Academic Advisement Is A Profession

Abstract

Over the years, the debate over whether academic advisement is a profession or not has

drawn the attention of many, and the support or rejection of this fact depends upon the context of

the academic advice that is being given. In previous years, academic advisement included the

discussion between advisor and student on which major to choose. The specific definition of

academic advisor had not yet been designed to meet the individual needs of each student. Today,

things are different, and higher learning institutions are characterized by adults who have

returned to school to further their studies, disabled students, students who have non-traditional

learning styles, as well as international students. This diversity as well as the many disciplines

that are offered in colleges has made the entire academic system much more complex. And

because of this, the demands of the academic advisors now include education on ethics, critical

thinking, and even epistemology, which are subjects that are explicitly studied in philosophy.

This paper will develop a strong argument on the fact that ethics, logic and critical thinking, as

well as epistemology are the key areas that academic advisors must focus on in order to be able

to improve education levels in higher learning institutions as a whole.

Academic Advisement is a Profession

Over the years, academic advisement has taken on several new definitions. Traditionally,

academic advisement was defined as the process by which students and faculty heads discussed

selection of courses and degree requirements for majors (Huggett, 2000). Unfortunately, this

approach wasn’t designed to address the needs of individual students. Due to the expansion of

both curricula and enrollment at many universities and colleges, the demand for specialized

advice for new students, including older adults who have returned to colleges to further their

education, minority students, international students, and disabled students and those with non-

traditional learning styles has grown. With the diversity that is currently occurring in learning

institutions, the traditional approach for academic advisement is not up to par with the demands

of modern society. The diversity factor requires a professional advisor that is competent in logic

and critical thinking skills, ethics, and epistemology (Jackson, 2005), thus making academic

advisement a very viable profession.

For many years, academic advisement had not been considered a serious profession. The

ideology that academic advisement does not require professionalism in relation to other fields,

such as medicine or law is a completely false ideology. Today, unprofessional advice is not at all

effective, especially in today’s higher institutions. Today, universities are composed of older

adults (aged 25 to 25 years), students with disabilities, minority individuals in society, and

international students (Huggett, 2000) who need various advisory needs. This does present a

major challenge to advisors who have to look at these needs on a personal level. For example,

adults who have returned to universities to advance their academics have different academic

needs than undergraduate students, and thus cannot be treated the same way. Similarly,

international students have different cultural backgrounds from native students, which makes

advising these students challenging. To effectively address issues which affect the education of

different students, university administrators expect advisors to conduct their work with a high

degree of professionalism (Huggett, 2000).

Professional academic rise is indicated by situations in many institutions around the world. For

example, the need for professional academic advice and support for students and lecturers in

higher education institutions in South Africa is on the rise (Makondo, 2014). The observed rise

had begun upon the realization of the bitter reality that higher education in South Africa is

characterized by low success, retention, and throughput rates. According to Makondo (2014),

many changes in the educational system in South Africa have taken place since the end of the

apartheid system in the country. The White paper 3 of 1997 is very recognizable; this paper

spells out the need to produce graduates with adequate skills and competences which build the

foundations for lifelong learning, including critical thinking, analytical thinking, problem-solving

skills, communication skills, as well as the ability to deal with change and diversity, particularly,

the tolerance for different views and ideas (Makondo, 2014). The low success rate, retention, and

throughput rate in many universities across the country is contrary to this paper, and it is upon

this context, and supported by Jackson (2005). The paper argues that such deteriorating

situations in higher learning institutions put out a need for professional academic professionals to

ameliorate the entire situation.

The academic advising opponents state that academic advisement is a profession that presents

two questions that seem to generate an answer to the subject. For example, in an advisor meeting

at the University of Wisconsin, the discussion over the subject of academic advisement ended up

with two questions, what is professional work and is advising professional work? (Huggett,

2000). In response to these two questions, the two answers are critical. The critical aspect

provides the answer that advising requires critical thinking which a skill that one needs to learn

in class so as to effectively address issues affecting both students and lecturers (Makondo, 2014).

Academic advisors are well equipped with critical thinking, ethics, and epistemology skills,

which are learned in philosophy courses. Makondo (2014) proves that philosophers are excellent

academic advisors. The argument that academic advisement is a professional profession is

evident by the training that philosophers receive in both undergraduate and post graduate levels,

as well as the projects that they engage in. In a separate study, academic advisement is shown to

consist of more than direct involvement with students (Schulenberg, 2008). From this

perspective alone, educational advisement involves any person who takes part in advising

students in higher learning institutions, and who must first learn proper skills so as to perform

their duties effectively.

A philosophy education involves a number of courses that prove very vital to academic advisors.

