Larsen takes on leadership role in online advising group
April 13, 2022
DSU advisor dedicated to student success
NACADA is the representative and advocate for academic advising and the professionals providing that support in higher education, with approximately 13,000 members representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and several other international countries.
Kati Larsen, an academic advisor with The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences, has been named to a leadership position in Distance Advising for Online Education with the professional organization NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.
Larsen has been a member of the group since 2016, which has tens of thousands of members worldwide. NACADA offers assistance in a number of advising communities, such as athletes, transfer students, military/veteran students, or adult learners, but Larsen embraces the resources and insights NACADA provides advisors with best practices related to distance advising in online education.
“This directly aligns with my work as an online academic advisor for The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences,” Larsen said. She plans to use this leadership position to dive deeper into the NACADA organization, and gain valuable leadership experience.
“I also hope to provide resources, information, and best practices to the university so we can continue to provide quality academic advising to our online students,” she added.
This is what Larsen has done throughout her time as an advisor, said Sarah Rasmussen, Director of Online Education. She has taken information, even advising information in general, and adapted it to the online environment. As NACADA has been offering more in regard to best practices in online advising, including a specific unit within the association, this opened up a leadership role-specific to online advising.
“Kati is a natural fit for this elected position as she continues to show the drive, determination, compassion, and dedication to online student success,” Rasmussen said.
The Beacom College has a significant number of online students (about 40%) who need direct assistance throughout their academic career as non-traditional, remote students, Larsen stated. The opportunity to gather ideas from other universities with robust online attendance will aid these DSU students.
Larsen’s efforts have made her an integral part of online student success, Rasmussen said.
“Kati is very student-centered and provides students with the resources needed to inevitably reach their goal of graduation.”
In addition to the advantages for students, Larsen’s new role positions DSU to have a critical voice in academic advising.
“As Dakota State continues to grow and we increase our student population, we must consider the benefit of organizations like this who aim to support advising and students,” Larsen said.
NACADA is the representative and advocate for academic advising and the professionals providing that support in higher education, with approximately 13,000 members representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and several other international countries.