image

Contents

image

The Jossey-Bass

Higher and Adult Education Series

TABLES, FIGURES, AND EXHIBITS

Tables

Percentage of Academic Advisors Indicating Need to Know More About Career Topics
Globalization Examples
Comparison of Traditional to Emerging Advising Assumptions
Skill Development and Application from Advisor-Advisee Relationship
Top 10 Knowledge and Skills Expected to Increase in Importance over the Next Five Years
NACADA Outstanding Advising Program Award Winners
Subtypes of Decided and Undecided Students
Types of Major Changers
Career Exploration Tasks at Each Stage of Developmental Advising
Mapping Example for Process and Delivery Outcomes in Career Advising
Mapping Example for Student Learning Outcomes for Career Advising
Mapping Example for Advisor Learning Outcomes for Career Advising

Figures

The Evolving Workplace: Implications Chart.
The How and Why Education Proposition.
Rigor and Relevance Framework.
The Holland Party.
Maki’s (2002) Assessment Cycle.
Darling’s (2005) Assessment Flowchart.
Assessment Matrices for Process and Delivery Outcomes, Student Learning Outcomes, and Career Advisor Learning Outcomes in Career Advising.

Exhibits

Success Attributes of Knowledge Nomads.
Ten Career Advising Questions for Any Session.
Information Organization and Classification Systems.
Sample Information Resources.
Matching Majors to Occupations and Work Settings. English: Sample Occupations.
Sample Computer-Assisted Career Guidance Systems.
Associations and Groups Working with Career Information Resources.
College Level Individualized Career Plan (CLICP).

FOREWORD

Charlie Nutt

As our student bodies grow more diverse and the number of options for majors and careers increases dramatically, assisting students in colleges and university with their career exploration and planning is a major element in ensuring the highest quality educational experiences. As executive director of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), I am so pleased that you have recognized this major issue and have chosen this book, The Handbook of Career Advising, as a resource to assist you in making career advising an integral part of academic advising. The editors and authors have developed a resource that not only provides the theory and foundations of career advising but also provides hands-on strategies and applications you can utilize on your campus. The text promises to be a key resource for us all.

NACADA is pleased to again have partnered with Jossey-Bass to publish this text as we have with the second edition of Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook. NACADA, with nearly 11,000 members internationally, is the leader within the global education community for the theory, delivery, application, and advancement of all issues surrounding academic advising that enhance student learning and development. For 30 years, NACADA has been recognized for providing quality programming, publications, and networking opportunities that support the work of all university staff and faculty who create the academic advising experiences, including career advising experiences, that support student learning and success.

As you read, you will gain the most from this text by using the following questions as a guide:

My goal in providing these leading questions is for you to utilize this text as a working resource that will help you in multiple ways and multiple times to enhance not only your own work with students but the work of your institution and the lives of your students.

PREFACE

Career advising is an increasingly important activity for academic advisors. Advisors are uniquely positioned to make career advising an integral part of academic advising and to facilitate and support students’ career and academic development. The Handbook of Career Advising addresses topics that will enhance academic advisors’ knowledge and competence in career advising of students.

On behalf of the editors, I would like to thank the chapter authors for their contributions to the Handbook. Their involvement and commitment were essential to the success of this endeavor. In addition, strengths of the presentation are the areas of expertise of the authors, career development or academic advising, which led to the focus on career advising as integral to academic advising. The following is an overview of the chapters:

