Undergraduate Advising Professional Development Series 2023-24

The 2023-24 Undergraduate Advising Professional Development Series aims to advance and enhance inclusive and equitable advising practices at the University of Connecticut.

All interested UConn faculty and staff are warmly invited to attend. Our focus is primarily undergraduate academic advising.

Please reach out with any inquiries or if you require an accommodation for any of our sessions to Kelly Gilbert, Assistant Director for Engagement, Learning, and Development, Office of Undergraduate Advising.

Building Your Personal Advising Philosophy

Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 11:00a.m.-12:00 p.m. (in person; ROWE 424)

This interactive session will focus on developing and/or refining the framework of your advising philosophy, an essential tool to grounding and guiding the work of all advisors.

Presenters:

Dr. Steve Zinn, Professor, College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources

Kelly Gilbert, Assistant Director for Engagement, Learning, and Development, Office of Undergraduate Advising

Registration Link

Life Purpose Lab for Academic Advisors: Discover Purpose in Your Everyday Life (in person)

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 9:00-11:00a.m.

Participants learn a simple, powerful strategy for living each day with more purpose. They will connect with other participants on what each finds purposeful, thus building community and a sense of mission. Presented by the Life Purpose Lab (Lifepurpose.lab.uconn.edu).

Location: SHH 408

Spring 2024 Nexus Workshop: Tips, Tricks and Best Practices (in person)

Thursday, March 7, 2024, 2:00-3:00p.m.

Questions about how to use Nexus more effectively in your work? Join Nexus expert users for an in person workshop. Bring your laptop and Nexus questions. We will walk you through some important Nexus functions.

Location: SHH 408

Presenters:

Lauren Munyard, Academic Advisor, Department of Economics, CLAS Storrs

Kelly Gilbert, Assistant Director for Engagement, Learning, and Development, Office of Undergraduate Advising

The School of Business (Undergraduate Programs/Advising) invites faculty and professional staff advisors as well as our campus partners for a morning of networking and conversation in a healthy, inclusive, and engaging atmosphere. Connect with colleagues and learn about advising structures, initiatives, and spaces. Coffee will be served.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 am

Location: School of Business, Room 321 (Boardroom, Storrs campus)

RSVP here

The College of Liberal Arts (Academic Services Center/Advising) invites faculty and professional staff advisors as well as our campus partners for a morning of networking and casual conversation in a healthy, inclusive, and engaging atmosphere. Connect with colleagues and learn about advising structures, initiatives, and spaces. Coffee will be served.

Thursday, April 11, 2024, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 am

Location: ROWE 130

RSVP here by April 3

A Phenomenological Study Examining the Role Conflict of Academic Advisors who Identify as Mothers as they Navigate the Work-Family Balance

Tuesday, February 6, 2024, 10:00-11:00am (virtual)

The purpose of this study was to serve to understand the conflict academic advisors who identify as mothers face while they provide advising services to their institution and student population while simultaneously also meeting their family demands. This study provided an understanding of the role conflict academic advisors who are mothers experience in both the work and family domains due to the high demands of both roles. The results can be used to develop family-friendly policies which support balancing both roles of academic advisor and mother. With family- friendly policies in place, women would be much more likely to reconcile the work-family balance (Hennig et al., 2012).

Presented by, Dr. Amy Donofrio, Associate Director, Academic Advising, Undergraduate Program, College of Engineering

Applying Theory to Practice: Utilizing Role Theory to Help Students Navigate Campus

Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 10:00-11:00am (virtual)

After Dr. Delaney’s dissertation work grounded in the theoretical lenses of sense-making and role theory, he created the “Designation Presentation,” which he has piloted with the Engineering House Learning Community. This presentation is meant to orient students to the roles of staff, faculty, and administrators on UConn’s campus so that they have tools and knowledge to connect to appropriate help whenever needed.

