The 39th NACADA Annual Conference offered an exciting opportunity for professional advisors, faculty advisors, administrators and graduate students to share best practices, engage in scholarly research, and network with regional, national and international colleagues.
Among those representing UCF were staff members in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services. During the conference, SDES Associate Vice President DeLaine Priest presented, Emerging Leaders Program. The Office of First Year Advising and Exploration members Brendali Melgoza and Darren Skinner presented, High-tech and High-touch are Not Mutually Exclusive: You CAN have it All! In addition, Danielle Aming and Jena Smith presented, Enhancing Student Relationships; A Counseling Advising Approach.
This year’s theme – What Happens in Advising Stays with Students – focused on the individual relationships that advisors develop with advisees and how these experiences influence student success. These relationships rank high by students as a critical element of academic advising. The conference focused on how the development of relationships with students is powerful in supporting numbers and data through stories that advisors tell about accomplishing student success.
SDES employees have positions in the Southeast Region. The chair of Region 4 [Southeast Region] is Josh “JJ” Johnson, SDES Veterans Academic Resource Center. Rita Simpson, coordinator of academic advising services in UCF’s Sophomore and Second Year Center, is chair of the Region 4 Conference. The conference will be held in Orlando on March 16-18, 2016.
The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) is an association of professional advisors, counselors, faculty, administrators, and students working to enhance the educational development of students.