Chapter One—Judith K. Hughey and I discuss foundations of career advising, including background and relevant topics related to career advising, career advising as integral to academic advising, and a rationale for career advising.
Chapter Two—Rich Feller and Brian O’Bruba describe the changing workplace, competencies needed for student success, and changing assumptions related to career development, as well as implications and insights for advisors and students.
Chapter Three—Eileen Mahoney discusses the career advising competencies that support and facilitate students’ academic and career planning.
Chapter Four—Spencer G. Niles and Brian Hutchison focus on theories of career development that can be used to inform and enhance career advising. The application of these theories and related constructs provides a foundation for facilitating students’ career development.
Chapter Five—Heidi Koring and Beverly C. Reid elucidate use of theories of student development to inform career advising.
Chapter Six—Aaron H. Carlstrom, Marilyn S. Kaff, and Karen R. Low address career advising and diversity. They present characteristics, relevant issues, and implications of diversity in career advising.
Chapter Seven—Darrin L. Carr and Susan A. Epstein discuss career information and resources intended to facilitate career advising and help students make informed decisions.
Chapter Eight—Joanne K. Damminger offers a framework for the career advising process and a step-by-step process for academic advisors to help students make academic and career decisions.
Chapter Nine—Dorothy Burton Nelson and Betsy McCalla-Wriggins describe integrated career and academic programs that provide various activities and interventions to enhance students’ career and academic planning and to prepare them for the future.
Chapter Ten—Catherine A. Buyarski addresses students who are undecided and implications for career advising. She also presents career advising activities and programs to address the needs of these students.
Chapter Eleven—Peggy Jordan and Terri Blevins delineate characteristics of specific student groups, along with implications for career advising of the students.
Chapter Twelve—Rich Robbins addresses evaluation and assessment practices and issues focused on career advising.
Chapter Thirteen—Betsy McCalla-Wriggins and co-editors conclude the Handbook by presenting and discussing challenges, opportunities, and recommendations regarding career advising.

In addition, the Appendixes include narratives of exemplary practices of integrated career and academic advising centers focused on helping students with academic and career planning. These narratives describe centers in which career advising is integral to academic advising and where professionals effectively address the academic and career advising needs of students.

On behalf of the editors, I would like to acknowledge and thank the members of the Content Review Panel for their contributions to the publication of the Handbook. Their reviews of the chapter outlines and chapters provided excellent feedback. The Content Review Panel included the following professionals: Katie Beres, Colleen Doherty, Karen Evans, Brian Glankler, Patricia Griffin, Mark Lee, Tina Loudon, Jim Peacock, Joan Pederson, David Spight, and George Steele. In addition, we thank Katie Beres and Jim Peacock, who assisted the editors in selecting the exemplary practices to be included in the Handbook.

The support and assistance of the NACADA staff was so very important and helpful in this project. In particular, Marsha Miller’s consultation, guidance, expertise, and patience facilitated and supported the entire process. In addition, thanks to Charlie Nutt for his support and encouragement throughout the project and to Bobbie Flaherty for her support and work with Jossey-Bass on behalf of the Handbook.

Finally, I would like to thank Dorothy Burton Nelson, Joanne Damminger, and Betsy McCalla-Wriggins for their commitment, dedication, and contributions to the Handbook of Career Advising. It was a pleasure to work as a team on this project subsequent to our initial meeting at the 2005 NACADA conference.

My hope is that the content of the Handbook of Career Advising adds value to the career advising of academic advisors. As a result, the academic and career planning and development of students will be enhanced. Best wishes in this important work with students!

Kenneth F. Hughey

Manhattan, Kansas

THE AUTHORS

Terri Blevins is currently the director of student and career development at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. She has been an active member of NACADA since 1999, serving as South Central Region 7 chair in 2005–2007, and is currently serving on the national Finance Committee and the 2009 annual Conference Committee. Blevins received her master’s degree from the University of Iowa in Counseling and Postsecondary Student Development. At the University of Iowa she worked with student athletes on career and personal development, and taught undergraduate classes on choosing a major and career development. For several years after that, she worked as a therapist and counselor for various state agencies and schools. In 1999, she returned to the college campus, serving as the academic advisor to Arts and Sciences students at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, where all students are transfer students and many are nontraditional adult students. She was instrumental in developing articulation agreements with local community colleges, and she designed an orientation class specifically for transfer students. She then moved to Oklahoma State University College of Medicine, creating and implementing a four-year career development program for medical students.

Catherine A. Buyarski is the assistant dean and executive director of academic and career planning in University College at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). In this role she oversees academic advising, career counseling, career services, student employment, and several scholarship programs for students from at-risk backgrounds. Previous to this position, she served as director of advising at IUPUI and director of student academic services at the University of North Dakota. With experience in residence life, new student orientation, enrollment management, retention, and parent programs, Buyarski’s career has focused primarily on the needs of first-year students as well as issues of collegiate access and success. She holds a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a master’s degree in counseling and student personnel administration from Oklahoma State University, and a doctorate in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She also serves as an adjunct assistant professor in the Indiana University School of Education and is a graduate of the Harvard University Management Development Program.

