General Information
Who Should Attend
Professional advisors, counselors, faculty, and administrators working to enhance the educational development of students are encouraged to attend the Advising Matters Conference.
Conference Overview
The Advising Matters Conference will kick off at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025, and conclude by 4:15 p.m. The 2025 conference will provide you with the following opportunities:
- Formal and informal networking with faculty and professional advisors committed to facilitating student academic success
- An interactive workshop and concurrent sessions focusing on advising tools, collaboration across the university and professional development for academic advisors
- Opportunities for professional development for all advisors
- Discussions on critical issues in academic advising
- A range of theoretical, practical, and interactive presentations
For more information about the Advising Matters Conference, please email advising@vt.edu.
Schedule
- 8:00–8:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
- 8:30–9:00 a.m. Welcome
- 9:00–11:00 a.m. Keynote Speaker
- 11:00–11:15 a.m. Break
- 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Concurrent Session I
- 12:15–1:15 p.m. Lunch
- 1:15–1:45 p.m. Table Discussions
- 1:45–2:00 p.m. Break
- 2:00–3:00 p.m. Concurrent Session II
- 3:00–3:15 p.m. Break
- 3:15–4:15 p.m. Concurrent Session III
Concurrent Workshops
Cultivating Connection: Envisioning a Collaborative Path to Student Success
Kevin Thomas, University of Central Arkansas
Location: Latham DEF
Building on the keynote's call to "see the whole picture," this session invites participants to reflect on the potential of collaborative efforts in shaping a supportive environment for students. Through guided discussions and thought-provoking examples, attendees will explore how fostering connections across campus can enhance student experiences and outcomes. This session encourages participants to think beyond traditional boundaries, envisioning new possibilities for cooperation and integration that address the diverse needs of students. Together, we will consider how a shared commitment to student success can inspire meaningful change and strengthen the fabric of the campus community.
First Gen in STEM Student Voices: Panel on Supporting First Generation College Students
Melissa Cumbia, Deanna Flora, Julie Burger, and Lauren Varboncoeur, Virginia Tech
Location: Assembly Hall
Advisors must be well equipped to support the holistic success of first generation college students. In this panel, attendees will hear directly from first generation students in STEM fields across three Virginia Tech colleges. Student panelists will share their personal experiences and challenges as well as make recommendations for how advisors can provide support. Join us to explore best practices for supporting first generation students throughout their undergraduate career. Attendees will gain insights to inform their work with first generation students. Key topics will include retention, belonging, and academic support. The session will also feature a Q&A to engage with panelists.
Connection Counts: Building Relationship-Rich Advising for Student Success
Haley Tucker and Rebekah DeToma, Virginia Tech
Location: Drillfield
What if the key to unlocking student success lies not in technology or resources, but in the power of meaningful relationships? We’ll explore how connections drive student success and provide actionable insights for integrating these principles into academic advising. While highlighting the impact of relationship-centered advising, we’ll share strategies for building rapport & discuss practical ways to offer tailored, inclusive support. Attendees will gain understanding of creating a connection-driven approach that enhances engagement, fosters belonging, & empowers students to thrive. Whether you're a seasoned advisor, new to the job, or teach a First-Year Experience course, this session offers new ideas for relationship-building!
Everyone and Everything Plays a Role in Student Success: Partnering with Generative AI
Suzanne Shelburne, Anya Work, and Krystal Johnson, Virginia Tech
Location: Solitude
Looking to add generative AI to your advising toolkit? This session explores the possibilities of generative AI in academic and career advising. We will discuss how advisors can ethically partner with generative AI to help students set goals, explore careers, prepare for interviews, and craft strong resumes and cover letters. Practical insights for leveraging AI tools in professional communication, administrative tasks, and instructional design will also be shared. Participants will have the opportunity to develop effective prompts and experiment with various platforms. Join us to discover how using generative AI responsibly can empower both advisors and students.
Firebreak: How Students and Academic Advisors Can Use the Circle of Control Theory for Stress Management When the World Is on Fire
Barbara Parker, Virginia Tech
Location: Smithfield
In this interactive workshop, participants will discuss stress and anxiety as experienced by both students and academic advisors. They will learn the Circle of Control theory introduced by Stephen R. Covey and use it to identify which stressors are within their control, which they can influence, and which are out of their control. Through hands-on activities, participants will identify their personal stressors and place them in their respective circles to manage stress and prevent burn out.
The Resilient Advisor: How to Last Over Time and Be Successful Through Resiliency Strategies and Collaborative Relationships
Lisa Racek, Virginia Tech
Location: Latham DEF
Advisors are often the front line to student success and thriving, and help students navigate burdens that can extend beyond academics including mental health challenges, relationship difficulties, food insecurity, and even crisis management. What factors influence your resilience and longevity? Are there ways to build this up over time so you can last in the role, remain inspired, and be successful? After interviewing advisors and mental health practitioners across the country, I’ve discovered some data that can help. This interactive session will equip you to define your own version of resiliency and empower you to thrive in a challenging role.
Collaborating to Develop and Embed Career and Professional Development Content in Your Curriculum
Priscilla Baker and Heidi Gilbert, Virginia Tech
Location: Assembly Hall
We’re seeing an increased disconnect between employer expectations and student preparedness, leading to a national conversation about the need for professional development early and often to ensure students are better prepared to enter the workforce as young professionals. This session will illustrate how one academic advisor collaborated with Career and Professional Development’s resources and expertise to design, embed, and teach career readiness in key required courses, exposing students to content at timely intervals, and increasing their understanding that becoming a professional is a process of developing a skill set and knowledge base rather than something that just happens at graduation.
