Program Artifacts

Personal Philosophy Statement

ELRC 7890: Academic Advising

Dr. Kourtney Gray

June 11, 2021

When approaching academic advising it’s important that the definition of one’s personal philosophy is clearly defined. “A personal philosophy of academic advising is reflected in a positive, self-motivating statement of academic advising as the practitioner perceives it,” clearly defining this allows for the advisor to figure out how one will approach students (Cate, p.91). This is what I hope to define in the following for myself and how I’ll care for students.

As an academic advisor my strengths really play to create greater care for our students. Being very organized and good with many logistics I am very equipped to handle course scheduling, developing plans of study, and course registration. However, logistics and organization are not all that’s needed for academic advising success. “Advising is concerned not only with a specific personal or vocational decision but also with facilitating the student’s rational processes, environmental and interpersonal interactions, behavior awareness, and problem-solving, decision making, and evaluation skills,” (Cate, p. 68). Putting students’ needs first, creating a safe, vulnerable environment, and seeing the student’s development first is vital for an advisor. Successful advisors will learn more about students in these ways to greater produce them as their own instead of just vessels for the institution. Taking the time to care for students, their life goals, and to really ask the bigger questions are a large part of the responsibility of the advisor. Much of a college student’s identity is still being developed, as well they’re learning to manage their emotions, and develop their purpose and integrity. Not only am I strong in logistics, but I also deeply care for students and have a passion for them to succeed, specifically in finding themselves, their purpose, what they want to major in, and directing their goals to lead them to a greater purpose. Having a Masters in Higher Ed my aim is to only grow stronger in my care with students in having these larger conversations.

I intend to use several different theories in regard to approaching students, specifically social constructivist theory of appreciative inquiry and positive psychology. “Using appreciative advising, practitioners ask advisees positive, probing, open-ended questions that assist them in capturing their own stories, strengths, educational goals and objectives, and accomplishments,” (Cate, p. 78). Active listening will allow for me to actively know my students, to make them know and feel that their lives matter. By using this theory and playing it out in the ways previously mentioned, I’ll be able to better know them to make a stronger difference in their lives.

Overall, academic advising excites me because my goal with entering higher education was to make a difference with students at the college level, specifically to help them find their way and to figure out how to be their best selves. Advising is a great gateway to achieving this which is why I’d love to enter this field. My goal is to show up for students, to put in the work to stay relevant with what each student is undergoing, to ask questions, and to be a consistent, positive role model in their lives.

References Cate, P., Freitag, D., Miller, M., & Roufs, K. (2015). The new advisor guidebook: mastering the art of advising through the first year and beyond. (P. Folsom & F. Yoder, Eds.) (Second). NACADA.