Aaron H. Carlstrom is an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs at Kansas State University, where he is a faculty member in the graduate program in academic advising. He received his doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also worked as a psychologist at K-State’s Counseling Services, a community services worker, and as a child care counselor. His published works include journal articles and book chapters, and he has presented at both national and international conferences. His research and professional interests include diversity in advising and counseling; career and academic development interventions with high school and college students; and the interaction of mental health and career and academic issues.

Darrin L. Carr serves as the program director for career advising, counseling, and programming at the Career Center at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, Florida. His current initiative is to enhance student intake and advising services via a performance support system based in the Cognitive Information Processing approach to career development. A recent graduate of the combined doctoral program in counseling psychology and school psychology at FSU, Carr completed his predoctoral internship requirement at the Kansas State University Counseling Center. Prior to this, he worked on projects for the FSU Center for the Study of Technology in Counseling and Career Development, obtained a master’s in instructional systems technology, and served six years at the Indiana Career and Postsecondary Advancement Center (ICPAC) at Indiana University-Bloomington. At ICPAC, Darrin worked with the state department of workforce development to design and deploy one of the first Internet-based career information delivery systems. He also trained hundreds of secondary educators on the effective use of the Internet in student career planning and developed print-based, career development products used throughout Indiana schools and homes. He is a member of the American Counseling Association, American Psychological Association, and the Association of Computer-Based Systems for Career Information.

Joanne K. Damminger is the director of the Student Transition and Leadership Programs at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Her work focuses on designing first-year and sophomore-year experiences to increase student satisfaction, academic success, intentional learning, social adjustment, and retention. She directs freshman and transfer orientations and the sophomore-year experience program, and coordinates a first-year learning community for undeclared students. Damminger taught in the Masters for Counseling in Educational Settings Program for eight years before currently teaching in the doctoral program in educational leadership. Damminger presents nationally and regionally on topics related to first-year experiences, creating living/learning communities, helping students to become intentional learners, second-year experiences, leadership, and job searching. Some of her current NACADA service activities include chair of the Finance Committee and co-chair of the 2010 Region 2 Conference Committee. She was named to the Rowan University Wall of Fame for her contributions to academic advising and received the Rowan University D.W.S. Hoffner Award for Outstanding Administrator and the Outstanding Greek Advisor Award in 2007. Damminger earned her doctorate in educational leadership, an M.A. in student personnel services, and a B.A in elementary education from Rowan University.

Susan A. Epstein was the Florida State University Career Center’s librarian from 1994 to 2009, providing access to the quality information people need for career decision making. While at the Career Center, she has created user guides and workshops for researching employers and job searching on the Internet; systematized the processing, cataloging, and filing of print, multimedia, and online resources in the Career Center Library; and documented best practices for career resource library managers. Her writings include the National Career Development Association monograph series publication (with Janet Lenz) Developing and Managing Career Resources (2008) and a chapter on career resource library development and management issues (with Kirsten Kinsley) in Career Counseling and Services: A Cognitive Information Processing Approach (2004). Epstein has also presented concurrent sessions on developing and managing career resources at several professional conferences. She earned a bachelor of arts in Spanish and a bachelor of science in family and community development from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a master’s in library and information science from the Florida State University. Epstein is an active member of the Special Libraries Association, the Career Resource Managers Association, and the North Florida Library Association.

Rich Feller is professor of counseling and career development and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Colorado State University. Recent contributions include coeditor of A Counselor’s Guide to Career Assessment Instruments, coauthor of the Harrington-O’Shea Career Decision Making System print and Internet versions, and co-author of the DVD Making the Most of Your Abilities.