Though graduate and undergraduate philosophy programs differ, there are some commonalities

that exist in the types of course subjects that philosophy students learn, as well as the demands

that are placed on them during their entire course program. Most philosophy majors take courses

in logic, ethics, the history of philosophy, social and political philosophy, as well as

epistemology and metaphysics. In addition to these core subjects, philosophy students take

classes in their specific area of specialization such as aesthetics, philosophy of religion,

philosophy of science, applied ethics, Asian philosophy, philosophy of language, cognitive

science, and continental philosophy (Jackson, 2005). Jackson illustrates how ethics, critical

thinking, and epistemology are beneficial to academic advisors who seek to improve their

practice of advisement, proving that academic advisement is indeed a profession.

Logic and critical thinking courses help teach students about arguments, and arguments serve as

key drivers for reasoning, which is a central part of many universities and colleges. Philosophers

are well grounded in both reasoning and arguments which plays a key role in the ability to offer

advice in higher learning institutions. The ability to analyze the structure of different arguments

is one of the core skills that students acquire through logic and critical thinking course work, as

the two are standard components of most degree philosophy programs. Jackson (2005) shows

how some arguments are based on serial reasoning skills where one premise is directly

dependent on the one immediately presiding it, until the argument terminates with the

conclusion. Other arguments are founded on divergent lines of thought which provide separate

supporting sources for the conclusion, while others consist of interdependent strains which fail or

succeed only when considered together. This training in distinguishing different arguments helps

philosophers be great advisors. They quickly become equipped with the skills to help students

solve problems which are expected for a graduate student as reflected by the White paper 3 of

1997 in South Africa (Makondo, 2014). For instance, an academic advisor is able to assist a

student to recognize a proposed action in a certain course such as choosing a particular major

that is based on grounds that do not withstand logical scrutiny, which could mean a student

majoring in Politics because a friend of the student is majoring in politics. From this point alone,

a meaningful assessment can be done.

Part of the tasks of the academic advisor is to help students improve their reasoning skills so as

to make the best decisions possible. A student's plan of action is usually logical on the surface,

but founded on fallacious reasoning (Jackson, 2005). To support this fact, logicians have

developed a taxonomy of fallacious reasoning which includes colorful names such as amphiboly,

poisoning the well, tuquoque, biased sample, circumstantial ad hominem, and many more.

In critical thinking courses, philosophy students are trained to look for the above false arguments

when structuring an argument against opponents. Learning these false arguments is of

tremendous aid to advisors, because they frequently see students unconsciously employ such

arguments against themselves. It goes to show that almost all academic advisors have met

students who are frustrated because they consider their choices to be broken down into

alternatives that seem irreconcilable in that either they stress themselves out by overloading

themselves with classes so as to complete their degree early, or they don’t take enough classes to

graduate on time. Assisting each student to see the fault in their own reasoning is an initial step

towards getting them to see the possibility of more solutions.

Many argue that critical thinking is not learned in philosophy alone, and undeniably, this is true.

Some professors admit that they pass along critical thinking skills in their job (Jackson, 2005).

However, philosophers study critical thinking explicitly, and in a way that is applicable to an

academic advising job. Jackson (2005) adds that while reasoning and argument are crucial

components for most courses, the task of the advisor, as outlined in the Council for advancement

of standards in higher education (CAS), is to foster improved reasoning skills in their students.

Therefore, the detailed study of logic and critical thinking creates competent professionals in

academic advisement, which are very important to reverse the academic situations in South

Africa as stipulated by Makondo (2015).

Ethics also make for very important components for academic advisors, which makes learning

ethics important in helping to create strong professionals in academic advisement. Ethic courses

are divided into two categories, theoretical and applicable ethics. Theoretical ethics consists of

influential moral theories which may include utilitarianism, feminism, social contract theory, and

Kantianism, and may be focused on specific theorists such as Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, John

Stuart, etc. Applied ethics examines contemporary ethical issues such as affirmative action, and

specialized classes cover specific fields such as medicine and business (Jackson, 2005). Both

applied and theoretical ethics courses provides the right background for academic advisors who

want to help students achieve clarified values, social responsibility, leadership development, and

satisfying and productive lifestyles as stipulated in the CAS.

When creating strong advisement professionals, applied ethics provides students with experience

at recognizing the methods in which intersecting fields, with unique and varied goals associated

with them, give rise to conflicts (Jackson, 2005). For instance, medical ethics include topics such

as health care access or euthanasia which are examined, and gives an advisor a clear

understanding of the multiple and irreconcilable demands which physicians face. This

information is important when an advisor deals with frequent conflicts which medical students

face when trying to balance complex factors weighing in on their decisions. In other cases,

students might wonder what to major in versus what their parents want them to major in. Making

the decision as to whether to pursue what their parents want or to listen to their heart is more

complex than the obvious, and one should major in what he/she is interested in. The proper

advice on such a case requires specific training in applied ethics, which helps advisors deal with

these situations.

