Developmental Advising Is/Is Not (Crookston, 1972, p. 13)
Perhaps an easy way to understand the concept of developmental advising is to compare prescriptive and developmental advising techniques using this chart developed by Crookston.
| Prescriptive Advising | Developmental Advising |
|---|---|
| Advisor tells student what he/she needs to know about programs and courses. | Advisor helps student learn about courses and programs for self. |
| Advisor knows college policies and tells student what to do. | Advisor tells student where to learn about policies and helps in understanding how they apply to him/her |
| Advisor informs about deadlines and follows up behind student. | Advisor informs about deadlines, then lets student follow up. |
| Advisor tells student which classes to take. | Advisor presents class options; student makes own selections. |
| Advisor keeps informed about academic progress through files and records. | Advisor keeps informed about academic progress through records and talking to student about academic experiences. |
| Advisor tells student what to do in order to get advised. | Advisor and student reach agreement about nature of advising relationship. |
| Advisor uses grades and test results to determine courses most appropriate for student. | Advisor and student use grades, test results and self-determined interests and abilities to determine most appropriate courses. |
| Advisor specifies alternatives and indicates best choice when student faces difficult decisions. | Advisor assists student in identifying alternatives and weighing consequences when facing difficult decisions. |
| Advisor suggests what student should major in. | Advisor suggests steps students can take to help decide on major. |
| Advisor identifies realistic academic goals based on grades and test results. | Advisor assists student in identifying realistic academic goals based on grades, test results and self-understanding. |
| Advisor is concerned mainly about academic life of student. | Advisor is concerned about personal, social and academic life of student. |
| Advisor provides information mainly about courses and class schedules. | Advisor provides information about workshops and seminars in areas such as career planning and study skills, in addition to courses and class schedules. |