Advising is Advising: Toward Defining the Practice and Scholarship of Academic Advising

Abstract

Academic advising has emerged as a distinct interdisciplinary field and profession, but the description of its role has recently relied on analogies and metaphors. While helpful in clarifying practice, their continual use obscures the uniqueness of academic advising and masks the importance of the scholarship that underlies its practice. We use the development of archaeology as a distinct profession and scholarly field to highlight critical developments in academic advising and draw examples of key aspects in the professionalization of academic advising from The Pennsylvania State University. The scholar-practitioner model must be nurtured for all who engage in academic advising and for a distinct scholarly identity to be established within higher education. Efforts must proceed at national and local levels. Relative Emphasis: theory, practice, research