1) The document summarizes a roundtable discussion about academic advising in Ontario that took place at a NACADA conference. 2) Participants engaged in facilitated discussions on topics like networking, communications, professional development, and research/assessment. 3) Recommendations from the discussions were presented, with the most popular calls to define new parameters for advisor professional development and establish a Canadian framework for academic advising.

1. Results from:
“Advising in Ontario: Roundtable discussion about the current
state of practice and our professional associations”
NACADA Region 5 Annual Conference
Toronto, ON
April 6, 2016
Tim Fricker

2. Agenda
1. Association & Partner Introductions (20 mins)
2. Current State: Background Presentation (20 mins)
3. Roundtable Conversations (60 mins)
4. Summary Ideas and Recommendations (20 mins)
Advising in Ontario: Roundtable @NACADA
Region 5
© Tim Fricker, 2016 2

3. Back to the CACUSS Advising Survey
Q27: Most important functions of the Community
1. Design and deliver programs and resources that promote
professional and personal development of our members.
2. Share knowledge relevant for community.
3. Support professional networking and connections
4. Create knowledge to benefit the practice
5. Identify trends and key initiatives that could become new
organizational priorities
Advising in Ontario: Roundtable @NACADA
Region 5
© Tim Fricker, 2016 3

4. Facilitated Roundtable Discussion
Format (15min x 4)
• 1 mins – Introduce topic
• 9 mins – Discussion &
Recommendations
• 5 mins – Report back
Summarize & vote on
recommendations
Topics
1. Networking
2. Communications & Information
Sharing
3. Professional Development
4. Evidence, Assessment &
Research
Advising in Ontario: Roundtable @NACADA
Region 5
© Tim Fricker, 2016 4

5. Roundtable – Summary Discussion
• Everyone should have a sheet of 3 stickers
• Each sticker is a vote
• You can vote for one per topic, or place all on a single
recommendation.
• Go!
Advising in Ontario: Roundtable @NACADA
Region 5
© Tim Fricker, 2016 5

6. Table 1: Recommendations
Votes Main Theme Recommendation Subsequent theme(s)
13 Professional development Define new parameters for PD and how it can feed into research; common readings
(monthly or by term)
Evidence, assessment, research
11 Communications and information sharing Establish a Canadian framework for academic advising to better address our context. Find
ways to feed information to the association so that they can share it out.
7 Networking Associations help to facilitate creating internal networks within institutions. This will help
us understand who our colleagues are.
Professional development
7 Evidence, assessment, research Tools and training on this topic/skills so that we are able to provide the best information
back to our professional association; what should all of us be collecting so that we can
report back to the association?
Professional development
5 Communications and information sharing The association becomes a repository for our data that individual institutions can access
(i.e. retention rates); house and share effective practices.
Evidence, assessment, research
3 Professional development Free, short term (i.e. over lunch), high impact in terms of learning, low impact in effort (i.e.
not taking us away from campus), focus on trends and research
Evidence, assessment, research
2 Evidence, assessment, research Create a culture to collect and share date Communications and information sharing
1 Networking Venue for sharing (i.e. national advising roundtable day; 1/2 day across country via skype) Communications and information sharing
1 Professional development Create Canadian content (support for doing advising certifications, international student
advising, self-care and support, strategies for advising)
1 Communications and information sharing Sharing effective practices - for staff, faculty and students Evidence, assessment, research
1 Professional development Webinar format to share resources and strategies to handle workload, academic review Communications and information sharing
1 Communications and information sharing Develop and share effective models of intercampus collaboration, networking, learning
(i.e. steering committee)
Evidence, assessment, research; Networking
0 Networking Start within your own institution
0 Evidence, assessment, research Engaging senior leaders at our institutions and advocating to share data, resources and
reports more widely
Communications and information sharing
0 Networking Smaller more intimate opportunities to interact through technologies that may better
meet budget constraints
0 Evidence, assessment, research Consider research as an investment; defining common and meaningful questions that tie
into strategic plans and foster collaboration with faculty, student affairs, etc.
Networking
Advising in Ontario: Roundtable @NACADA
Region 5
© Tim Fricker, 2016 6

7. Tables 2, 3, 4
Table 2: Main Theme Votes
Communications and information sharing 18
Evidence, assessment, research 9
Networking 8
Professional development 18
Total 53
Table 3: Subsequent Theme Votes
Communications and information sharing 4
Evidence, assessment, research 23
Networking 1
Professional development 14
Total 41
Advising in Ontario: Roundtable @NACADA
Region 5
© Tim Fricker, 2016 7
Table 4: Main + Subsequent Theme Votes %Votes
Communications and information sharing 22 23%
Evidence, assessment, research 32 34%
Networking 9 9%
Professional development 32 34%
Total 95 100%