ACADEMIC ADVISOR TRAINING SYLLABUS .docx

ACADEMIC ADVISOR TRAINING SYLLABUS
Edwards 1
Academic Syllabus
Markis’ Edwards
Dr. Lawrence Davenport
EDU 654: Student Development in Higher Education
November 27, 2017
Our Training Objective: At the close of this coaching period,
advisors should be capable of applying the concepts of
advancement to their practice. This entails learner personal
identity advancement and learner communal advancement
concepts. The coaching will highlight the significance of
comprehending the individual advancement of learners so as to
enable the educators to be highly proactive in expecting learner
problems and to be more reactive to the issues that may come up
during their responsibilities.
Reading List: It is needed that advisors get the stated sources to
comprehend the essence of personal identity advancement and
learner communal advancement concepts.
Aktu, Y. (2016). Life Structure of Early Adulthood Period in
Levinson's Theory. Approaches in Psychiatry 8(2), 162-177.
Karkouti, I. (2014). Examining Psychosocial Identity
Development Theories: A Guideline for Professional Practice.
Education 135(2), 257-263.
Parry, Y., & Hill, P. (2015). Applying psychosocial theories for
nursing students. Australian nursing and midwifery journal

23(6).
Svetina, M. (2014). Resilience in the context of Erikson's theory
of human development. Current Psychology 33(3), 393-404.
Mission Statement: Our mission entails training academic
advisors to comprehend the significance of comprehending the
personal advancement of learners so as to enable them to be
more proactive in expecting learner problems and to be more
reactive to the issues that may come up during their
responsibilities (Hoffnung, 2012).
Advisor Duties:
· Appropriately convey correct data to provide learners with
appropriate materials to develop themselves.
· Motivate learners towards learner personal identity
advancement and learner communal advancement concepts
(Levine & Munsch, 2011).
Anticipated Outcome: To create a surrounding that favors and
supports learner personal identity advancement along with
learner communal advancement concepts such as Erikson’s
concept of psychosocial advancement, Levinson’s
developmental concept and Chickering and Reissers’ seven
vectors of character advancement (Bolden, 2011).
References
Bolden, R. (2011). Exploring leadership: Individual,
organizational, and societal perspectives. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Hoffnung, M. (2012). Lifespan Development. Melbourne:
Wiley.
Levine, L. E., & Munsch, J. (2011). Child development: An

active learning approach. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE.
Fight Club Homework 2
For Thursday, close read/analyze your assigned passage and
chapter and answer the questions. Groups will present and lead
the class discussion.
GROUP 1
Ch. 10: “[W]e’ve turned into the guerilla terrorists of the
service industry” (81). What are they doing in this chapter and
why? What is the social commentary? What are they angry
about or protesting against?
GROUP 2
Ch. 11: “HIDEOUSLY WRINKLED… PLEASE HELP
ME!”(89). What is Marla storing in the freezer and why? Who is
she getting it from? What does this say about our society? What
is the metaphor here? Relate your analysis to this passage:
“Tyler calls himself the Paper Street Soap Company. People are
saying it’s the best soap ever.
“ ‘What would’ve been worse,’ ” Tyler says, “ ‘is if you had
accidentally eaten Marla’s mother’ ” (87).
What is ironic about what they are doing?
GROUP 3
Ch. 12: “My boss is wearing his gray tie so this must be a
Tuesday” (96). What is this passage about? What’s the tension
between the boss and the narrator? How is the narrator changing
and why?
GROUP 4
Ch. 12: Who is the mass murderer in this chapter? Find passages
to illustrate your point.
GROUP 5
Ch. 13: “The cancer I don’t have is everywhere now. I don’t tell
Marla that” (106). What “cancer” is the narrator referring to?
What is the narrator saying about birthmarks and the meaning of
life?
GROUP 6
Ch. 14: “People listened instead of just waiting for their turn to

