Excellent academic advising helps provide a positive student experience and enhances the university's retention efforts. The best practices identified here demonstrate how advisors might contribute to this initiative. While this gives a list of the practices, each advisor has his/her own personal and unique philosophy of achieving these goals. 

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Successful Advisement Practices

Maintain Regular Contact with Advisees

• Regular emails to individual advisees or groups of advisees at intentional times throughout the semester (i.e. important deadlines, mid-terms, registration, etc.).
• Create a schedule to meet with advisees at least one time per semester.
• Check in and set up recurring advising meetings with advisees who are struggling academically.
• Respond to student-initiated contact (email, phone, etc.) within one to two business days.

Establish a Positive Relationship with Advisees

• Get to know advisees and recognize them.
• Clarify the roles of the advisor and advisee in the advising relationship.
• Clarify both your and the student’s pronouns.
• Keep up-to-date, accurate advising notes and refer back to them to prepare for meetings.
• Keep up to date on the needs of diverse populations of students (i.e. veteran students, student athletes, international, etc.).
• Engage with your advisees and let them know you care about them as a person as well as a student.

Provide Accurate and Timely Information about the University and its Programs

• Become an expert on university and departmental policies and requirements and stay up to date on changes – make sure to communicate these changes in a timely fashion to students.
• Be aware of upcoming deadlines and remind advisees that they are drawing near.
• Get to know the resources available to students on campus, and who the contacts are in each area.
• Familiarize yourself with the many extra-curricular and academic clubs on campus and direct advisees to those that fit their interests and professional/personal goals.

Facilitate Transferring from Other Institutions to UW-Superior and Transferring Out When in the Best Interest of the Student 

• Become familiar with the transfer process and the procedures for course substitution.
• Know how to read a Transfer Credit Report. Be willing to work with prospective students prior to enrollment at UW-Superior.
• Keep the student’s best interest in the forefront.
• Process with the student their reasons for considering transferring to determine if there are other opportunities at UW-Superior that may fit their overall educational and career goals.

Adopt a Developmental Approach to Help Advisees become Independent Learners and Self-Reliant Problem Solvers 

• Encourage and foster the development of advisees’ decision-making skills – let them steer the bus with their advisor as a guide/road map.
• Utilize the campus Advising Syllabus.
• Coach advisees in the best way to advocate for themselves.

Enhance Advisees' Understanding of and Support for the University's Mission 

• Encourage advisees to appreciate the diversity within the university campus as well as the Superior community.
• Promote study abroad programs.
• Promote service learning and community enrichment.

Maintain a High Degree of Professionalism

• Maintain and commit to posted office hours – be accessible during those times.
• Keep advising appointments.
• Be aware of changing departmental and university-wide requirements.
• Be prepared for appointments and keep up with advising notes. Stay positive about the university and department – show support for general education and encourage students to explore a liberal arts degree.
• Maintain the confidentiality of the advising relationship as much as is possible within the limitations of mandated reporting and concern for student well-being.

Engage in Personal Growth and Development 

• Engage in professional development both within your academic field as well as academic advising skills.
• Regularly attend advising development programming.
• Participate in the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and the Wisconsin Academic Advising Association (WACADA).
• Stay current with Academic Advising techniques and trends.

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Building the Advising Relationship

The finest possible educational environment includes the availability of outstanding academic advising and a genuine caring attitude toward the student - inseparable partners in higher education. Some simple suggestions for demonstrating a genuine caring attitude by all advising personnel include:

Greeting Advisees with a Smile  

Care enough to greet advisees with a warm welcome and a million-dollar smile to help ease student anxiety. Your smile costs nothing, yet it means everything!

Radiating a Friendly Attitude 

Be sure that a friendly attitude radiates from your office setting. Try to make advisees feel that in your office they can expect concern, compassion, friendliness, encouragement, trust, and confidence. Anyone with advising responsibilities (including the office secretary or receptionist) must never react to a student as though the student is an interruption of work. The student, after all, is the office work!

Having an Interesting Office

Strive to have a physically attractive and interesting office - perhaps with live plants, paintings or pictures on the walls, and soft background music. The office might be decorated in a specific theme such as the school mascot or a particular kind of plant or color scheme. The office should be a haven of enjoyment and conversation for advisees who enter.

Knowing the Names of Advisees

Be sure to familiarize yourself with the names of advisees. Call the students by their first names so that they will feel at ease during advising sessions.

