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As the only structured service on campus that guarantees students some kind of interaction with a concerned representative of the institution, academic advising is critical for student retention and successful transfer.Students come to two-year colleges with a variety of goals-to take a few classes for personal enrichment or specific job training, to earn a one-year certificate, to earn a two-year degree in preparation for employment, or for continued education in a four-year college or university. Those of us working in two-year colleges have a responsibility to help students achieve those goals.Students also come with a wide variety of backgrounds. Many are firstgeneration college students with little or no understanding of how colleges operate. Others are undecided about their education and career plans. Many are underprepared, needing remedial assistance in reading, writing, and mathematics before they can successfully tackle college-level courses. And there are sizable numbers of students from underrepresented populations. As Boyer (1988, p. 9) has noted, "Members of minorities who complete high school are more likely than white students to attend community colleges. These colleges enroll 55 percent of Native American college students, 43 percent of all blackstudents, and 42 percent of all Asian students who attend institutions of higher education in America." Further, many community college students are returning adults, and almost all are commuters.First-generation college students, racial minorities, students needing remediation, and commuting students each possess characteristics that have been linked to higher college attrition. Consequently, two-year colleges need strong support services to help students remain in the institutions and achieve their goals. Academic advising is perhaps the most critical of those services.Academic advising is the only structured service on our campuses that NEW

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Seven organizational models of academic advising utilize a variety of delivery systems to provide advising services.

“Academic Advising: The Challenge of the 90s” was delivered as the President's Address at the 1992 NACADA National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. In her address King argues that the challenge faced by the profession in the coming decade is the challenge of accomplishing more with fewer staff and fewer resources. King suggests that the basic tenets of Total Quality Management can productively be applied to improve the content and delivery of advising services.