speak” (107). Comment on the relevance of this passage in our
society. Relate it to this quote: “Marla’s heart looked the way
my face was. The crap and the trash of the world. Post-
consumer human butt wipe that no one would ever go to the
trouble to recycle” (109).
GROUP 7
Ch. 15: “At Tyler’s other job, at the Pressman Hotel, Tyler said
he was nobody. Nobody cared if he lived or died, and the
feeling was fucking mutual” (113). Analyze this quote and
relate it to this one: “Sure… I might go to prison. They could
hang me and yank my nuts off and drag me through the streets
and flay my skin and burn me with lye, but the Pressman Hotel
would always be known as the hotel where the richest people in
the world ate pee” (114).
GROUP 8
Ch. 16: “By this time next week, each guy on the Assault
Committee has to pick a fight where he won’t come out a hero.
And not in fight club. This is harder than it sounds. A man on
the street will do anything not to fight.
“The idea is to take some Joe on the street who’s never
been in a fight and recruit him. Let him experience winning for
the first time in his life. Get him to explode” (120).
Analyze this passage. Why is this hard and what is he saying
this experience does for people? Relate it to our society.
GROUP 9
Ch. 16: “When Tyler invented Project Mayhem, Tyler said the
goal of Project Mayhem had nothing to do with other people.
Tyler didn’t care if other people got hurt or not. The goal was to
teach each man in the project that he had the power to control
history. We, each of us, can take control of the world” (122).
Analyze this philosophy and relate it to something else we’ve
read.
GROUP 10
Ch. 16: “For thousands of years, human beings have screwed up
and trashed and crapped on this planet, and now history
expected me to clean up after everyone. I have to wash out and

flatten my soup cans. And account for every drop of used motor
oil… And I have to foot the bill for nuclear waste and buried
gasoline tanks and landfilled toxic sludge dumped a generation
before I was born” (124). Analyze this passage and relate it to
our society. What’s he angry about? What’s the hypocrisy he’s
revealing in this passage?
GROUP 11
Ch. 16: “ ‘Recycling and speed limits are bullshit,’” Tyler said.
“ ‘They’re like someone who quits smoking on his deathbed.’ ”
“It’s Project Mayhem that going to save the world. A
cultural ice age…
“Like fight club does with clerks and boxboys, Project
Mayhem will break up civilization so we can make something
better out of the world” (125).
Analyze this passage and detail his philosophy. What are they
protesting against, why, and how?
Fight Club Ideas & Concepts
The American Dream, Consumerism, Consumption, and
Happiness
The term “American Dream” was first used by James Truslow
Adams in his book, The Epic of America, which was written in
1931. He states: “The American Dream is that dream of a land
in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone,
with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It
is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret
adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and
mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages
merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each
woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they
are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they
are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or
position.”
In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, our founding
fathers “…held certain truths to be self-evident, that all Men are

created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty
and the Pursuit of Happiness." Might this sentiment be
considered the foundation of the American Dream?
Were homesteaders who left the big cities of the east to find
happiness and their piece of land in the unknown wilderness
pursuing these inalienable rights? Were the immigrants who
came to the United States looking for their bit of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness, their Dream? And what did the
desire of the veteran of World War II—to settle down, to have a
home, a car and a family—tell us about this evolving Dream? Is
the American Dream attainable by all Americans?
Some say that the American Dream has become the pursuit of
material prosperity—that people work more hours to get bigger
cars, fancier homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families—
but have less time to enjoy their prosperity. Others say that the
American Dream is beyond the grasp of the working poor who
must work two jobs to insure their family’s survival. Yet others
look toward a new American Dream with less focus on financial
gain and more emphasis on living a simple, fulfilling life.
Thomas Wolfe defines the American Dream as follows:
“[E]very man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden
opportunity [has] the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to
become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine
to make him."
History of the American Consumer-based Economy
The stock market collapse in 1929 triggered the Great
Depression that engulfed the world in terrible suffering. World
War II was the catalyst for economic recovery. America’s
enormous resource base, productivity, energy, and technology
were thrown into the war effort, and soon its economy blazed
white hot. With victory imminent, the President’s Council of
Economic Advisors was challenged to find a way to convert a
war economy to peace.
Shortly after the end of the war, retailing analyst Victor Lebow

