Academic Advising

Academic advising was first performed by college presidents in colonial colleges; later by their faculty.

Need for vocational guidance was recognized because of economic and social conditions after the Civil War (for example, industrialization, immigration, child labor).

Expansion of college curricula and the introduction of electives in the nineteenth century created a need for more individual academic counseling.

First vocational guidance clinic established in 1920s at University of Pennsylvania, where vocational appraisal was used for psychological requirements of occupations.

William Rainey Harper, University of Chicago president, in 1905 suggested there needed to be a “scientific study of the student himself.”

Frank Parson’s espousal of more extensive vocational guidance in early 1900s started a more comprehensive vocational guidance movement.

After WWI, feelings and attitudes of students in addition to aptitudes were taken into account by advisors.

WWI’s need to screen draftees for assignment to jobs in military spawned an era of testing development.

By 1930, most colleges had formal faculty advising programs; college/department advising centers were established during the next decades.

First edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), which defined more than 18,000 U.S. occupations, was published by the U.S. Employment Service in 1939.

Theoretical concepts were incorporated into advising frameworks in 1970s and 1980s; student development theory began influencing advising practice.

Psychological, sociological, and economic theories of career continued to emerge in the 1940s to 1960s (for example, Super, Tiedeman, Holland); today old theories are being revised and new ones are emerging.

The National Academic Advising Association was formed in 1979 to fill a need for the growing professionalism of academic advising; in 2006 the association had about 9,000 members.

The National Vocational Guidance Association celebrated its ninetieth anniversary in 2004; many other career-related professional organizations have evolved.

Academic advising today is recognized as a critical service; the need for academic and career advising is reflected in a complex, ever-changing world.

Career counseling today encompasses a complex set of factors and needs that are met with diverse types of resources and techniques.

Academic Advising

Academic advising was first performed by college presidents in colonial colleges; later by their faculty.

Need for vocational guidance was recognized because of economic and social conditions after the Civil War (for example, industrialization, immigration, child labor).

Expansion of college curricula and the introduction of electives in the nineteenth century created a need for more individual academic counseling.

First vocational guidance clinic established in 1920s at University of Pennsylvania, where vocational appraisal was used for psychological requirements of occupations.

William Rainey Harper, University of Chicago president, in 1905 suggested there needed to be a “scientific study of the student himself.”

Frank Parson’s espousal of more extensive vocational guidance in early 1900s started a more comprehensive vocational guidance movement.

After WWI, feelings and attitudes of students in addition to aptitudes were taken into account by advisors.

WWI’s need to screen draftees for assignment to jobs in military spawned an era of testing development.

By 1930, most colleges had formal faculty advising programs; college/department advising centers were established during the next decades.

First edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), which defined more than 18,000 U.S. occupations, was published by the U.S. Employment Service in 1939.

Theoretical concepts were incorporated into advising frameworks in 1970s and 1980s; student development theory began influencing advising practice.

Psychological, sociological, and economic theories of career continued to emerge in the 1940s to 1960s (for example, Super, Tiedeman, Holland); today old theories are being revised and new ones are emerging.

The National Academic Advising Association was formed in 1979 to fill a need for the growing professionalism of academic advising; in 2006 the association had about 9,000 members.

The National Vocational Guidance Association celebrated its ninetieth anniversary in 2004; many other career-related professional organizations have evolved.

Academic advising today is recognized as a critical service; the need for academic and career advising is reflected in a complex, ever-changing world.

Career counseling today encompasses a complex set of factors and needs that are met with diverse types of resources and techniques.