On the other hand, Jackson proves that theoretical ethics allows advisors to deal with obligations

the student might have with their own self, as well as others according to CAS. As professionals,

these are the standards that academic advisors must inculcate in students who are studying

Aristotle’s Nochomachean Ethics. Aristotle covered all the areas that ought to be addressed in

any substantive theory. In his work, Aristotle began his treatise by making it clear that all

individuals have desires and impulses, and concluded that people cannot expect to eliminate

these desires from their lives. However, if people have feelings including lust and anger, they are

not problems, but the response they have to their own desires and impulses matter most.

According to Aristotle, with the right training and modeling behavior, every human is able to

make the right judgment towards proper behavior. Regardless of whatever one may ultimately

think of, Aristotle’s approach consists of essential points for most anybody concerned, especially

when it comes to academic advisors.

Theoretical ethics also provides tremendous help to advisors. If advisors are to take the CAS

standards of social responsibility, clarified values, and leadership development seriously, then

they should familiarize themselves with theoretical ethics given to them by philosophers such as

Aristotle and John Stuart.

Finally, epistemology is very critical in helping students out of the many problems that they

might face in higher learning institutions. Epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge

(Jackson, 2005). According to Jackson, through epistemology, one might ask the question, “Is

knowledge possible? What constitutes the adequate justification for saying one might know

something? Is all knowledge contextual? Is it plausible to draw a sharp contrast between

theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge?” While most of these questions are answered

through philosophy in a high esoteric way, the fundamental substance of these questions

themselves reflect the experience of university students throughout their careers (Jackson, 2005).

For instance, both students and epistemologists struggle with skepticism. Most students join

colleges with strong beliefs about religion, race, politics, and identity. Regardless of their strong

biases about such topics, their beliefs get contested in class, and the student struggles with

whether they can actually ever know anything. If this struggle challenges the student properly,

the results will inevitably affect the advisor. The faculty and staff members may push their

students beyond just learning a set of facts, and instead ask students to reflect on their deepest

held convictions critically.

The self-reflective process is important for students as they articulate their personal and

educational goals, as well as develop greater spiritual awareness as stipulated in the CAS

standards. The illumination on the approaches epistemologists have used to grapple with

skepticism sheds light on academic advisement (Jackson, 2005).

Skepticism is hardly a simple notion and it comes in varying degrees, and the basic distinction is

between local and radical versions of skepticism. Radical skeptics argue that knowledge is

impossible in all areas of life. The ancient pyrrhonian skeptics constructed arguments

challenging the human ability to have knowledge in everything from religion and philosophy to

mathematics (Jackson, 2005). However, Kant believed that Physics and mathematical knowledge

was possible, but thought that humans can never have metaphysical knowledge such as the

nature of God. A number of antiskeptics, including Hilary Putnum, G.E Moore, and Crispin

Wright have raised challenges against skepticism.

In addition, skepticism is used in different ways. For example, Kant used skepticism to prevent

people from working on questions that can never be answered, by clarifying the boundaries and

limits of knowledge. The pyrrhonians showed that skepticism leads to tranquility, while

Montainage thought that skepticism showed humans the limit of their reasoning, and

demonstrated that people have to make place for faith in their life (Jackson, 2005).

By helping academic advisors see that skepticism and the implication of knowledge is a topic

that everyone has to grapple with, they can help students to become self-reflective on their own

personal beliefs. Students have come to the realization that they must sort through these

approaches for themselves. According to Jackson (2005), if students are encouraged to use

thoughtful skepticism, academic advisement will foster independence and enhance self-esteem,

which are two core goals stipulated in the CAS standards.

In conclusion, higher learning institutions are composed of diverse students, there are adults who

have come to advance their education, disabled students, minority, and international students

(Huggett, 2000). Effective academic advisement requires training on philosophy subjects

including logic and critical thinking as well as ethics and epistemology which Jackson (2005)

considers core for academic advisement. These areas are covered explicitly in philosophy.

Through the training of these attributes and the norms of academic advisement, it becomes a

profession unlike any other (Shaffer et al, 2010), thus academic advisement must be considered a

profession.

References

Huggett, K. D. (2000). Professional Development in an Uncertain Profession: Finding a Place for

Academic and Career Advisors. NACADA, 20(2), 46-51.

Jackson, R. L. (2005). Academic Advising and Philosophy. NACADA, 25(2), 30-36.

Makondo, L. (2015). Academic Advising in Universities: Concept Paper. Journal of Sociology

and Social Anthropology, 5(2), 179-186.

Shaffer, L. S., Zalewski, J. M., &Leveille, J. (2010).Spring 2010.The Professionalization of

Academic Advising: Where Are We in 2010? NACADA Journal Volume 30(1), 66-77.

Schulenberg, J. K. &Lindhorst, M. J. (2008). Advising is Advising: Toward Defining the

Practice and Scholarship of Academic Advising. NACADA, 28(1), 43-53

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