Academic advisors meet to share tactics
The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) is bringing its annual regional conference to Montreal this week. Several staff members from Concordia’s Faculty of Arts and Science will attend, including academic counsellor Shoshana Kalfon, who is the site chair for the conference. Concordia is sponsoring a reception Wednesday evening.
Kalfon, a longtime member of NACADA, has attended previous editions, including the 2005 conference that was held in Montreal. She says the experience is well worth the cost of registration. “It’s a great way to network, learn about best practices from other universities and colleges, and see if there are things that we can adapt to our environment,” she says.
While completing her Master of Science in Academic Advising from Kansas State University, Kalfon developed a program for first-year students in academic jeopardy, called Seminars for Success. She will present a poster at the NACADA conference on the program, which is now in use in Concordia’s Faculty of Arts and Science.
“I’ve been doing the Seminars for Success program for three years,” she says. “We started with one department, then went to two. Last year we used it in five departments, and they’re talking about it being used faculty-wide next year.”
Even though the Seminars for Success program has a proven track record, Kalfon says she is always finding ways to tweak it and make it better. The NACADA conference is a great opportunity to examine ways in which it might be improved. “If I happen to hear about any other useful tricks, then I’ll be sure to include them,” she says.
Kalfon is also interested in hearing about new techniques for reaching students developed by academic advisors at other institutions. “When you see that someone has come up with something that works, why reinvent the wheel?” she says. “(Attending this conference) is bound to have a positive effect on your institutions. And it’s a great way to get some professional development.”
The NACADA Conference, titled Advisors Without Borders, runs from March 20 to 22 at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel. It will feature a diverse selection of sessions on advising-related subjects. During a luncheon Thursday, Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning, Ollivier Dyens, will deliver a keynote address, titled Advising: Crucial but Often Neglected.
Also attending the conference from Concordia are: academic counsellors Graeme McGravie and Maria Ponte; Nick Michalidis, manager, advising and retention, and Hilary Scufell, assistant to the chair in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Related links:
• The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA)
• 2013 NACADA Region 1 Conference
• Faculty of Arts and Science