expressed the solution: “Our enormously productive economy …
demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we
convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek
our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in
consumption…. we need things consumed, burned up, replaced,
and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate.”
President Eisenhower’s Council of Economic Advisors chairman
stated: “The American economy’s ultimate purpose is to
produce more consumer goods.” In other words, the focus since
the 50s has not been not on creating better health care,
education, housing, transportation, or recreation, or less poverty
and hunger, but on providing more stuff to consumers. Today
2/3 of our economy is based on consumption and our capitalist
system—and the world economy—would collapse without it.
Not Much Happier—the Irony of Consumption
The increase in prosperity is not making humans happier or
healthier, according to several studies. Findings from a survey
of life satisfaction in more than 65 countries indicate that
income and happiness tend to track well until about $13,000 of
annual income per person (in 1995 dollars). After that,
additional income appears to produce only modest increments in
self-reported happiness. In the U.S., the happiness rate has
steadily declined since the 1950s—oddly enough the exact time
when we shifted to a consumer-based economy.
Increased consumerism evidently comes at a steep price.
People are incurring debt and working longer hours to pay for
the high-consumption lifestyle, consequently spending less time
with family, friends, and community organizations.
"Excess consumption can be counterproductive," said Gardner.
"The irony is that lower levels of consumption can actually cure
some of these problems."

Diets of highly processed food and the sedentary lifestyle that
goes with heavy reliance on automobiles have led to a
worldwide epidemic of obesity. In the United States, an
estimated 65 percent of adults are overweight or obese, and the
country has the highest rate of obesity among teenagers in the
world. Soaring rates of heart disease and diabetes, surging
health care costs, and a lower quality of day-to-day life are the
result.
Some aspects of rampant consumerism have resulted in startling
anomalies. Worldwatch reports that worldwide annual
expenditures for cosmetics total U.S. $18 billion; the estimate
for annual expenditures required to eliminate hunger and
malnutrition is $19 billion. Expenditures on pet food in the
United States and Europe total $17 billion a year; the estimated
cost of immunizing every child, providing clean drinking water
for all, and achieving universal literacy is $16.3 billion.
And then there are social and spiritual costs. Allen Kanner and
Mary Gomes write in The All-Consuming Self: “The purchase
of a new product, especially a ‘big ticket’ item such as a car or
computer, typically produces an immediate surge of pleasure
and achievement and often confers status and recognition upon
the owner. Yet as the novelty wears off, the emptiness threatens
to return. The standard consumer solution is to focus on the
next promising purchase.”
Ultimately, it goes beyond pleasure or status; acquiring stuff
becomes an unquenchable demand. Paul Wachtel writes in The
Poverty of Affluence: “Having more and newer things each year
has become not just something we want but something we need.
The idea of more, ever-increasing wealth, has become the center
of our identity and our security, and we are caught up by it as
the addict is by his drugs.”
*
For homework, please answer the following questions. 1-2
pages.

1. Define these concepts:
· Consumerism
· Materialism
· Capitalism
· Conformity
2. What is the American Dream based on?
3. What do Americans value? What do we do to “look”
successful?
4. Is our “stuff” making us happy?
5. What can materialism do to society?
6. The question is, why does consumption make us so empty?
And why might some of the issues discussed here make some
people angry, depressed, lonely, suicidal, or even homicidal?
Could this kind of society drive a person insane?
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES CHECKLIST
Edwards 1
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES CHECKLIST
Edwards 2
Principles Checklist