Judith K. Hughey, a National Certified Counselor, is an associate professor at Kansas State University in the Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs. She earned an Ed.D. at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree from Southeast Missouri State University. Hughey’s teaching responsibilities include teaching graduate courses in counselor education and supervision and undergraduate educational psychology. Hughey is the coordinator of the master’s program for school counseling. She also serves as the chair of the College of Education Faculty Assembly and Executive Committee, is a member of the University Faculty Senate, and serves on numerous university and college committees. Hughey has also served as a project director or associate director on multiple grants and has served as assistant managing editor for the Journal of Vocational Special Needs and assistant to the editor for Professional School Counseling.

Kenneth F. Hughey is professor and chair of the Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs at Kansas State University (KSU) and teaches the career development course in the online graduate certificate and master’s degree programs in academic advising offered by KSU. He served as Associate Director of Counseling for High Skills (1992–1998), a DeWitt Wallace–Reader’s Digest Fund project designed to assist counselors in addressing the career development of students planning to attend community colleges, technical institutions, and proprietary institutions. Prior to coming to K-State in 1990, Hughey had experience in career guidance and counseling, including working with college students and adults in transition. Hughey has published articles on career development in professional journals, such as Professional School Counseling and the Journal of Career Development and has presented at numerous conferences, including NACADA conferences. He is also the former editor of Professional School Counseling and currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Career Development. He served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Counseling & Development, Professional School Counseling, and Counseling and Values.

Brian Hutchison is assistant professor in the Division of Counseling and Family Therapy at the University Missouri–Saint Louis. He has authored and coauthored several book chapters, articles, and other materials on career theory and development and presented on these topics at numerous conferences and invited workshops. Hutchison has worked as a college career and school counselor. He is the past-president of the Pennsylvania Career Development Association as well as an active member of the National Career Development Association through its National Leadership Academy. Hutchison’s research focuses on the impact of social class on counseling relationships, career development, and career planning behaviors. He has taught career and multicultural classes in a variety of settings for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.

Peggy Jordan is the director of the Center for Learning and Teaching and Professor of Psychology at Oklahoma City Community College. She was awarded the National Academic Advising Association’s (NACADA’s) 2007 Outstanding Advising Award in the Faculty Advising category and the 2008 Service to Commission Award from the Two-Year Colleges Commission. She previously served as NACADA’s Two-Year Colleges Commission Chair. Jordan coauthored a chapter, “Theoretical Foundations of Academic Advising” in the second edition of Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook (2008) and was coeditor for the NACADA monograph on “Advising Special Student Populations” (2007). She has written for other NACADA monographs and for the NACADA Journal. Jordan served as a faculty member for NACADA’s Faculty Seminar and Summer Institute and presented numerous workshops for NACADA regional and national conferences. Jordan earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Oklahoma State University. For the first twenty years of her professional career, she worked in various state agencies and a private practice. After years of teaching clients coping skills and strategies to enhance motivation and feelings of worth, she returned to the college campus, with a strong belief that teaching and advising students offers them the greatest opportunities for empowerment.

Marilyn S. Kaff is associate professor in the Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs. She has a B.A. from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas; an M.S in special education from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas; an Ed.S. in school psychology from Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas; and her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in special education. She has pursued advanced training in autism spectrum disorders. In the course of her career, she has served in a variety of capacities including paraprofessional, classroom teacher, special education teacher, inclusion facilitator, behavioral consultant, school psychologist, college professor, and most important of all, parent. Her research interests include the impact of public policies on K–16 educators and students. Currently she is working on an oral history of the field of emotional and behavioral disorders. She also conducts research on effective educational interventions for students with significant disabilities. In addition, she provides consultation services to students with autism spectrum disorders who are planning on attending college.

Heidi Koring has been director of academic advising at Lynchburg College since 1984. During this time she has published and presented widely in the fields of advising as teaching, advisor training and development, faculty advising, freshman advising, mentoring, and peer advising at regional and national NACADA conferences, Freshman Year Experience conferences, and in advising and freshman year experience publications. She is coeditor of the NACADA monograph Peer Advising: Intentional Connections to Support Student Learning. She has been an active NACADA member, serving as chair of the Advisor Training and Development Commission, for which she received a Service to Commission Award (2005), as cochair of the Peer Advising and Mentoring Interest Group, and as a member of various national task forces. In additional to consulting, presenting, and publishing on topics related to advising and student success, she has published and presented on ceremonial communication and public commemoration. She is coauthor of two books, Remembering Overlord (2002) and Pomp and Circumstance (2003).

