Kramer, Gary L., ed. Faculty Advising Examined: Enhancing the Potential of College Faculty as Advisors. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company (2003).

As the title would suggest, this is a book dedicated to examining the role of college faculty in the role of academic advising. While the book is explicitly aimed at those who coordinate faculty advising programs, it can also be read profitably by faculty to gain insight into the advising role. There are 12 chapters, each written by a different author and on slightly different topics. Because each author has a different perspective, even when there is overlap between their topics the advice takes a different form.

A number of the chapters in the collection take up the topic of the importance of faculty advising, even in universities where general advising plays an important role. Other chapters address specific roles of a faculty advisor, how to set up a faculty advising program to be most effective and efficient, tips for encouraging faculty to consider this an important part of their job, arguments that advising is itself a method of teaching, the legality of faculty advice, the use of technology in advising, and many other topics.

The impressiveness of this collection is its diverse topics. While some chapters may be of more concern than others to a reader depending on the context of their own situation (ex. in a smaller campus where faculty advising takes on a more personal role, technology in advising communication may be less relevant), there is something for every faculty advisor here. Some topics will be important for any advisor, like the expectations for advisement from a student and from a faculty member; others, while less widely applicable, can be important for niche advising circumstances.

Those who are looking for a short list of tips may get less out of this book, save for a chapter here and there which offer just that, given the focus on analysis. But for the president, dean, chair, or faculty member who is concerned with advisement generally as something which can be improved, this volume will be quite useful. And, given each chapter has a different perspective, it’s easy enough to search for the approach that speaks to the particular reader and concentrate there; one does not have to buy into a 300 page approach to get something of value out of this book.

Created by Daniel Feuer (12/10/08)