Coordinated Care in Action: Leveraging Advising Tools for Student Success
Heather Whedbee, Virginia Tech
Location: Drillfield
Advisors are vital contributors to student success, especially through their work in submitting referrals and documenting interactions. This interactive workshop will examine how collaborative efforts, effective documentation, and well-placed referrals can lead to successful interventions and improved student outcomes. Through real-world case studies, participants will explore practical strategies for connecting students to resources and fostering persistence. Whether you use Navigate 360, Starfish, Maxient or another platform, this session will offer insights into how advisors’ contributions shape a comprehensive support system for students.
Building a Community of Practice in Liberal Arts Advising
Meira Kensky, Abigail Holeman, David Walsh, Roberto Armengol, and Sean Reid, University of Virginia
Location: Solitude
This academic year, the University of Virginia has embarked on an ambitious mission to create a community of practice around advising in and for the liberal arts. We are combining the expertise of newly hired advising fellows, faculty advisors, and a wider advising infrastructure to improve advisee-mentor connections, student intellectual flourishing, and pre-major wayfinding outcomes. In fall 2025, we will scale this model so that virtually all incoming students in UVA’s College of Arts and Sciences will be advised by their instructors in a required first-semester seminar. In this roundtable discussion, our director of advising and several colleagues showcase these efforts and their promising initial results, welcoming feedback, critique, and comparative collaboration from attendees.
Unlocking Graduate Opportunities: Advising for Accelerated Programs and Beyond
Jenn Million, Virginia Tech
Location: Smithfield
This session equips advisors with strategies to guide students in exploring graduate school options and assessing if it aligns with their goals. We’ll discuss selecting a graduate program and introduce Virginia Tech’s Accelerated Masters program, which allows students to take graduate-level courses that count toward both a Bachelors and Masters at the undergraduate rate. The session highlights advising tools that enhance support and promote retention through efficient academic pathways.
Innovative V-TOP Initiatives to Advance Student Career Success
Sam Ratcliffe and Carolyn Sutphin, State Council of Higher Education of Virginia
Location: Latham DEF
The session includes three key initiatives by the Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership to scale work-based opportunities statewide. It will focus on free online resources to help students complete internship opportunities and develop critical career readiness competencies. Other information includes modules developed for educators to develop skills and practices to become champions for students’ career success through more effective advising to foster a culture of career readiness in higher education.
The content is appropriate for anyone whose work can influence the career development of students. Participants will gain key information about resources to support student career advising and development, and how they can expand the impact of available career advising resources.
Increasing Collective Knowledge and Support Through Community
Christina Fabrey, Alyssa Henderson, Amber Smith, Lauren Thomas, and Matt Ebert, Virginia Tech
Location: Assembly Hall
Can your work in advising feel isolating? Do you find it difficult to stay informed about all of the resources available to students? Creating a Community of Practice (CoP) can empower a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and can provide you with a network of practitioners supporting the common work in advising or student success. CoPs can also foster meaningful professional development, improve knowledge and resources, and stimulate creativity! Come learn about CoP models, their benefits, and how they can be used to support advising communities. In this session, you will learn from cross-campus partners who built a peer education-focused CoP to address a campus need and leveraged their community to share resources and knowledge.
The Pressure of Straight A's: ADHD, Anxiety, and Added Stressors
Nicole Ebreo and Caroline Begley, Virginia Tech
Location: Drillfield
ADHD and anxiety are increasingly prevalent among our student population. According to research, there is an established connection between the two, which leads us to our overarching question: How can we utilize our understanding of the connection between ADHD and anxiety to effectively support first-year students?
In this presentation, we will explore strategies to enhance our practices in helping students manage both racing thoughts and anxiety-inducing emotions. We will examine this through the lens of educational psychology, focusing on Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory. The presentation aims to highlight current research on the connection between ADHD and anxiety, with an emphasis on applying this knowledge to advise first-year students.
Developing Strong Advisors from the Start: Tips for Onboarding and Integrating New Advisors to Your Team
Justin Grady and Caitlin Fanning, Virginia Tech
Location: Solitude
Looking to improve the training procedures for new academic advisors for your office, or maybe develop a new or initial training protocol? The advising team in the Pamplin College of Business have continued to develop, improve, and fine-tune our onboarding processes to support the rapid growth of our advising team since 2020. This presentation will provide insights and tools we have accumulated over the years to assist with developing effective new hire onboarding and training materials. Combined with foundational discussions in student learning and instructional design theories, this session will provide attendees with a toolbox of practical and theoretical takeaways to create and improve their onboarding and team building processes.
Laying the Foundation for First-Year Success: Enhancing Engagement Through Pre-Enrollment Summer Advising
Donna Faltin and Deanna Flora, Virginia Tech
Location: Smithfield
This session targets academic advisors working with first-year students, focusing on strategies to foster early engagement. We will present research highlighting the importance of early cognitive and behavioral engagement in promoting retention, graduation rates, and positive college experiences. Attendees will gain insights into advising practices that enhance student preparedness before the semester starts, along with specific activities to support academic, emotional, and social readiness. Participants will be equipped with new strategies to improve student outcomes from day one.