Advising Network Annual Symposium Friday
Academic advisors share info, ideas, best practices to help students
The questions that most often perplex students—Which are the best courses for me to take next semester? Should I transfer to another school or college within BU? What kind of research opportunities are available to me? What would be the best Study Abroad program for me?—are the ones that faculty and professional academic advisors are here to help students answer.
The Advising Network, started last year by the Office of the Provost, hopes to make it easier for faculty and professional academic advisors from across campus to share information, ideas, and best practices, so they can better help the BU undergraduates they advise.
At BU, advisors partner with students to help them choose a major, register for classes, become acquainted with academic policies and opportunities such as Study Abroad, undergraduate research, and community service, take on a second major, and stay on track to graduate, among other duties.
With an undergraduate student body of 16,000, these advisors help students navigate the choices available to them, says Elizabeth Loizeaux, associate provost for undergraduate affairs, who cochairs the Advising Network with Ethan Baxter, a College of Arts & Sciences associate professor of earth and environment.
The goal of the Advising Network, says Baxter, is to bring together all those people inside the University who interact with students through advising. “We really want to learn what is working, what’s not working, and what varies from school to school,” he says. “Then people can learn from each other and pick what works best for their unit.”
In addition to faculty and professional advisors named to the Advising Network by the deans of the undergraduate schools and colleges, members include the directors of the University Service Center, the Center for Career Development, and Student Athletic Support, as well as representatives from Student Health Services and Study Abroad, among others.
During the year, the Advising Network meets monthly. Various subcommittees meet more frequently. The group—which is free and open to all faculty advisors and professional advisors—organizes workshops and conferences, like this year’s Brown Bag Lunch Series, which has covered such topics as academic integrity and the honor code, advising international students, and a tutorial on the Center for Career Development. Meetings are recorded and archived online for later viewing.
Loizeaux says one of the other benefits of the Advising Network is that its members are able to observe firsthand how students navigate the University and can provide feedback to the Office of the Provost as they develop, revise, and implement academic programs and policies.
This Friday, February 27, the Advising Network is sponsoring the second annual Academic Advising Symposium. Stacy Godnick, College of General Studies associate dean for academic life, says the event will focus on the differences between “transactional” exchanges—discussing with a student which course to take, for example—and “meaningful” advising, which she describes as “a partnership where you get to know your advisees, facilitate their learning and growth, and help them make connections between the many aspects of their education and lives.”
The two sessions at Friday’s symposium will include a talk by Rachel I. Reiser, School of Management assistant dean for the undergraduate program, titled Meaningful Advising and Millennials: Knowing Our Students as a Foundation for Connection, which will focus on issues facing the millennial generation, like the rise of mental health concerns, technology, and parental involvement, and a discussion about how best to enhance the advising relationship. There will also be a panel discussion, Meaningful Advising: Connecting Learning with Identity and Career Exploration, which will focus on how advisors can help students find a fulfilling career. A buffet lunch will be served following the two events. More information about the symposium can be found here.
The Advising Network is sponsoring the second annual Academic Advising Symposium Friday, February 27, at Metcalf Trustee Center, ninth floor, One Silber Way, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. A buffet lunch will be served from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Preregistration was requested, but if you are interested in attending, contact Kelly Connors, administrative coordinator in the Office of the Provost, at kconnors@bu.edu.
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