Every summer, hundreds of graduate students nationwide participate in student affairs-related internships through organizations such as the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) and the Association of College and University Housing Officers–International (ACUHO–I). The field of academic advising seems a natural host for such an internship program, yet one has not yet been established. Unfortunately, academic advising offices across the country are missing opportunities to work with countless bright, emerging student affairs professionals, many of whom may be interested in academic advising as a profession. Not only would a national advising internship program during the summer benefit students and offices alike, it would also lend crucial national and international exposure to the field of academic advising. A summer internship program in academic advising could attract more top-notch student leaders to the field of advising and would likely translate to greater depth and quality of candidate pools for academic advising positions. This would not only benefit advising offices but also the students they serve. The purpose of this article is to highlight two successful summer internship program models, propose that the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) establish a summer internship program for academic advising, explain the benefits of a summer academic advising internship program for all parties involved, and feature one small advising internship program that has been established between the University of South Carolina and Penn State.

Successful Summer Internship Program Models

Two successful models of national higher education summer internship programs, sponsored by NODA and ACUHO–I, provide insight into establishing an internship program for academic advising. NACADA could examine these models and find the necessary framework to implement a platform for internships before customizing a program to fit its unique needs.

National Orientation Directors Association (NODA)

NODA's summer internship program supports one of the organization's core values that indicates NODA "strives to attract a pluralistic membership and leadership and endeavors to facilitate the professional development of its members" (NODA, 2009, ¶ 1). With more than fifty public and private institutions participating, the summer internship program generates interest and excitement about the field of orientation and serves as an effective recruitment method to increase the organization's membership, as well as diversify and expand the candidate base for jobs. Such experiences may lead interns and hosts to increasingly publish and speak about their experiences and campus–specific methods of service delivery. The internship program can generate other forms of recognition and publicity for the field of advising and for NODA through awards and accolades. In addition, the summer internship program also aligns with its first strategic priority, which is to "position the Association to be recognized as the leader in the fields of orientation, transition and retention" (NODA, 2009, ¶ 8). Its successful summer internship program has contributed immensely to this priority by providing instruction and practical experience to students wishing to enter the academic advising field. In addition, should interns eventually decide to pursue careers in other fields, they have been exposed to NODA and are familiar with the organization and the duties that orientation professionals perform.

Association College and University Housing Officers–International (ACUHO–I)

The ACUHO–I summer internship program has swelled to nearly 140 participating institutions across the United States and Canada. Recently, the program opened to international students to further diversify its intern base. By participating in the program, ACUHO–I interns "will be able to contribute new ideas to their home institution [and] have the chance to interact with future employers and mentors" (ACUHO–I, n.d., ¶ 2). ACUHO–I envisions becoming the worldwide authority on housing, and the summer internship program is a vital step toward accomplishing this vision. ACUHO–I identifies five areas that reflect the organization's commitment to achieving excellence: Expertise/Knowledge, Higher Education, Human Resources/Workforce, Students, and Relationships (ACUHO–I, 2010, p. 5). The association's summer internship program contributes heavily to all five areas by encouraging emerging leaders to gain expertise and knowledge about the field, supporting higher education by delivering services to students and experience to interns, developing and deepening its candidate pool of emerging housing professionals, catering to the needs of students, and building crucial professional and personal relationships with its participants.

Why NACADA Should Establish a Summer Internship Program

Given that both NODA and ACUHO–I have established successful summer internship programs, it seems logical that NACADA would appropriately establish an academic advising summer internship program. Such an initiative would allow NACADA to fulfill its vision and mission statements. For example, NACADA's vision statement asserts, "NACADA is the leader within the global education community for the theory, delivery, application and advancement of academic advising to enhance student learning and development" (NACADA, n.d., ¶ 4). A summer internship program would be an excellent opportunity for NACADA members to lead by example, showing emerging professionals best practices for advising delivery methods and services. The five strategic goals of NACADA focus on globally addressing the advising needs of higher education, advancing advising scholarship, explicating the educational component of advising in student learning, educating upper administration and educational leaders about the role of advising in student development, and ensuring that NACADA is an effective organization (NACADA, n.d., Strategic Goals). Establishing a summer internship program would be in alignment with several of NACADA's strategic goals, specifically advancing scholarship, expanding on the educational role of advising, and bolstering the effectiveness of NACADA.

The summer internship program would be the perfect platform for educating aspiring student affairs professionals about the field of advising and the immense impact it has on students. Experiential education through an internship would allow each intern to absorb the knowledge and theory while relating it to his or her personal advising theory. This would likely lead to an increased number of academic advising publications and research opportunities, furthering the body of scholarship in the field. Interns would also gain firsthand experience in using advising as a means to enhance student learning by individually meeting with students and putting theory into practice. Interns would learn that advising is much more than course selection and policy explanation; that advising can be a method of changing the world one student at a time. Finally, creating an internship program would strengthen the organizational effectiveness of NACADA. Membership would undoubtedly increase, opportunities for collaboration with other programs and professionals would expand, and involvement in conferences and committees would see large gains. An internship program could very well help NACADA reach new heights and levels of success.

Benefits of Creating a Summer Internship Program for Advising

There are numerous benefits associated with creating a summer internship program. The benefits extend to all parties involved, including NACADA, host institutions, and summer internship candidates.

