistence. Students in varying degrees of academic probation were randomly assigned to one of three intervention strategies that incorporated controlled content but divergent levels of intrusiveness. Results showed that the most intrusive intervention produced higher cumulative grade-point averages and retention rates for all at-risk students. This follow-up study on the long-term impact of these one-time interventions confirms results regarding performance and persistence: Some intrusion is better than none in academic advising.

While advisors can find support in theory and practice for assisting students who are performing poorly in academics, the optimal involvement level for improving academic performance is undetermined. We conducted three experimental trials to compare low- and high-involvement of advisors assisting probation students. The involvement levels for the low-involvement groups were identical, while involvement varied among those groups receiving the high-involvement treatment. We found a significant difference in academic performance only between the group that experienced the greatest advisor involvement and the simultaneously assessed low-involvement group. The results suggest that full institutional intervention is needed to effectively help probation students.

To investigate whether intrusive advising is effective for nontraditional students at an urban comprehensive university, we compared it with prescriptive advising in a 3-year trial of randomly selected psychology undergraduates (N = 126). We hypothesized that advisees in the intrusive track would feel more satisfied, more connected to the department, and be more academically successful than those in the prescriptive track. Secondary questions concerned the relationship of advising preferences and demographic characteristics. Students receiving intrusive advising reported greater satisfaction with advising, felt more connected to the department, but were not more academically successful than those in the prescriptive track.

College and university officials are seeking efficient methods for determining and documenting the accommodation needs of students with disabilities. Unfortunately, without information about the student's underlying intrinsic processing deficits, many educators are providing ineffective accommodation plans. Using the Learning Disabilities Diagnostic Inventory, we examined the accommodation needs of students with learning disabilities being served in a fee-for-service learning disabilities program. We found that postsecondary students with learning disabilities have a variety of intrinsic processing deficits. We document the necessity for student-specific accommodations based on processing deficits, promote student self-advocacy, and discuss the role of advisors in assisting students.

The Senior Editors have undertaken a follow-up study of the NACADA Journal upon its 20th anniversary. This study of Journal authors has revealed that faculty members contribute considerably more articles to the Journal than do academic advisors or directors of advising programs. Other observations and recommendations are made to encourage future authorship.

The authors describe the rationale behind, processes related to, and evaluation of The Transitions Program, a precollege advising and orientation program for students and parents. The program advisors educate participants about realistic college-life expectations and provide them with strategies for meeting the challenges and opportunities of the college transition. Students and parents responded separately to a questionnaire designed to sensitize them to college transition challenges. They were subsequently led by professional staff, faculty advisors, and students through a discussion of expected experiences. Survey results, discussion summaries, and suggestions for advisor follow-up activities are provided.

E-mail has become an integral part of how advisors and students communicate. Advisors at multiple colleges and universities were surveyed to determine how advising by E-mail has affected their daily routines and how it has changed the way they interact with students. Although most advisors professed a positive attitude about advising students and performing administrative duties by E-mail, several concerns emerged regarding how and when E-mail is used.