Avoiding Threatening Actions 

Care enough to avoid threatening body language. When possible, sit on the same side of your desk with your advisees. You should not let the desk of authority separate you from your advisees and thus cause you to lose some of your advising effectiveness. Also, you should face the advisee squarely. This posture transmits the message that you are available to the student, that you care about the student, and that you want to assist the student.

Maximizing Efficiency

Demonstrate your caring attitude by maximizing efficiency and minimizing mistakes when dealing with advisees. Have enough pride in advising activities so that your work is as error free as possible. University life and academic programs are too complicated for guess work. Accurate information, appropriate forms, and other advising responsibilities should be correct the first time to reduce advising hassles for both the student and the advisor. And, if mistakes are made, admit them.

Letting the "Shuffle Stop with You"

When an advisee has a question or needs help, let the "Shuffle Stop with You." No student should leave your office without getting assistance. If you don't know the answer or you can't solve the problem, take time to identify the problem solver, locate the problem solver, and involve the problem solver in assisting the student.

Seeing Advisees Frequently

Show advisees that you care about them by seeing them frequently and on an informal basis. Visit with them in the cafeteria and the student center, in corridors between classes, and at various campus functions. Be approachable, flexible, and accessible, and by all means share your phone number, office location, and office hours with your advisees.

Being a Good Example

Exemplifying a caring, helpful attitude in deeds and actions can make or break your advising reputation. The word can spread almost instantly about the type of person and advisor you are and about the type of office you operate. Is a red carpet rolled out, or is a thorn bush posted?

Practicing Empathy 

You should put yourself in the shoes of your advisees. To paraphrase the golden rule, "Do unto your advisees as you would have had your advisor do unto you."

Outstanding academic advising and a genuine caring attitude - combine them, practice them, and share them; then reap the benefits!

Communication & Helping Skills

It is important to understand and exhibit appropriate helping skills. Such skills include effective attending, effective listening, and effective referrals. Mastering these skills will also help improve communication.

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 Appreciative Advising

At UW-Superior, we are committed to fostering student success through the Appreciative Advising framework. This innovative approach focuses on identifying and building upon students’ strengths, rather than solely addressing their weaknesses. By prioritizing positive and proactive engagement, we aim to create a supportive and empowering environment for all our students.

Our advisors work closely with students to uncover their unique talents, aspirations, and achievements. Through meaningful conversations and personalized guidance, we help students envision their goals and develop actionable plans to reach them. This approach not only enhances academic performance but also boosts confidence and motivation.

The Appreciative Advising framework involves several key phases:

1. Disarm: Building trust and creating a welcoming environment where students feel valued and understood.
2. Discover: Exploring students’ strengths, passions, and goals to understand their individual potential.
3. Dream: Encouraging students to imagine their ideal future and set ambitious yet attainable goals.
4. Design: Collaborating with students to create a personalized plan of action that aligns with their aspirations.
5. Deliver: Supporting students through the implementation of their plans, celebrating successes, and addressing challenges.
6. Follow Up: Continuously checking in with students to ensure they remain on track and adjust their plans as needed.

By embracing the Appreciative Advising framework, UW-Superior is dedicated to nurturing a positive and empowering academic journey for each student. We believe that through this approach, students can unlock their full potential and achieve their goals with confidence and enthusiasm.

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Making Referrals 

Referring a student to another agency should be done when it becomes apparent the student is experiencing problems with which they cannot cope, or the situation is beyond your ability to handle (e.g. suicidal tendencies, sexual assault, etc.).

When making a referral, listen to make sure you understand the student’s question or concern. Take time to restate the student’s question or concern; then ask if that’s what they were asking. This will allow you to be sure you are giving the student accurate information or making an accurate referral. Keep the following in mind when making a referral: If you do not know where to direct the student, do not be afraid to say so.

• Be specific about the place the student should visit.
• Suggest finding out together, immediately, where to refer the student. If you assist them in completing the referral, they will believe you are truly concerned.
• If you are not able to find out together where to refer the student, state you will find out and get back to the student as soon as possible.
• If you cannot find where to refer the student, or it is going to take some time, let the student know. Don’t leave the student waiting too long.
• In making a referral, give the student concrete information. Give them the place, phone number, and name of the person they should contact.
• Follow-up with the student to see what actions they have taken in regards to their question or situation.