In light of the hectic summer and fall class registration, students now have the chance to recognize those academic advisers who have helped them prepare for their time spent at NMSU.
Implemented by the Academic Advising Council on campus, the "Excellence in Academic Advising" award is the very first acknowledgment of a particular adviser or professional staff member who has done his or her part in providing excellent guidance for students.
"There are a lot of situations [when] students receive bad advising and it can be very detrimental to his or her career," said Rebecca Diemer, coordinator of academic advising for the College of Arts and Sciences and member of the award committee. "If the student has a good relationship with an academic adviser it can be really helpful to their time spent at the university, so [the award] is an opportunity to recognize people who are doing their job well."
Diemer explained there are many types of awards on campus that recognize faculty members for teaching and different contributions, but the "Excellence in Academic Advising" award is a chance to distinguish both a faculty and staff member for their service to the students in a diverse way.
In the works for nearly five years, the advising award was finally passed and accepted by Provost Robert Moulton in the summer of 2008, said Diemer.
Nominations for the award can only be submitted by students from the community college campuses and main campus, Diemer explained.
"What we're hoping is that when a student reads through the [nomination criteria] they can identify someone on campus who has helped them," Diemer said. "Even if a student wouldn't traditionally think of a faculty adviser they go to as their academic adviser, but they can recognize what a faculty adviser has done for them."
Celina Talamantes, coordinator of academic advising in the College of Business and member of the award committee, explained there are two separate awards, one for a faculty member and one for a staff member, which is university wide.
"Basically, there is a lack of recognition of advisers by the university," Talamantes said. "I think [the award] is wonderful. It's a long time coming especially because our professional advisers have not been recognized and they have been very instrumental in the university for many years."
With close to 50 nominations, Diemer said she will be accepting recommendations until Friday and is willing to take others submitted right after the deadline.
Diemer said the award will be presented at the 2009 Fall Convocation, which is an opening ceremony for the school year in August.
"I think students, especially first year students coming right out of high school, there's not a whole lot of ability at that age or developmental level to really focus on four or five years from now," Diemer said. "So an academic adviser is a person who can do some long term planning with that student, so that there is not a waste of time."
Diemer said an adviser's job is to make sure students are investing their time wisely and appropriately.
"Even students who don't necessarily have goals four or five years out when they come to the university, just helping them process through what some of their interests might be is useful to what they end up choosing as goals," Diemer said.
Used for professional development, Diemer said the award carries a monetary value of $500 to be used towards conferences or books that the recipient may personally choose.
As for choosing a recipient, a committee of five or six people will review the nominations and then make a recommendation to Provost Robert Moulton.
"[The committee] will be looking through to see if the student who made the nomination has identified a person that has really helped them by the criteria provided, and again it's going to be at the judgment of the committee and the provost," Diemer said. "My anticipation is that it be more heavily weighed on the person achieving the goals for the student rather than number of submissions for that person."
Talamantes said the nomination committee will be comprised of students, staff and faculty.
"I'm concluding that after the committee [looks] through all the applications maybe they'll give Provost Moulton the top five according to everybody's input and feedback, and then the provost would select from there, but it hasn't been decided yet," Talamantes said.
Hoping to see participation from the students, Diemer said her main goal is to make the campus aware that the nominations for the award are completely student-driven.
"It is a way for the [students] to recognize the impact someone has had on their lives," Diemer said. "It's also a way to give back a little to the person who has helped a student accomplish something with [his or her] career at the university."
Talamantes explained advising is not just on the students' side, but advisers also benefit from the relationship by seeing the accomplishments of the students.
"I think [advising] is not only looking at it from the student's perspective, but from ours too," Talamantes said. "Students are really encouraging a lot of the time and there is positive feedback, which shows us that we are making difference in their academic careers."
She said it is not only beneficial to the students that an adviser can personally direct them, but also the students are inspirational.
"Students are going through so much and we admire them for what they're doing," Talamantes said. "Advising is not a one-sided thing and I think that's what makes it so great. I hardly ever hear any complaints about the academic advisers on campus, and their advice is from the heart."
Through this award, Diemer explained students can recognize those advisers who have helped them make a future at NMSU.
"Students are making an investment in not only getting a degree, but also developing themselves as a person," Diemer said. "It's important for a person to have a mentor and if they can identify a good mentor on campus who is consistently there for them and providing the things an academic adviser does, the likelihood of their success is higher than students who haven't identified that type of support on campus."
To submit a nomination or to acquire a nomination form, e-mail Diemer at rmdiemer@nmsu.edu or call her at 646-5385.
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