Charles Town, WV – Oct. 3, 2018 – American Public University System (APUS) today announced that it has been selected to participate in the charter cohort of the Excellence in Academic Advising (EAA) program, the only fully-online institution represented among the twelve chosen.
Created jointly by NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising and the Gardner Institute, the program establishes the aspirational standards for institutions to evaluate and improve academic advising, given its central role in promoting student learning, success and completion. NACADA, based at Kansas State University, is a global association of professional advisors, counselors, faculty members, and administrators dedicated to enhancing the educational development of students in higher education through research, professional development and leadership.
The non-profit Gardner Institute partners with colleges, universities, philanthropic organizations, educators, and other entities to increase institutional responsibility for improving outcomes associated with teaching, learning, retention, and completion. In 2013, APUS was also selected to participate in the pilot of the Institute’s Gateways to Completion program.
“We are honored to be chosen alongside so many other accomplished institutions as part of the initial EAA cohort,” said Dr. Vernon Smith, provost. “Like APUS, all these schools are similarly committed to addressing and overcoming some of the most pressing educational and equity challenges crossing all sectors.”
In the initial year of the NACADA program, APUSwill partner with an EAA fellow who will guide it through an institution-wide, evidence‐based, decision-making, planning and implementation process designed to further enhance its advising efforts. Using EAA’s nine “Conditions of Excellence in Academic Advising,” APUSwill refine, validate, and establish the standards or benchmarks to guide a reflective self-study and strategic advising assessment.
In addition to APUS, 11 other two- and four-year institutions nationwide were selected from a large pool of applicants. The cohort also comprises small liberal arts colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and large regional and state institutions offering both online and onground programs. Other schools include Claflin University, College of the Mainland, Florida International University, Frostburg State University, Johns Hopkins University, State University of New York - New Paltz, University of Hawaii - Mānoa, University of Southern Maine, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, Wheaton College (Mass.) and Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.
