17th and 18th Centuries

A Chronology of academic Advising in America timeline during the 17th and 18th Centuries.
Colonial College presidents and later the faculty are responsible for advising students regarding their extracurricular activities, their moral life, and intellectual habits. Colleges act in loco parentis.

19th Century

A Chronology of academic Advising in America timeline during the 19th Century.
Late 1820s Kenyon College (OH) introduces the first known formal system of advising. Each student is teamed with a faculty member who serves as the student's adviser.
1870 Ephraim Gurney is appointed as the first dean at Harvard responsible for taking the burden of student discipline off of President Eliot's hands.
1876/1877 First system of faculty advisers is established at Johns Hopkins. President Daniel Coit Gilman credits classicist Charles D'Urban Morris with the idea.
By 1882 Increasing number of “matrons,” “lady assistants,” and “lady principals” succeed in overseeing coeducational environments. Some consider them to be the forerunners of advisers.
1889 Edward Herrick Griffin is appointed “Chief of Faculty Advisers” at Johns Hopkins. His principle function is to be a “moral and intellectual force among the undergraduates.”
1889/1890 Harvard creates a special counseling group called the “Board of Freshman Advisors” to advise first-year students.
1890 Harvard appoints LeBaron Russell Briggs (Professor of English) as dean to perform advising as well as disciplinary duties. This appointment divides the deanship and its labor between an academic dean and a dean of students.
1892 William Rainey Harper of the University of Chicago appoints Alice Freeman Palmer (professor of history) as “Dean of Women.” Most historians agree that Freeman was the first dean of women. There is some evidence, however, that Swarthmore appointed Elizabeth Power Bond (professor of mathematics) as a “matron” in 1890.
1895 Marion Talbot replaces Palmer as dean of women at the University of Chicago. Talbot is the first full-time dean of women.
1899 William Rainey Harper of the University of Chicago predicts that a feature of 20th century education that would be of greatest importance would be “The Scientific Study of the Student” so that the student may receive the assistance so essential to his highest success.
1900 At the beginning of the 20th century, the title “dean of women” evolves. They are charged with handling discipline, extracurricular activities, and resolution of academic problems. The title “dean of men” is also said to have begun at this time.

As the breadth and complexity of the curricula increased, the need for specialization and extended counseling became more critical. It is here that we see the beginnings of the specialization of advising into at least three types:

There was considerable overlap between these functions in the early- to mid-20th century.

20th Century

A Chronology of academic Advising in America timeline during the 20th Century.
1900s Deans of men and deans of women are charged to handle disciplinary duties and extracurricular activities, but also begin to resolve academic problems. The primary source for academic advising, however, is the faculty.
Post WWI Counselors are trained to complement faculty advising. Feelings and attitudes of students are taken into account in addition to aptitudes for study.
Post WWII The GI Bill provides direct financial assistance for returning soldiers to attend college. Over 2.25 million veterans enroll at 2,000 different colleges. There is an “overwhelming embarrassment of curricular riches” that make it difficult for a student to choose courses. Specially-trained professionals are needed to help students through the maze of course selection based on the individual's unique intellectual, personal, and social makeup.
1960s/70s The advent of the community college and new student populations such as more first-generation and lower-income students, under prepared students, reentry students, disabled students, and international students requires individualized academic adjustment and planning.
1970s Developmental advising makes its appearance.
1972 University 101 for freshmen at the University of South Carolina is begun to “increase student retention, promote faculty development, and humanize the university environment.”
1977 The first national academic advising conference is held in Burlington, VT.
1979 The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) is established. Within its first year, NACADA has 429 members.
1970s/80s Advising centers as a delivery system begin to make their appearance, and the number of full-time professional advisers increases dramatically. Studies begin to link academic advising services to student retention.
1981 The term “academic advising” becomes a descriptor for the Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC). The first issue of the NACADA Journal is published.
1982 University 101-U is established; it incorporates academic advising to help undecided students with a more comprehensive approach to making educational and career decisions.
1983 ACT and NACADA establish a national recognition program for academic advisers and advising programs.
1986 The Council for the Advancement of Standards prepares standards for academic advising, which address issues such as mission, administration, resources, facilities, and ethics.
1990s The “new student populations” of the 1970s are the regular students of the 1990s. Specializations within academic advising (advising for athletes, undeclared students, preprofessional students, etc.) take hold. Automated degree audits become widely available.
1998 NACADA awards its first “technology” award.
1999 NACADA membership tops 4,800.