Presented by Dr. Nick Delaney, Director, Engineering Experiential Education,Undergraduate Program, College of Engineering

Applying theory practice: utilizing role theory to help students navigate campus with Dr. Nick Delaney flyer

Striving for Clarity: Working Toward an Organizational Understanding of the Advisor Role from the Perspective of Professional Academic Advisors

Tuesday, October 10, 2023, 10:00-11:00am (virtual)

Academic advising is one of the few ways that institutions of higher education exert influence on student success and retention, though the organizational conditions that promote these outcomes are not well understood in the literature or in practice. Nor is it clear how advisors come to understand their role and associated expectations. This qualitative case study examined the role of the professional academic advisor at a single institution through the lens of Role Theory (Rizzo & Lirtzman, 1976). Role Theory postulated that when employees experience ambiguous or conflicting expectations, this negatively impacts both work productivity and job satisfaction. Nine academic advisors chosen through purposeful sampling participated in an interview and a document analysis. Participants were asked about their roles and responsibilities and about the organizational context in which they worked. The study found that there were aspects of the role of the advisor that were clear. However, four organizational conditions were identified that created obstacles for academic advisors in carrying out their student success mission: academic advisors were isolated, lacked resources, had poorly defined roles and responsibilities, and had multiple and sometimes conflicting performance expectations. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed.

Presented by Dr. Whitney Losapio, Director of Advising, School of Engineering

Systemic Whiteness, Racial Consciousness, and Deconstructing Becky(s): A Phenomenological Study of White Women STEM Academic Advisors

Tuesday, October 31, 2023, 10:00-11:00am (virtual)

Academic advising is critical to student success and retention. While the demographics of students grow increasingly more diverse, the demographics of academic advisors remain predominantly white women. Scant research exists on how this overrepresentation impacts advising practice, particularly with BIPOC students at Historically White Institutions. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of seven white women STEM advisors at a public research institution through the lens of Critical Whiteness Studies. Findings indicate white women STEM academic advisors overwhelmingly exhibited low racial consciousness (Haynes, 2017) and characteristics of “Becky(s)” (Matias, 2019) when working with BIPOC students. Recommendations include professional development focused on anti-racism for white advisors, reviewing hiring practices, and taking a stronger stance on the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access at the institution.

Presented by Dr. Megan Delaney, Academic Advisor, Pre-Professional Program, School of Pharmacy

Spring 2024 New Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Training
Thursday, February 15, 12:30-1:45 p.m. (virtual)

Engage in a discussion focused on advising and mentoring with a panel of experienced faculty and staff advisors:

Approaches to advising and increasing your advising and mentoring competency
Advancing toward Mentoring
- Identify differences between advising and mentoring
- Formal and informal ways faculty advising happens
- Resources available to grow your advising skills

Fall 2023 New Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Training
Thursday, October 12, 12:30-1:45 p.m. (virtual)

At this session, the following topics will be covered:
• Introduction to Undergraduate Advising
• Policies and Important University Offices
• University Systems/Tools (Nexus, Student Administration System, HuskyCT)
• Resources to help you to be a successful advisor
• Connecting/growing as a faculty advisor

Presenters:

Erin Ciarimboli, Director of Undergraduate Advising

Kelly Gilbert, Assistant Director for Engagement, Learning, and Development, Office of Undergraduate Advising

Nick Delaney, Assistant Director of Student and Faculty Engagement, School of Engineering

Registration Link-Fall 2023

~~Advising Case Studies (in person)~~-This session has been cancelled.

Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 10:00-11:30am

Location: OAK 408

Explore and engage in advising case studies submitted by faculty and professional academic advisors. Coffee will be served.

Reach out to Kelly Gilbert if you are interested in submitting and/or presenting in this series.

Facilitated by:

Kelly Gilbert, Assistant Director for Engagement, Learning, and Development

Dr. Whitney Losapio, Director of Advising, School of Engineering

Lauren Munyard, Academic Advisor, Economics Department

Registration Link

Enhancing International Student Success: The LIONS Framework

Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 10:00-11:00am (virtual)

Advisors often face challenges supporting international students due to significant differences between US educational experiences and those in students' home countries. Challenges such as language proficiency, interaction, and belonging, can impact advising effectiveness and hinder students' academic success. This workshop equips academic advisors with the LIONS framework (Language, Interaction, Openness, Name, and Social) to better support international students. Participants engage in interactive activities and discussions to understand these unique challenges and develop strategies for creating an inclusive advising environment.

Presenters: Xiaochen Liu and Tina Huey, CETL-Faculty Development

NACADA's Outcomes of Academic Advising Surveys (virtual)

Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 10:00-11:00a.m.

In Spring 2023, UConn participated in NACADA’s Outcomes of Academic Advising Surveys for both students and faculty/staff academic advisors. During this session, we will share institution-level findings from the survey, engage in interactive discussion, and collectively envision next steps for transformative academic advising at UConn.

