Handbook for Academic Advisors By Susan Ohrablo, Ed.D. Consultant
Introduction Due to rising enrollment and (often) budget cuts, academic advisors can find themselves nearly overwhelmed with high student traffic and high student/advisor ratios. Given this situation, how can directors of advising ensure a high quality of developmental advising, and how can they best encourage and support their staff in providing it? This is the question we’ve brought, over the past couple of years, to Susan Ohrablo. Sue has over twenty-five years of experience in higher education administration, working in public and private institutions and with diverse student populations ranging from freshman to doctoral level students. She has held positions as director of academic advising, academic advisor, personal counselor, career counselor, and employment specialist. Sue currently works as a Assistant Professor in the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education at Nova Southeastern University. In this handbook, Sue offers a series of articles that provide practical guides for academic advisors on topics ranging from helping students build their academic and life resilience to providing more effective advising to online students. These articles are packed with specific examples and scenarios, and represent an “in-the-trenches” perspective: quick tips and methods for improving academic advising on a day-to-day basis. We hope you will find this resource useful. Daniel Fusch, Ph.D. Director of Research and Publications Editor, Higher Ed Impact Academic Impressions