NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
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Academic Advising Council Newsletter
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Meet our inaugural NIU Advising Top Dog
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We are thrilled to celebrate Marissa Wolfe as the very first recipient of the NIU Advising Top Dog Academic Advising Excellence Award! When this award was being imagined, Marissa was exactly the kind of advisor it was meant to honor.
Marissa’s advising style is the definition of student-centered. With a 300-student caseload, she somehow knows every student’s story – their goals, strengths, challenges and next steps – and makes sure no one slips through the cracks. She reaches out early, follows up often and balances encouragement with just the right amount of push to help students take ownership of their academic journeys.
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Beyond her direct work with students, Marissa is a quiet force behind the scenes. From pioneering advising processes and communication plans to helping colleagues make better use of technology, her ideas have improved how advising works across the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and beyond. She’s also a generous teammate who shares what she learns, supports her colleagues and leads by example without ever seeking the spotlight.
Simply put, our advising community is stronger because of Marissa. We couldn’t imagine a more deserving Top Dog to kick off this new tradition.
If you know someone who should be the next Top Dog recipient, nominate them now to be honored at an end-of-semester event!
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NACADA Micro-credential scholarships
In February, the Academic Advising Council put out a call for applicants for three scholarships to pursue micro-credential courses offered by NACADA. We are pleased to announce the three recipients for this year:
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- Heather Lissman, Academic Advising Center
- Judy Puskar, College of Education
- Olivia Monteiro, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
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We appreciate all the advisors who took the time to put in an application this year!
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Events and Activities
The Academic Advising Council has been busy focusing on fostering community, enhancing advisor development and providing feedback to campus leadership. Here is a quick overview of a few things that have been going on:
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- Fall social: We had our biggest turnout yet at our social hosted at El Jimador in October. Advisors from across colleges and units came together to network, share experiences and relax during the busy advising season.
- December holiday appreciation event: Braving the weather, advisors from across campus came together to share snacks, swap stories from the semester and get creative with advising-themed coloring sheets. We presented the inaugural Top Dog award at this event.
- Advising ladder: Conversations are ongoing between the work group comprised of Academic Advising Council members, advising directors, university administration and Human Resource Services. This is a complex process with many moving parts, and progress is being made. We will share more about advising ladder discussions as they continue.
- Providing feedback: The Academic Advising Council has been providing feedback to the Provost’s office on advising-related issues, ensuring the voice of the advising community is heard in decision-making processes. As you have issues you feel need addressing, please continue to work with your council representative so we can mention them in a future meeting. Also, you may fill out the Advisor Feedback survey
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Trainings
A core mission of the Academic Advising Council is to provide professional development opportunities for the advising community. The next professional development opportunity will take place at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 15 via Microsoft Teams. This session will cover the Trauma Informed Framework and how it can be applied to academic advising, and will be hosted by Alex Blake, academic advisor for the College of Health and Human Sciences and Brian Pillsbury, staff psychologist for NIU Counseling and Consultation Services.
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NACADA Region 5 Conference reflections
by Jen Fife
A generous scholarship from the Academic Advising Council allowed me to attend the 2025 NACADA Region 5 conference on “The Architecture of Advising” in Chicago. Presentations covered a wide range of topics, including advising models, culturally competent advising for specific populations, and practical strategies for advising sessions. While the session content varied, all of it reinforced a key idea: belonging and self-efficacy are critical to student success.
After learning about Appreciative Advising at the conference, I worked the first phase – disarm – into my initial meetings with students. I reframed my first meeting with students to ask, “tell me about your education so far” instead of “tell me a little about you.” It’s still an open-ended question, but offering specific guidance and a question with no “wrong” answer eases their nerves.
Their replies let me cater to a diverse array of needs, from explaining how to get accommodations to spending time on Huskie Hub to ensure lonely students can find opportunities for campus engagement. Thornton’s Blueprint for a Successful Appointment acts as a guide to start integrating these skills into your appointments:
Thornton’s Blueprint for a Successful Appointment
Thornton uses student-centered Motivational Interviewing (OARS):
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- Open-ended questions
- Affirmation (validate student’s effort)
- Reflective listening (repeat back what student said to ensure understanding)
- I do this by using the phrase, “what I’m hearing is” and asking if that’s correct
- Summarize (include action items)
- I generally make the student summarize instead, including telling me what actions they will take
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- Send birthday messages
- Celebrate student achievements (Dean’s List, scholarships, Huskie Spotlight, NIU Today, etc.)
- Take notes about your students (break plans, upcoming trips, interviews, etc.) and ask how they went
- Celebrate students’ cultural holidays if you know them
- Celebrate milestones (passing a difficult exam, graduation, etc.)
- Visit student spaces if feasible
- Provide additional information, including catalog or website links where students can find information
- Ensure timely communication (reply promptly or let students know when to expect a reply)
- Add fidget toys and/or a candy dish to your desk (make sure it has options for gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, halal, etc.)
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