Particularly at our liberal arts institutions, the advising process offers a wonderful opportunity for meaningful conversations with our students. Through advising, we can help students move away from some of their misconceptions about majors, co-curricular activities, and career paths; we can also help them think about the broader relationship between their undergraduate experience and their future lives. All too often, though, the advising process becomes merely transactional—filling in course selection forms and making sure students are on track to graduate. How might we re-envision the advising process so that it becomes a genuine opportunity for mentoring students and for encouraging them to explore and discern their vocations? In this interactive session, leaders from three NetVUE institutions will describe the ways that they have sought to strengthen and deepen the advising experience, using it to connect with students about how they understand meaning, purpose, and vocation. Participants will be given the opportunity to consider how they might strengthen the advising process at their own institutions.
Diane C. LeBlanc, Associate Dean for the First-Year Experience and Sophomore Thriving, St. Olaf College (MN)
Michael T. Matraia, Associate Professor of Accounting; Pre-Law Advisor, Assumption University (MA)
Sarah Summers, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Franklin College (IN)