Karen R. Low is the assistant director of Student Life at Kansas State University, where she is also finishing her doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision. Before accepting the Student Life position, Low was assistant director of Adult Student Services at K-State. Low moved to Kansas from Montana, where she was assistant professor and director of the Master of Science in Counseling program at the University of Great Falls. In addition to program administration and teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, student advising and mentoring have been central to her mission of helping students succeed. A nontraditional, first-generation college student herself, Low earned her bachelor’s degree in human services and master’s degree in professional counseling while her children were also in school. Her professional interests include student judicial affairs, nontraditional and multicultural student services, and program assessment.

Eileen Mahoney is the director of University Advising and the Gateway Student Success Center at Northern Arizona University. She was first introduced to academic advising through an assistantship at the University Advising Center during her first year of graduate studies at Northern Arizona University. In her second year, she had an assistantship in Career Services and became convinced that the two services should be combined. Over 20 years later, after working as a career counselor, academic advisor, and administrator, she has the opportunity to lead the integration of career and academic advising services at Northern Arizona University. She remains interested in adult career development and conducted her doctoral research on the impact of chance and locus of control on career development.

Betsy McCalla-Wriggins is director emeritus of the Career and Academic Planning Center at Rowan University. This center provides academic and career advising for undeclared and change of major students as well as career advising for all students and alumni. This center was one of the first fully integrated units in the nation and has served as a model for integrating these two critical functions. She currently writes, presents, and consults in this area. She coauthored the chapter “Integrated Career and Academic Advising Programs” in the The Handbook of Career Advising and wrote the chapter “Integrating Academic Advising and Career and Life Planning” in Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook. She coedited the FYE/NACADA monograph “Academic Advising: New Insights for Teaching and Learning in the First Year.” McCalla-Wriggins served as president of the National Academic Advising Association from 2001 to 2003. She led the association through a total restructuring and initiated a number of new services. Since that time, membership in the association has almost doubled. Prior to being in higher education, she worked for Butterick Fashion Marketing Company in Boston, Dallas, and New York in the marketing, customer service, and training areas. She holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Dorothy Burton Nelson, a Nationally Certified Counselor, earned her Ph.D. in Human Resources Education from Louisiana State University, with an emphasis on career advising in postsecondary institutions. Nelson has worked in the field of career development for the past 20 years and began at Southeastern Louisiana University teaching an entry-level career planning course. After recognizing the career needs of upper classification students, she developed a follow-up course focused on the dynamics of the job search. Dorothy became a member of NACADA in 1991 and with the guidance of NACADA professionals she developed and directed a career and academic planning (CAP) center. The CAP Center targeted exploring students from all majors and specifically served the undecided student population. Currently, Nelson directs a freshman success center at Southeastern Louisiana University, the Center for Student Excellence. Nelson maintains professional involvement with all levels of NACADA. She has served as a faculty member at the NACADA Summer Institute, as a NACADA consultant, as president of the Louisiana Academic Advising Association, and as a member of the NACADA regional Steering Committee. She is an active member of the American Counseling Association and the National Career Development Association.

Spencer G. Niles is professor and department head for Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services at Penn State. He is the recipient of the National Career Development Association’s Eminent Career Award, a NCDA Fellow, an American Counseling Association Fellow, ACA’s David Brooks Distinguished Mentor Award, the ACA Extended Research Award, and the University of British Columbia Noted Scholar Award. Within NCDA, Niles has served in roles such as president, governing council representative, North Atlantic Region trustee, trustee-at-large, editor of The Career Development Quarterly, chair of the Public Policy and Career Development Council, cochair, Long Range Planning Committee, and Research Awards Committee. Niles is on the editorial board for the International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance and the International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling. He is the editor of the Journal of Counseling & Development and has authored or coauthored approximately 95 publications and delivered over 90 presentations on career development theory and practice. He is an honorary member of the Japanese Career Development Association, the Italian Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance, and the Ohio Career Development Association.