Benefits to NACADA

Educating others about the importance of academic advising is a top priority for NACADA. Academic advising is a crucial component of the collegiate experience, as advisers help to shape the futures of their students by tailoring schedules to specifically meet students' interests, goals, and career aspirations. Many entering graduate students in higher education and/or student affairs programs have an interest in advising but may not have an opportunity to gain advising experience through their graduate institutions. Without formal advising internship opportunities, many graduate students instead end up pursuing careers in housing and orientation programs, because they are exposed to those fields during summer internships. The field of academic advising misses opportunities to attract top-notch candidates, and creating a summer internship program could reverse that problem and instead generate an increase in excellent job candidates, publications, research, and even funding. In addition, NACADA could attract future members to its organization.

Benefits to Host Institutions

Interns can help host institutions staff offices during the busy summer advising times. Many institutions face escalating student enrollments and decreased funding, thus advisers are often stretched thin as they meet with new students during summer orientation sessions. Institutions could host summer interns to assist as needed and alleviate some of the workload. Host institutions also benefit, because supervisors are able to observe potential candidates for future position openings. Assuming the internship experience is strong and effective, each host institution also enjoys positive publicity and an enhanced reputation. Finally, advisers within host institutions are in a position to share their passion for the advising field while educating interns about procedures and delivery methods.

Benefits to Student Interns

Summer interns would have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with professionals and other interns from such offices as orientation, housing, alumni/parents associations, campus wellness, registrar, financial aid, disability services, and campus activities. Student affairs professionals possess a wide range of knowledge and ideas and continually seek to improve services through the exchange of these ideas and knowledge. Interns would not only learn about the importance of partnerships but also would experience it firsthand and become better professionals along the way. What better forum is there for young professionals to learn this concept than through an advising internship?

Students would also have the opportunity to bring successful advising strategies and initiatives back to their home institutions, thus leading to more sharing of innovative ideas. In this age of accountability and assessment, constant improvement of services rendered is becoming increasingly important to the many higher education stakeholders, including administrators, students, parents, legislators, donors, and alumni. Interns could publish their initiatives or present these new ideas at national and regional conferences, such as those offered by NACADA, benefiting themselves and their institutions as well as the entire advising community. It is important to remember that these students seek to build their own professional reputations, and internships can serve as an effective vehicle to further their credibility, knowledge, and experiences.

A Successful Model for the Summer Advising Internship

Although a formal internship program does not currently exist, there is at least one small informal summer internship program in advising that has been established between the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) master's degree program at the University of South Carolina (USC) and Penn State's Division of Undergraduate Studies. The two institutions have established an informal summer program in which several USC graduate students intern as academic advisers at Penn State.

Administrators at USC and Penn State highlighted strengths and areas of growth for the joint venture. USC sent two master's degree candidates to Penn State during summer 2009 and summer 2010. Jenny Bloom, director of USC's HESA program, noted that her students became "immersed in the field and got to see what a typical day is like for an adviser" (personal communication, March 26, 2010) and were also able to expand their professional networks. She added that the interns were "exposed to current professionals in the field and were able to add to an already diverse portfolio of graduate-level experiences and skills" (personal communication, March 26, 2010).

Penn State administrators of the First-Year Testing, Consulting, and Advising Program (FTCAP) recognized numerous advantages to hosting interns in the FTCAP office, including having additional help during a peak advising time. Janet Schulenberg, coordinator of FTCAP programming, found that the interns brought new perspectives to the work place, provided vibrant energy to the office, and helped to keep professional advisers mentally fresh. Schulenberg noted that the interns were able to "learn another institutional system to gain a holistic perspective on the field, and also define and push their own limits in a demanding internship" (personal communication, March 29, 2010). Both Bloom and Schulenberg acknowledged that the internship arrangement would benefit the advising field in areas of new professional recruitment and national interest, would expose emerging leaders to a field not currently represented on a national internship level quite like NODA or ACUHO–I, and would increase the legitimacy of the field through scholarship and knowledge.

Stephanie Ganser, one of the summer interns from USC, reflected on her experiences and the impact of her summer internship at Penn State, saying she "worked and learned from some of the best advisers in the nation...[who] challenged me to work for nothing less than the best when I was advising students" (personal communication, March 10, 2010). Ganser also said, "Penn State offered a correct balance of challenge and support in my position, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in academic affairs" (personal communication, March 10, 2010). After a comprehensive and intensive training period, Ganser was trusted with the responsibility of advising students and was given ongoing professional development opportunities, including supervisory meetings, team meetings with other professionals at Penn State, and a project involving a critical analysis of one aspect of the office. Schulenberg specifically noted that Ganser's research on undergraduate mentors revealed a gap in FTCAP's level of mentorship provided to undergraduate-student class mentors. Ganser's fresh perspective allowed her to identify a problem and then develop a proposal to solve it. Penn State subsequently asked Ganser to return during summer 2010 to implement the program she developed.

Summary

Establishing a summer academic advising internship program for academic advising, administered by NACADA, would provide a plethora of benefits for interns, host institutions, NACADA, and the field of academic advising. The interest, excitement, and overall benefit of such a program heavily outweigh any challenges associated with its development. By learning from sister organizations such as NODA and ACUHO–I, NACADA is ideally positioned to develop a strong and well–respected summer internship program. Schulenberg (personal communication, March 30, 2010) summed it up best by stating that a national program &would open up eyes to opportunities in academic advising and increase the candidate pool intentionally rather than people finding it by a happy accident."