UH Mānoa Chosen for National Select Program to Improve Academic Advising

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa was selected to participate in the first cohort of the Excellence in Academic Advising comprehensive advising strategic planning process, which will establish the aspirational standards for institutions to evaluate and improve academic advising and acknowledge the central role of advising in promoting student learning, success and completion.

Jain Wi, an academic advisor for the College of Natural Sciences assists student Dean Carillo. PC: UH Mānoa

The Excellence in Academic Advising program was created by National Academic Advising Association (NACADA): The Global Community for Academic Advising and the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education

“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to improve the way we guide and work with our students here at UH Mānoa,” said Ron Cambra, UH Mānoa Office of Undergraduate Education assistant vice chancellor.

“Academic advisors play a key role in ensuring the success of our students,” he said. “We are excited to embark on the first-ever comprehensive evaluating and evidence-driven improvement of all facets of academic advising for undergraduate students at UH Mānoa. The more we can improve in this area, the better the undergraduate experience for our students and the more satisfied they will be when they graduate and move on into their careers.”

In the first year of the program, UH Mānoa will partner with an Excellence in Academic Advising (EAA) fellow, who will guide the school through an institution-wide, evidence-based decision-making, planning and implementation process to improve its academic advising efforts. Using EAA’s nine Conditions of Excellence in Academic Advising, the university will refine, validate and establish the standards or benchmarks to guide a reflective self-study and strategic assessment of academic advising.

Leading the EAA process at UH Mānoa is Jennifer Brown, chair of the Mānoa Transfer Coordination Center, and Stephanie Kraft-Terry, interim director of advising for the College of Natural Sciences. Anyone interested in participating may contact them directing at jb26@hawaii.edu and kraft2@hawaii.edu .

In addition to UH Mānoa, 11 other institutions from across the country were selected from a large pool of applicants with various advising structures. This charter cohort represents a range of two- and four-year institutions, including small liberal-arts colleges, historically black colleges and universities, large, four-year regional and state institutions, as well as both online and on-campus institutions.