Reframing Academic Advising for Student Success: From Advisor to Cultural Navigator

Abstract

This article is an adaptation of the keynote presentation from the NACADA Annual Conference (Minneapolis, MN, October 9, 2014), that was given by Terrell Strayhorn, a professor of Higher Education at The Ohio State University and the director of the Center for Higher Education Enterprise (CHEE). CHEE is a new research and policy center that aims to increase and ensure student success for all, while focusing on four key areas: college access, affordability, engagement, and excellence. Strayhorn discusses college student success as a critical goal in higher education, which is a major policy issue with significant implications for students and families, colleges and universities, and the larger society. College student success is a function of many factors, and academic preparation prior to college is just a relatively small part of the explanatory models used in research. Strayhorn reminds academic advisors of their responsibilities as cultural navigators and their role in student success.