Advisors as Interaction Designers

Abstract

Pamela Shockley-Zalabak, Chancellor, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, gave the following speech at the 2011NACADA Annual Conference October 3, 2011, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. She provides an overview of changes affecting U.S. higher education, commentary on how those changes affect the role of the academic advisor, and the importance of helping students achieve life goals. She encourages academic advisors to embrace a broad definition of the academic advising profession and to lead change and innovation on campus. She relates personal teaching experiences, including her first instructor job at a federal prison, a chance meeting of a young woman who exemplifies today's college student, and the imperative that academic advisors engage in “disruptive innovation and interaction design” to better serve students.