Presenter:

Dr. Erin Ciarimboli, Director of Undergraduate Advising

Nexus Notes Training

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 9:00-10:00a.m.

The purpose of this session is to set expectations, provide an overview of documentation best practices, and review case study examples of how to accurately document Nexus notes.

This session is intended for all current Nexus users; professional staff and faculty advisor as well as relevant campus partners.

Presenters:

Lauren Munyard, Academic Advisor, Department of Economics

Kelly Gilbert, Assistant Director for Engagement, Learning, and Development, Office of Undergraduate Advising

NACADA's 2022 Annual Conference: Reimagine the Magic of Academic Advising

October 4-7, 2023

Orlando, Florida

The conference theme encourages all of us to reflect on where we started and honor those who built the foundation for our academic advising careers in higher education. Furthermore, it gives us the opportunity to recognize the perseverance and dedication that advisors have given to this profession while also looking ahead to where our paths lead in furthering academic excellence.

Link to registration, schedule and other important information.

The 2023-24 Undergraduate Advising Professional Development Series aims to advance and enhance inclusive and equitable advising practices at the University of Connecticut.

2024 Advising Celebration and Undergraduate Advising Awards

Spring 2024 Topics and Schedule

Building Your Personal Advising Philosophy (January 30)

Supporting BIPOC Students (February 14)

Life Purpose Lab for Academic Advisors: Discover Purpose in Your Everyday Life (March 6)

Spring 2024 Nexus Workshop: Tips, Tricks and Best Practices (March 7)

Supporting and Empowering Neurodiverse Students (April 9)

Office of Undergraduate Advising: Coffee and Conversations Series

School of Business (Undergraduate Programs/Advising) (January 31)

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS Academic Services Center/Advising) (April 11)

Office of Undergraduate Advising (September 21)

College of Engineering (Undergraduate Advising) (October 19)

Undergraduate Advising Research Series

Join us for a new and exciting series where we will examine various aspects of the role of the academic advisor in higher education through the doctoral research of some of our amazing advising colleagues. We highly encourage both faculty and professional staff advisors to attend.

A Phenomenological Study Examining the Role Conflict of Academic Advisors who Identify as Mothers as they Navigate the Work-Family Balance (February 6)

Applying Theory to Practice: Utilizing Role Theory to Help Students Navigate Campus (February 27)

Striving for Clarity: Working Toward an Organizational Understanding of the Advisor Role from the Perspective of Professional Academic Advisors (October 10)

Systemic Whiteness, Racial Consciousness, and Deconstructing Becky(s): A Phenomenological Study of White Women STEM Academic Advisors (October 31)

New Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Training

Participants will leave with an overview of undergraduate faculty advising at UConn as well as university and advising tools and resources.

Spring 2024: From Advising to Mentoring: Elevating your Skills in Faculty Advising (February 15)

Fall 2023 New Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Training (October 12)

Undergraduate Advising Case Studies Series

Explore and consider advising case studies submitted by faculty and professional academic advisors. Coffee and light refreshments will be served.

Reach out to Kelly Gilbert if you are interested in submitting and/or presenting in this series.

Advising Case Studies (February 29)

Advising Case Studies (October 18)-CANCELLED

Explore and engage in advising case studies submitted by faculty and professional academic advisors. Coffee will be served.

Reach out to Kelly Gilbert if you are interested in submitting and/or presenting in this series.

Fall 2023 Topics and Schedule

Responding to an Active Threat: A Survival Mindset (September 20)

Financial Aid and FAFSA Updates for Advisors (October 11)

Enhancing International Student Success: The LIONS Framework (October 17)

NACADA’s Outcomes of Academic Advising Surveys (November 7)

Nexus Notes Training (November 15)

Leadership Conversations with Academic Advising

Dr. Anne D’Alleva, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (September 28)

NACADA Conferences

NACADA is an association of professional advisors, counselors, faculty, administrators, and students working to enhance the educational development of students. Advisors are encouraged to explore the events below. For more information, visit the NACADA website.

NACADA 2023 Annual Conference (October 4-7)

NACADA's 2022 Annual Conference: Reimagine the Magic of Academic Advising

NACADA 2024 Region 1 Conference (February 20-22)

NACADA's 2023 Region 1 Conference: "Wicked Revolutionary Advising"