Academic Advisor/Councelor

Venetia Notara, Associate Professor

1 Introduction

The institution of the Academic Advisor or Study Advisor is provided for in Law 4009/2011 (Government Gazette 195/ 6-9-2011) on “Structure, operation, assurance of the quality of studies and internationalization of Higher Education Institutions”. More specifically, article 35 defines the role of the Study Advisor, who “guides and supports students in their Studies”. At the same time, the Department of Public and Community Health (PCH) considers this institution as an integral part of its educational services to its students, which contributes significantly to their learning and development.

The Assembly of the Department is responsible for the regulation of special issues as well as the appointment of Academic Advisors.

2. The Values of the Institution of the Academic Advisor

The PCH Department fully embraces the seven core values [1] of the International Community of Academic Advising (NACADA) [2] that govern the practice of academic advising and which are in full agreement with the values that the Department stands for as a whole and guide the actions of all of its members: genuine concern, commitment, empowerment, inclusion, integrity, professionalism and respect.

The provision of academic advisory services by the members of the PCH Department is guided by the approach of Appreciative Advising [3], which is defined as the “intentional, collaborative practice of asking positive, open-ended questions that help students optimize their educational experiences and fulfill their dreams, goals and potential”.

Appreciative Advising has six phases:

Disarm: removing the fear that students may have of meeting their Academic Advisor and establishing a good relationship between student and Advisor.
Discovery: in this phase the effort to develop a relationship between the student and the Academic Advisor continues and the Advisor learns, through open positive questions, what are the student’s strong points, abilities and skills.
Dreaming: in this phase the Academic Advisor tries to discover the student’s hopes and dreams for the future.
Design: the Academic Advisor together with the student co-creates a plan to fulfill his/her expectations and goals.
Deliver: the plan is implemented and the Academic Advisor’s role is to provide support in case obstacles are encountered.
Don’t settle: the Academic Advisor invites students to fully utilize their potential and supports them on this path.

3. Role and Responsibilities of the Academic Advisor

The role of the Academic Advisor is to advise students on planning their academic course and progress, on planning studies and on other academic activities, in order to make decisions related to their individual educational goals. In more detail, the Academic Advisor:

Advises students individually or as part of a group regarding basic academic requirements, course selection, PCH Department policies, processes and procedures and Department and University resources they can utilize.
Helps the students to adapt to their new life at the University.
Clarifies the relationship between the Curriculum and career and professional rehabilitation opportunities.
Helps students identify and develop a realistic plan for their academic career, based on their abilities and interests.
It helps students to develop a realistic long-term plan for the continuation of their studies and for their career path.
Maintains a confidential record of meetings with consultees (see Meeting Sheet in the Appendix hereto).
Informs and refers, if necessary, the students to other members of the academic community, as well as to other procedures or services of the Department of Human Rights or the University of Western Attica, for matters that do not fall under his/her competence (e.g. .g. Student complaints/objections management process, Student Advocate of the University of Western Attica, etc.).

4. Obligations of Students

The relationship between the student and the Academic Advisor varies from person to person. Ideally, students will develop a mentoring relationship with all members of the PCH Department during their studies. However, as far as the officially assigned Academic Advisor is concerned, students must take care of the following:

To have been informed about the framework of the responsibilities of the Academic Advisor, as well as the other regulations and rules of the University of Western Attica and the PCH Department.
To understand and meet the studies requirements and courses attending.
To understand that they are ultimately responsible for their choices in the context of their studies.
To contact in advance their Academic Advisor by e-mail in order meet them, as long as they have been informed on the days and hours of their availability.
To be consistent in their arrival time at scheduled meetings and inform in time, in case they cannot attend.

5. Appointment of Academic Advisors

The Assembly of the PCH Department appoints two members of the teaching staff as Academic Advisors for the new students, who, as a rule, remains their Advisor until the end of their studies at the PCH Department.

The names of the Faculty members appointed are announced on the Department’s website and the students are also informed accordingly during their welcome meeting.

At the same time, an Academic Advisor and his/her deputy are appointed especially for students with disabilities, whose names are also announced on the Department’s website.

Academic Advisors post meeting times on their personal websites.

6. Changing Academic Advisor

In exceptional cases and if there are important reasons, a change of Academic Advisor may be requested, either by the student or the Academic Advisor.

The student who wishes to be assigned to another Academic Advisor must submit a reasoned request to the Secretariat of the PCH Department. The request will be examined by the General Assembly of the PCH Department, which will decide on it and inform the applicant.

Notes

[1] NACADA Academic Advising Core Competencies Guide (PG23) (Abridgement) διαθέσιμο στο: https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Pillars/CoreCompetencies.aspx

[2] https://nacada.ksu.edu/

[3] Bloom, J. , Hutson, B. and He, Y. (2008). The Appreciative Advising Revolution. Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing.

Academic Advisor/Councelor