Brian O’Bruba is the associate director for Career Counseling Services with The Career Center at Colorado State University, where he is helping students in career transition, as well as career education and job readiness. His experience spans over 13 years in a variety of higher education settings. Prior appointments were at the Ohio State University (senior career counselor) and Peirce College (director of Academic Advising) in Philadelphia.

Beverly C. Reid is director, Career Development, at Lynchburg College. Beverly has spent 24 years working on college and university campuses in Virginia and Ohio, with 20 of those years in career development. After graduating from James Madison University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Bev went immediately into a master’s program in counseling, also at JMU. She first worked full-time in student affairs at the University of Virginia, then William and Mary, eventually starting to work in career development at Virginia Wesleyan College. After relocating to Ohio in 1993 and working in career development at Wittenberg University, Reid moved back to Virginia in 2000 to work at Lynchburg College. She is currently the director of Career Development at Lynchburg College and living with her husband and their three daughters on the family farm.

Rich Robbins is associate dean of Arts and Sciences at Bucknell University. He holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno, and initially served as a behavioral sciences faculty member, followed by a move into higher education administration and adjunct teaching. He has developed advising programs at two institutions and headed advising programs at four institutions, receiving national awards and research grants as well as several campus advising awards. His service to NACADA includes chair of the Research Committee, member of the Council, Board of Directors, and NACADA Journal Editorial Board, faculty and chair of the Summer Institute Advisory Board, and faculty for both the Administrators’ Institute and Assessment Institute. He is currently a member of the NACADA Consultants and Speakers Service and will become coeditor of the NACADA Journal in 2009. Rich has over 100 professional presentations and numerous book reviews and articles, including editor for the 2004 NACADA monograph Giving Advice to Students: A Road Map for College Professionals, and coauthor of the 2005 NACADA CD Guide to Assessment in Academic Advising. Rich is also a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of College Student Retention and a reviewer for textbooks in psychology.

CHAPTER ONE

Foundations of Career Advising

Kenneth F. Hughey, Judith K. Hughey

Academic advisors have an important role in supporting and facilitating students’ career and academic planning and development. They are well positioned to contribute to students’ making courageous choices (Feller & Whichard, 2005), both academic and career choices. Through career advising, academic advisors empower students to prepare for a changing, evolving future and workplace. Gordon (1992) stated, “Career advising is an important part of academic advising because of students’ concern about their work life after college” (p. 71). As a result of effective career advising, students make career and academic decisions, set goals, develop plans to meet the goals, and implement the plans. Facilitating students’ career development through career advising has never been more important, challenging, and exciting.

According to Gordon (2006), “All students need career advising, even those who enter college already decided on an academic major” (p. 5). Students are at different places with respect to their career development and have unique needs. Carroll McCollum (1998) stated, “The overall challenge to the advisor is to meet the advisees’ developmental needs whether they are emotional, academic, or career oriented” (p. 15). Through the process of integrating career and academic advising, the opportunity is provided to contribute to meeting students’ needs, enhancing students’ learning, and preparing students for the future.

The challenge for the profession is to respond to and address the career advising needs of students and make this work an integral part of academic advising. It is an opportunity to contribute to students’ personal and professional development. Although there are varying views on academic advisors’ role in career advising, it is an important role for academic advisors. For some, making career advising a priority and an integral part of academic advising requires a paradigm shift. O’Banion (1994) stated, “For real change to occur in educational institutions—change that will expand and increase opportunities for students to broaden and deepen their learning—systemic change is required” (p. 119). Promoting change to make career advising an essential part of academic advising and academic advising programs will add value to students’ learning, development, and future.

The purpose of this chapter is to present a foundation for The Handbook of Career Advising. To accomplish this, the following topics are addressed: historical highlights related to career advising; career and career development as important ideas for career advising; career advising and the career advising process; comparison and contrast of career advising and career counseling; and a rationale for career advising and making it an integral part of academic advising. The chapter will conclude with a discussion of advisors’ perceived needs with respect to career advising.