Markis’ Edwards
November 20, 2017
Tenets
· Advisors need to consider and understand students’ values and
individuality in the development programs. It is important to
recognize that students have value and deserve to be respected.
· Advisors should recognize that student’s development is not
always predicted by theory. Different students develop at
different rates. Development may not always be painless.
· It is important to promote student’s development, afford
student opportunities for academic success while protecting the
sense of community and cultivating the necessary productive
skills to excel in the complex word. (In Abes, 2016).
· Advisors need to promote resourcefulness, creativity, and
accountability through effective feedback, collegiality, and
teamwork.
· It is important to always to seek to expand the existing
partnerships through programs and services that promote
mutually-beneficial partnerships with different community
entities.
· It is crucial that advisors remain responsive to the constituent
needs while upholding the high standards and expectation of
student development. This is aided by the provision of
accessible, accurate, and courteous services.
· The resources and staff should be aligned appropriately in
order to ensure student success throughout the time from
college exploration and recruitment to post-graduation planning.
· It is necessary that advisors develop, implement and
occasionally review the objectives and goals of the program in

order to ensure a tangible assessment of the quality and
effectiveness of the program. (Galassi, & Akos, 2015).
· The programs and its policies should be both diverse and
inclusive and should foster a campus climate.
· Advisors should assist with academic planning as well as
offering personal and educational support for students to attain
the defined objective.
· There should be tangible efforts to create awareness and to
promote the services offered by the department.
· Advisors should collaborate with the administration to ensure
that students are informed all the steps of the program in early
stages of the matriculation process. (Stefani, 2011).
References
Galassi, J. P., & Akos, P. (2015). Strengths-based school
counseling: Promoting student development and achievement.
New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
In Abes, E. S. (2016). Critical perspectives on student
development theory.
Stefani, L. (2011). Evaluating the effectiveness of academic
development: Principles and practice. New York: Routledge.
TRAINING OBJECTIVE
Edwards 2

Training Objective
Markis’ Edwards
November 10, 2017
The training objective for this training session will be to teach
the advisors on how to apply the theories of development to
their practice. While there are no established theories of
academic advising, there are a number of theories from
education and the social sciences that form the basis for
academic advising. This includes student individual identity
development and student social development theories. The focus
of this training session will be on the student individual identify
development. This training will highlight the importance of
understanding the individual development of students in order
to enable the advisors to be more proactive in anticipating
student issues and to be more responsive to the concerns that
may arise in the course of their duties.
The identity development theories that the advisors will be
taught include Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial development,
Levinson’s developmental theory and Chickering and Reissers’
seven vectors of identity development. Erikson theory
emphasizes the sociocultural determinants of development and
presents them in terms of eight stages. According to this theory,
individuals must resolve all these stages successfully in order to
develop.The stage that particularly applies to the traditional
college students is the identity versus role confusion which is

the fifth stage. It is important for advisors to appreciate this
stage as it is the time that the young adult begins to find
meaning in their life. Consequently, advisors can enable
students to navigate through potential crises that they may
encounter as they make the transition to adulthood.
Levison’s developmental theory outlines an individual life cycle
as defined by four eras which include the transition into early
adulthood, entering the adult world, age thirty transition and
settling down. Each of these eras is distinct (Frost & McClean,
2014). The transition from one era to another would require a
rudimentary change in the character of an individual’s life.
According to this theory, the traditional-aged college students
will fall into the second era of early adulthood. This occurs at
the age of between 17 and 45 years.
The other individual development theory is the Chickering and
Reisser’ seven vectors of identity development. This includes
managing emotion, developing competencies, developing
purpose, move from autonomy to interdependence, developing
integrity and the development of mature interpersonal
relationships. In contrast to Erikson’s stages, these vectors are
not sequential. However, they do build on each other which
results in greater intricacy, permanence, and integration.
Moreover, the academic environment exerts a powerful
influence that enables students to navigate through the seven
vectors of development.
As an academic advisor, it is vital to have a good understanding
of this theories and phases. This will enable one to ascertain the
level of development of specific students so as to help them in
developing within and beyond that particular stage. Developing
an understanding of how students establish meaning in the
various stage can provide the advisor with useful insights. This
will help them to explain to the students’ conditions that may be
confusing and that can hamper the students’ learning and
development process. Promoting the advisors’ understanding of
the individual identify development will reaffirm their
appreciation of the life themes that student have to cope with at

