This article is adapted from a chapter in Giving Advice to Students: A Roadmap for College Professionals, * by Howard K. Schein, Ned Scott Laff, and Deborah R. Allen. It will appear in the summer 1987 edition of American College Personnel Association Media Publication No. 44, published by the American Association of Counseling and Development. Inthis adaptation, the authors offer root concepts and critical thinking skills as the solution—the “common ground”—to the disparate interests and concerns of academic affairs and student affairs professionals. Further, it provides the academic advisor with a variety of advising strategies to assist advisees in learning how to make well-informed decisions about their future.

Adults are making mid-career changes more frequently today than ever before. According to Arbeiter et al., over 40,000 Americans are engaging in or anticipating a career change at some time in the future.1 Of these, 60% desire educational and career services. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that over 14,000,000 adults are currently enrolled in two- and four-year college credit courses.2

Three trends have i weased the importance of rumtraditional student programs in many universities across the country: 1) the increase in numbers and visibility of the adult, non-traditional college student population, 2) the stabilization or decrease in the size of the traditional, younger student population, and 3) the expanded services and offerings of programs and courses geared to nontraditional students.3

Thus, academic advisors must be able to understand the needs and motivations of adult learners and to develop advising skills and programs in response to these needs. The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the motivations and needs of both full-time and part-time adult learners who are in transition from work to school and to offer suggestions to academic advisors on how to meet those needs.

In spite of the recognized need for studying the organizational framework of advising programs, there is a paucity of literature regarding this topic. Here, the authors identify and explain seven major organizational models for academic advising programs: 1) faculty-only, 2) supplementary, 3) split advising, 4) dual advising, 5) total intake, 6) satellite, and 7) self-contained. Their study provides both an initial understanding of these models and a framework for further research on the effectiveness of each.

As with most institutions of higher learning, the College of Charleston has been making efforts to attract and retain qualified students. As part of a larger plan, academically deficient students who sought readmission were examined closely. The intent here was that some of their problems and solutions would result in potential solutions for other target populations in the future. This article details the process and the results of the study.

As college student enrollment continues to decline on regional and national levels, faculty members and administrators alike are increasingly concerned about the corresponding loss in revenue. Closely aligned with this concern, and also with the increased intensity of recruitment activities, is the emphasis on college student retention. At the same time, the quality of academic advising provided to an institution's students is being carefully scrutinized, particularly for its relationship to retention. This article reports on the results of a questionnaire dealing with faculty and student perceptions of the role of advising and the advisor in academic institutions.

In an effort to improve certain critical areas in the academic advising system, faculty and administrators at St. Joseph's College developed an advising approach using a team of faculty advisors from different disciplines to advise all incoming students. A description of the “new strategy” and its results appear in this article.

As most faculty members are aware, when mathematics is required for the core curriculum, a student's resistance grows geometrically. This paper will explore some of the reasons for this unfortunate situation and will offer a few suggestions for helping students overcome this aversion.

Academic advisors and counselors of future teachers can have a great impact on the status of education and its reform by attracting top-notch students into the field and by providing encouragement to those who select teaching as their career. Consequently, advising in teacher education programs should elicit top priority in funding and rewards. In this article, several suggestions are outlined for teacher education advisors who wish to become leaders in the education reform movement and who are concerned about dealing more effectively with students entering the profession of teaching.

This article is offered primarily for the benefit of newcomers to the ranks of academic advising. It can also serve as a quick review for experienced advisors who might have forgotten some of the points made in past JOURNAL articles on this subject.

The following ideas were adapted from a handout given by the Division of Undergraduate Studies at Penn State to its students, who more often than not have great concerns about their University education vis-a-vis the job market. Addressing students directly, it is intended as a practical tool for academic advisors at all institutions of higher education regardless of size or scope. Those who find the contents helpful for their advisers should feel free to use this feature, partially or in its entirely, and should feed free to structure it for local situations.