On December 3, 1904, Ernest Coulter, a clerk in the New York Children's court, addressed the Men's Club of the Central Presbyterian Church about youth in peril. His example was a young boy who was about to be sent to a reformatory for his crime. Coulter appealed to those present in the following words: “There is only one possible way to save that youngster, and that is to have some earnest, true man volunteer to be his big brother, to look after him, help him to do right, make the little chap feel that there is at least one human being in this great city who takes a personal interest in him; who cares whether he lives or dies.” With these words, the Big Brother Big Sister movement was born (Beiswinger, 1989).

One hundred years later, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) is recognized as the premier youth mentoring organization in America. Now serving 250,000 children in 5,000 locations throughout the United States, BBBSA strives to create one million matches by the year 2010. Research conducted by BBBSA (1993) in the form of an impact study revealed success in quality outcomes as well as in growth. Children between the ages of ten and sixteen who were in a BBBSA program and matched with a mentor were found to be 46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27 percent less likely to begin using alcohol, and 52 percent less likely to skip school.

Although academic advisers deal with a different population than that served by BBBSA, both hope for similar outcomes. Children served by BBBSA are more likely to become successful adults as a result of this mentoring intervention. Students become successful graduates through successful advising interventions. Therefore, the success of this nonprofit and its forward momentum are worth examining in order to understand the structure behind its success, to glean insights from comparison of BBBSA and academic advising, and to make recommendations for academic advising programs. The three hallmarks of the BBBSA youth service organization—mission, administration, and national affiliation—apply directly to and substantially inform academic advising programs.

Mission

BBBSA has a clear statement of mission and purpose that is values centered, client driven, and outcomes based. “Bigs” as well as “Littles” and their families understand the mission and share the values of the program. As a result of this mission-focused clarity, both Bigs and Littles have clear and reasonable expectations concerning their involvement in the relationship from the very start. White (2000) states that it is “incumbent upon every advising program . . . to develop a mission. . . .” (p. 180). This mission should be based in shared values, like those contained in the core values of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and the standards and guidelines of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). The values should be explicitly coherent with those expressed in the institutional mission statement, which should be student centered and outcomes driven. The process of crafting such a statement helps to sharpen and define the advising process on campus. Its publication can help to shape public expectations concerning the purpose and role of advising on campus, thus making clear individual commitment and contribution to the program for both advisers and advisees. Its use in adviser training and in assessment can help to establish homogeneous, high-quality advising throughout the institution.

Administration

BBBSA has a strong administrative structure that ensures service delivery and quality control through selection, training, and support of its volunteers. Freedman (1993) points out that BBBSA's growth in the early twentieth century was due to its achieving “a balance between fervor and operational consistency” (p. 30) through professional program administration. Today the newly implemented service delivery model takes the traditional notion of a relationship-oriented caseworker and transforms that role to one that is more task oriented. Inherent in the new job title is the task and role of the employee. This language reinforces the mission statement in that it makes clear individual contribution to the mission by employees and what the public may expect of that contribution. For instance, rather than being called caseworkers, BBBSA employees are now referred to as intake specialists or match specialists. This new administrative structure was promoted with BBBSA employees through extensive training and brought to the greater public's awareness through brand advertising cleverly termed “A Brand New Way of Thinking.”

Many college and university advising programs lack a clear, coherent, well-organized, and well-supported administrative structure; precise job descriptions; or sufficient training opportunities. Habley (2000) cites results of ACT's 1997 survey of academic advising, showing that “on 71 percent of college campuses, the individual responsible for the coordination of advising devoted 50 percent or less of his or her time to that function” (p. 37). Although professional staff advisers have job descriptions, faculty advisers are often assigned advisees without any clear description of advising responsibility. Adviser training and development, if any exists, is usually in the form of a short workshop without any follow-up training activities. As a result, advising administration often becomes a mechanical matching of advisers and advisees, and advisers perform their important work without direction and support. In fact, the 1997 survey also showed that, in relation to previous surveys, administrative effectiveness had decreased, as did the amount of staff training and information and number of group interventions. A clear administrative structure with extensive training is central to the development of an effective advising program. The role of advising in facilitating student success should be conveyed to all stakeholders in the institution.

National Affiliation

Finally, BBBSA has a national presence and centralized services. The national headquarters in Philadelphia support chapters throughout the nation. The organization is given support and coordination by a strong board of trustees with wide representation. A national organization creates national recognition. It can provide centralized resources like directories, Web pages, and training materials. It allows individual chapters to share their talent and experience and be a part of consistent and positive trends in the organization.

Advising programs or individual advisers can benefit greatly from the services of NACADA, which is supported and coordinated by a strong board of highly respected professionals in the field. NACADA has raised the level of respect that academic advising receives as a professional activity. It provides regional and national conferences, directories, a comprehensive Web-based resource, and materials for professional training and development. Through listservs, conferences, and consultants, it allows individual advisers to benefit from each other's experience. Continued active involvement in NACADA keeps advising programs and individual advisers abreast of important developments in the field.

Conclusion

As BBBSA celebrates its one-hundredth anniversary, it has realized more than a 20 percent growth increase in the last three years with no loss in quality. This success comes with its commitment to communicating a strong mission statement, a newly implemented clear administrative structure, and affiliation with the national organization. As a profession with ideals and expected outcomes similar to those of BBBSA, academic advising would do well to emulate the administrative strengths of BBBSA in the continued development of advising programs.