the various stages of development. This includes themes such as
the search for identity and purpose. These can help the advisors
to focus their interventions on students and advise them
accordingly.
Annotated Bibliography
This article makes reference to Erikson’s psychosocial
development theory to the current studies on resilience research.
The author of the article finds a strong connection between
resilience and developmental outcomes. Erikson theory
emphasizes the sociocultural determinants of development and
presents them in terms of eight stages. According to this theory,
individuals must resolve all these stages successfully in order to
develop. The stage that particularly applies to the traditional
college students is the identity versus role confusion which is
the fifth stage. It is important for advisors to appreciate this
stage as it is the time that the young adult begins to find
meaning in their life. According to this article, the task of an
individual at each stage is to resolve the crisis and transition
into the next developmental phase. Consequently, advisors can
enable students to navigate through potential crises that they
may encounter as they make the transition to adulthood.
This article is about the significance of early adulthood as one
of the defining periods in an individual’s life. The authors of
this article make reference to Levinson’s developmental theory
in exploring the importance of early adulthood to an
individual’s development. This theory outlines an individual
life cycle as defined by four eras which include the transition
into early adulthood, entering the adult world, age thirty
transition and settling down. Each of these eras is distinct with
a transition from one era to another requiring a rudimentary
change in the character of an individual’s life. According to

Aktu, early adulthood which defines the traditional-aged college
students comprise of the most satisfying and turbulent years of
an individual’s life.
Education 135(2), 257-263.
This article provides an overview of Erikson’s psychosocial
identity development theory. The author also identifies other
researchers that have extended Erikson’s work. As an academic
advisor, it is vital to have a good understanding of this theories
and phases. This will enable one to ascertain the level of
development of specific students so as to help them in
developing within and beyond that particular stage. This article
can contribute to an understanding of how students establish
meaning in the various stage can provide the advisor with useful
insights. This will help them to explain to the students’
conditions that may be confusing and that can hamper the
students’ learning and development process. The article also
clarifies the relationship between psychosocial factors and
college outcomes. This will promote the advisors’
understanding of the individual identify development and
reaffirm their appreciation of the life themes that student have
to cope with at the various stages of development. This includes
themes such as the search for identity and purpose. These can
help the advisors to focus their interventions on students and
advise them accordingly.
23(6).
This article identifies psychosocial theories as central in
educational systems and the recognition of the increasing
importance of identity theories in academic environments. This
is important for academic advisors as they will learn how to
apply the theories of development to their practice. According
to the authors of the article, while there are no established
theories of academic advising, there are a number of theories

from education and the social sciences that form the basis for
learning. This includes student individual identity development
and student social development theories. The focus of this
article is on the student individual identify development and
learning process. This article also highlights the importance of
understanding the individual development of students in order
to enable the advisors to be more proactive in anticipating
student issues and to be more responsive to the concerns that
may arise in the course of their duties.
References
Education 135(2), 257-263.
23(6).

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
Markis’ Edwards
Institutional Affiliation
DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENTCoordination between
students and staff membersCooperation between the department
and the student fraternityCollaboration between the students
department and students Establish communication between
administration, staff and student populationDevelop and
preserve collegiality.
Student Affairs as a profession entails that teaming up of
several departments within an institution to ensure that students
achieve their academic goals. To ensure this is achievable there
has to be five requirements, first coordination between the
student fraternity and staff. This is through intense planning
between the student body and staff. This is to ensure viable
programs are set up that will support and assist the students.
Second, cooperation between the student and teaching staff
(Christenson, Reschly & Wylie, 2012). This trait is usually
highly valued and sought after in many institutions . Third,
collaboration, for the student body to be effective in its duties
there has to be alliance between them and the student
population. Fourth, communication, the teaching faculty
exercises these skills when they need to transmit information
through out the student population (Christenson, Reschly &
Wylie, 2012). For this to be achieved the student’s department
has to establish and sustain communication. Finally,
collegiality, this is because they department has to prove its
professional purpose in supporting the teaching and student