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVOLUTION OF CAREER ADVISING

From a historical perspective, career advising evolved from academic advising. In addition, the history of vocational guidance and career counseling has contributed to the evolution of career advising. In a sense, the evolution of the perspectives of academic advising and vocational guidance/career counseling are similar. Both perspectives contribute to career advising as an important part of academic advising. Gordon (2006) stated, “Academic advising today is recognized as a critical service; the need for academic and career advising is reflected in a complex, ever-changing world” (p. 4).

Gordon and Habley (Gordon, Habley, & Associates, 2000) stated, “Academic advising has a long and fascinating history” (p. 1). The history and foundations of academic advising have been addressed by several authors (e.g., Ender, Winston, & Miller, 1984; Frost, 2000; Gordon, 1992). Frost (2000) described the history of academic advising with three themes—pre-advising higher education, advising defined and unexamined, and advising defined and examined. Gordon (1992) noted that the history of higher education and academic advising are intertwined.

Several significant events influenced the profession of academic advising. In the early 1970s Crookston (1972) and O’Banion (1972) discussed advising more broadly from a developmental perspective. Gordon (1992) noted that in the 1970s the importance of advising was supported and that in the 1990s “a more developmental perspective is used to assist students in decisions relating to academic and life goals” (p. 17). With respect to the profession, the establishment of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) in 1979 and the publication of the first issue of the NACADA Journal in 1981 were significant events (Beatty, 1991).

Drawing from the history of career counseling and development, there are significant historical events that provided a foundation for career advising. Parsons (1908), the father of vocational guidance, wrote Choosing a Vocation in which he stated the following about the factors involved in making a career decision:

In the wise choice of a vocation there are three broad factors: (1) a clear understanding of yourself, your aptitudes, abilities, interests, ambitions, resources, limitations, and their causes; (2) a knowledge of the requirements and conditions of success, advantages and disadvantages, compensation, opportunities, and prospects in different lines of work; (3) true reasoning on the relations of these two conditions. (p. 5)

Parsons further noted these three factors were needed by all students.

Miller and Hawley McWhirter (2006) presented a history of the field of career counseling. They presented themes or stages related to events occurring in the field and country, including testing and measurement (1920s), the Great Depression (1930s), World War II and theoretical influences (1940s and 1950s), and the space race (beginning in 1958). Throughout the history of the field, various pieces of legislation were passed (e.g., National Defense Education Act, Americans with Disabilities Act); theories evolved (e.g., Holland, Super); assessments, computerized systems, and resources were developed; and the economy and programs (e.g., government) influenced the career field. Similar to the history of academic advising, an association was established and a journal published. The National Vocational Guidance Association was established in 1913 and in 1984 was renamed the National Career Development Association (Miller & Hawley McWhirter, 2006). The profession’s publication evolved from the National Vocational Guidance Bulletin through several iterations to The Career Development Quarterly in 1984.

Career advising evolved and represents an important responsibility for academic advisors. The writing and work related to career advising seems to follow from developmental advising (Ender et al., 1984; Gordon, 1992; Mash, 1978; O’Banion, 1972; Walsh, 1979). Gordon (1984, 1992, 1995, 2006, 2007a, 2007b) made and continues to make significant contributions to career advising and its application by professional academic advisors. In addition to Gordon (1992, 2006), others have addressed the integration of career and academic advising (e.g., Habley, 1984; McCalla-Wriggins, 2000). Career and academic advising are so integrally related that discussing one area frequently involves or relates to the other area. As Gordon (2006) stated, “Perhaps some day the term career advising will disappear when it becomes so ingrained in the academic advising process that its separate designation is no longer necessary” (p. 12).

CAREER AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Career and career development are relevant concepts for career advising. Having an understanding of the concepts and applying them effectively can be important in facilitating students’ career planning. Sears (1982) defined career as “The totality of work one does in his/her lifetime” (p. 139). Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey (2005) advocated “viewing career as a lifestyle concept” (p. 12), which is consistent with Super’s (1976) perspective. One’s career involves much more than one’s occupation or profession; it involves multiple roles (e.g., student, parent, worker) in which one is involved over the course of a lifetime. For students, the focus of their careers during postsecondary school is likely to be academics, including majors and other activities; however, there are additional roles, some of which are more important than others. Viewing career more broadly leads one to consider the various factors involved in living that influence careers.

