Kep’s Corner

by Glenn Kepic
As another drop/add period at UF has recently ended, we have an opportunity to reflect on the many advising sessions we conducted. To make constructive use of their experiences, the UF Academic Advising Center has started a new tradition of “debriefing” after each of these extremely stressful and busy periods. Questions that we consider in our debriefing session include the following:

• What was your biggest challenge during this peak advising time?
• What did you learn during this period?
• What would you have done differently?
• What was the most rewarding experience you encountered during this time frame?
• What trends did you notice?
• What changes could be made on an individual/office/university level to better handle the advising process?

Please think about these questions and e-mail your thoughts to me at gkepic@advising.ufl.edu and I will include them in the next article!

The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) is working hard to provide professional development opportunities to advisors around the world. Here’s a list of upcoming events and deadlines:

• 2010 NACADA Leadership Election voting begins on February 5th (you must be current member to vote). For information on the final candidates and voting process, see http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Election/2010/2010CandidatesList.htm.

• This month, NACADA will offer a Retention Seminar (February 11-12), Administrators' Institute (February 14–16), and Assessment Institute (February 17-19) in Clearwater Beach. These are smaller than conferences and feature outstanding faculty.

• Call for Proposals for the 2010 NACADA National Conference, which will be held October 3–6 at Walt Disney World, are due on February 16th.

• The 2010 Region 4 Conference & 4th International Conference on Personal Tutoring and Academic Advising will be hosted by the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta on March 21–23. Register by February 21 and pay the early registration fee ($109). Grad students should apply for a scholarship to attend this conference by January 29.