Skills and Competencies for Effective Academic Advising and Personal Tutoring

Abstract

Advising/personal tutoring has moved from the fringes of higher education to the center of student success initiatives. Advising professionals serve as faculty members, mentors, student advocates, and campus leaders. Drawing upon data from an empirical investigation regarding the professionalization of academic advising, we examine the critical aspects related to performing effective academic advising and personal tutoring. Using directed qualitative content analysis, data were examined for evidence of professional values, professional skills, professional behaviors, training, and continuing professional education and development. We consider the findings in comparison to NACADA's Core Values, the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education in support of student success by promoting excellence in academic advising (EAA), NACADA's Core Competencies of Academic Advising, Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) Standards, UKAT Professional Framework for Advising and Tutoring, and United Kingdom's National Occupational Standards.

An Analysis of PhD Students' Views on the Competencies of their Supervisors

“…This study aims to be a step taken in this direction. Although the participants were expected to care more about their supervisors' academic and professional competencies, they mostly focused on the competencies related to communication and interpersonal relations, a finding that is supported by the literature (Burkard et al, 2004;Filippou et al, 2021;McGill et al, 2020a;Menke et al, 2018). Although technical and academic knowledge is essential in academic advising, transferring this knowledge to the student by leading the way is also a key advising competency.…”

Core competencies for the practice of tertiary learning advising in New Zealand

“…It is pertinent to consider international competencies models for academic advisors and personal tutors because these roles include similar responsibilities to TLAs in providing skilled and professional advice/support to students in tertiary education. The models presented here, NACADA from the United States and UKAT from Great Britain, acknowledge the need to place advising in the centre of student success initiatives in higher education and to define the understanding and practice of advising clearly within the regional/national contexts (McGill et al, 2020).…”

“…It aims to encourage best practice of advising/personal tutoring and thereby raise its recognition and perceived value in higher education today. Historically, personal tutoring in the UK involved supporting students with their academic skills and course work, but the role has since been extended to include pastoral support and assistance for personal development, in addition to academic support (McGill et al, 2020).…”

Professional Standards and Recognition for UK Personal Tutoring and Advising

“…Inherent within the outcomes of such research is the call for the 'professionalization' of personal tutoring. In the United States, wider research on defining the role from those undertaking it (Larson et al, 2018), identifying required competencies (Menke et al, 2018) and the question of professionalization has been carried out (Shaffer et al, 2010;McGill, 2019;McGill et al, 2020). While the last of these is arguably more advanced in the United States, comparable dilemmas exist and leaders in the field argue the role has not yet met the sociological and societal conceptions of a 'profession' (Shaffer et al, 2010;McGill, 2019).…”