population in the development of various academic fields
(Christenson, Reschly & Wylie, 2012).
*
THEMATIC GOALS OF THE DEPARTMENTProgrammatic
development building strong future foundationsMaintain vibrant
and dynamic campus lifeEnsure student successGlobalize
campus environmentProvide professional help for students
The goals can be divided into two: thematic and operational
goals. For thematic the student body ensures that the students
receive quality education by evaluating the staffing numbers to
protect and enhance the service being offered. Secondly, they
expand and progress the facilities that are available in relation
to demand. Third, ensure and sustain a dynamic and vibrant
student campus life with the provision of various activities.
Fourth, usually, achieved through data collected, student
success is a strategic and preservation model achieved from data
that is collected and processed after every specific period. Fifth,
with the increment in the rates of globalization, international
students are being coming a common occurrence, therefore the
campus has to be prepared to meet all their needs. Finally the
body provides the systems that can be used by the staff to
professionally impart the students.
*
OPERATIONAL GOALS OF THE DEPARTMENTProvisions of
clear information to studentsIdentify staff contribution Protect
the assets of the institution Provide counselling for the students
Provide health and wellness activities for studentsProvide a
student centered learning supportProvide quality eating

servicesPass judgment on student disciplinary mattersEnsure
proper residential experience
In terms of operation goals the requirements become more
diverse, they include, the provision of clear, timely and precise
information to all students through their entire educational
career. Moreover, the staff should also be recognized for their
contribution to the students. The body is also given the
responsibility of ensuring that the institutions assets are safe
and maintained (LeCourt,2012). The roles of the department are
not only limited to provision of systems for educational success,
they also provide counselling services to students overwhelmed
for various reasons. Inclusive of this service are health and
wellness activities that maximize the performance of the student
(Skinner & Pitzer, 2012). Even with education being centered
around the students other vital basic needs such as food and
accommodation have to be addressed by the body. Discipline is
vital in any educational institution, therefore, the student body
has to take responsibility of the students and enforce discipline.
*
Ensure students with disabilities have similar treatment and
opportunitiesProvide childcare programsRecognize academic
achievement by the studentsFoster a civil and respectful
environmentEnsure transition of educational programs and
services are smoothEnsure facilities that can accommodate
students with disabilities
Students with disabilities are often ignored but the student body
has to take care of them by ensuring that the institution is well
developed with their respective requirements needed to
accomplish their educational needs. Overall, student academic
success is an important step and the department has to recognize

these achievements (LeCourt,2012). This can be through various
activities such as enhancing transitions from academic to
professional careers.
*
VALUES OF THE DEPARTMENT Ensure all roles and values
are centered on the studentsProvide a friendly relationship to all
studentsEnsure educational climate is focused on the students
Adhere to philosophy of caringMaintain student pride
As a department, the needs and success of the students are most
vital meaning that they are centered in all the departments
activities (Skinner & Pitzer, 2012). This is by providing
programs and development of friendly relationships with all
students. Moreover, by providing an educational climate the
students are expected to portray success (Skinner & Pitzer,
2012). Finally, the “WE CARE” philosophy is essential as it
maintains the pride of students thus allowing them to focus on
their educational goals.
*
PHILOSOPHY OF STUDENT DEVELOPMENT Passion for
students successEngaging students to be leaders of
tomorrowProvide educational and personal advise towards
studentsRun mentoring programs that aid students with
difficultiesEnsure that a student’s life is positively impacted
As professionals, the success of students is the departments
passion, this is achieved through peer mentorship assisting
students become desirable leaders of tomorrow. The mentorship

program is pone of many programs that as a department has
been implemented and has showed promise. It has been
instrumental in impacting the lives of students positively,
therefore, by maintaining these basic student needs the
department will be able to sustain its relevance.
*
REFERENCESSkinner, E. A., & Pitzer, J. R. (2012).
Developmental dynamics of student engagement, coping, and
everyday resilience. In Handbook of research on student
engagement (pp. 21-44). Springer US.Christenson, S. L.,
Reschly, A. L., & Wylie, C. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook of
research on student engagement. Springer Science & Business
Media. LeCourt, D. (2012). Identity matters: Schooling the
student body in academic discourse. Suny Press.
*

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