According to Herr, Cramer, and Niles (2004), “careers are unique to each person and created by what one chooses or does not choose. They are dynamic and unfold throughout life” (p. 42). Students’ careers are “unfolding and evolving every day” (Gysbers, Heppner, & Johnston, 2003, p. 16), and “Careers exist only as people pursue them; they are person-centered” (Super, 1976, p. 20). Academic advisors have a critical role in helping students develop and pursue their careers.

Career development, as a concept, is essential for career advising. Sears (1982) defined career development as “The total constellation of psychological, sociological, educational, physical, economic, and chance factors that combine to shape the career of any given individual over the life span” (p. 139). Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey (2005) described career development as “the lifelong psychological and behavioral processes as well as contextual influences shaping one’s career over the life span” (p. 12).

Career development is a lifelong, complex process that is influenced by a variety of factors. Being aware of and responding to relevant factors influencing students’ career choices is essential for academic advisors. Academic advisors with relevant knowledge and expertise can facilitate career development through career advising activities (e.g., individual advising, group advising, career courses).

ACADEMIC ADVISING AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO CAREER ADVISING

Career advising and academic advising are viewed as being closely related and often both areas of advising are addressed concurrently with students. As Habley (1984) stated, “The career- and life-planning process is inextricably woven into the function of academic advising” (p. 171). The extent to which an integrated approach to career and academic advising is operationalized is likely to depend on a variety of factors, including advisors’ knowledge and competencies (e.g., student development theory, career development theory), advisors’ view of career advising as part of their roles and responsibilities (Gordon, 2006), other student affairs staff’s view of career advising as the responsibility of advisors, institutional or organizational philosophy of academic advising and the role of advisors, limited numbers of advisors and limited time to work with students, and limited support for making the transition to this perspective.

Definitions of advising from the developmental perspective support career advising by academic advisors. According to O’Banion (1972), “The purpose of academic advising is to help the student choose a program of study which will serve him in the development of his potential” (p. 62). Further, he stated, “The process of academic advising includes the following dimensions: (1) exploration of life goals, (2) exploration of vocational goals, (3) program choice, (4) course choice, and (5) scheduling courses” (p. 62). Crookston (1972) noted that developmental advising was “concerned not only with a specific personal or vocational decision but also with facilitating the student’s rational processes, environmental and interpersonal interactions, behavioral awareness, and problem-solving, decision-making, and evaluation skills” (p. 12). In addition, Ender et al. (1984) defined developmental academic advising “as a systematic process based on a close student-advisor relationship intended to aid students in achieving educational, career, and personal goals through the utilization of the full range of institutional and community resources” (p. 19). According to Ender et al. (1984), “Advising is goal related. The goals should be established and owned by the student and should encompass academic, career, and personal development areas” (p. 20). Ender and Wilkie (2000) further noted that advising focused on themes of “academic competence, personal involvement, and developing or validating a life purpose” (p. 119). To address the outcomes noted requires that academic advisors work from an integrated perspective and collaborate with campus student affairs professionals to facilitate students’ development, including career development.

Similarly, Creamer and Creamer (1994) described developmental advising as “the use of interactive teaching, counseling, and administrative strategies to assist students to achieve specific learning, developmental, career, and life goals” (p. 19). The use of teaching is consistent with the learning-centered approach to academic advising (Lowenstein, 2005). Lowenstein (2005) stated the following:

Every time the student needs to make a choice (of majors, of tracks within a major, of individual courses), the advisor has a teachable moment, and the excellent advisor seeks to help the student decide, in the context of his or her emerging understanding, the direction and goals as well as the logic of his or her education as a whole. (p. 70)

The learning-centered approach facilitates career and academic advising and contributes to student learning relative to academic, career, and personal goals.

NACADA’s (2005) discussion of academic advising presents and supports an integrated perspective of academic and career advising. As such, the relationship of career advising and academic advising is established for the benefit of students and their development. As stated in the document titled the Concept of Academic Advising