The National Academic Advising Association's (NACADA) electronic network - known as ACADV - is a private electronic network that provides academic advisors in higher education with advising information quickly and easily by using electronic mail (E-mail). The ACADV Network provides a forum for discussions and announcements for professional academic advisors, administrators involved in academic advising, and faculty members who have academic advising responsibilities. ACADV gives members advising information usually found only at regional conferences; in fact, many members have noted that ACADV is "like a daily international conference on academic advising." (Kramer, G. and McCauley, M., 1995).
The ACADV Network was created by Hal Caldwell (Ball State University) in 1988 and started with five members; today, the Network boasts over 3,000 members world-wide! Currently, ACADV is managed by Bill "Shoes" Johnson from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
For those interested in joining ACADV, you can send an E-mail message to the following E-mail address:
listserv@listserv.nodak.edu
In the body of the message, type in the following (do not include anything in the subject line, any type of signature file, or any other text):
subscribe ACADV (first name, middle initial, lastname)
Do not include the parentheses when sending this command! Remember...you must be involved in academic advising in order to join! You will then receive a message from the Listserv requesting a statement about your involvement in academic advising (make sure to include the name of your institution and its location). Shortly after that, you will receive confirmation of your acceptance; this confirmation also includes a request for you to post an introduction to the network. The E-mail address for the ACADV Network is:
acadv@listserv.nodak.edu
Remember that all messages sent to the ACADV E-mail address will be sent to all members!
ACADV allows you to change the settings on your E-mail account - whether you are going away for an extended break or you just would like to receive all of the ACADV messages in one file at the end of day.
Set E-mail Account to NOMAIL
To set your account to NOMAIL (for instance, when you plan to be away from your computer for a vacation, the NACADA National Conference, etc.), send the following message to the Listserv address (listserv@listserv.nodak.edu):
set acadv nomail
Set-E-mail Account to DIGESTS
To set your account to DIGESTS (which allows you to receive all of the day's messages in one file at the end of the day), send the following message to the Listserv address (listserv@listserv.nodak.edu):
set acadv digests
When you get back from your extended break, or if you would like to "turn off" the DIGESTS option, you can set your account back to mail by sending the following message to the Listserv address (listserv@listserv.nodak.edu):
set acadv mail
Of course, if you find that you are having problems, please make sure that you contact Bill Johnson at whjohnso@uncg.edu.
E-mail and Listservs are guided by informal "rules" and responsibilities. Netiquette (which stands for "Network Etiquette") provides users with some simple responsibilities to make their stay more enjoyable.
Read your mail regularly or arrange to use the NOMAIL or DIGESTS options. Mail sent to overfull mailboxes usually get bounced to the current network manager.
Personal notes are best directed to specific individuals rather than distributed to the entire network. However, most members do realize that mistakes do happen.
Subject line information helps identify the topic your are addressing or asking for information about. Single subject lines and brevity helps members choose which notes are more likely to be of interest when network mail is heavy. It also aids in archival placement and retrieval.
At the end of your message, make sure that you leave your complete return address (may also be created as a signature file), which includes your name, title, e-mail address, snail-mail (work and/or home) address, and phone/fax number (including the area code).
Respect and consideration for professional colleagues are trademarks of the ACADV Network. If you disagree, be kind and considerate. Avoid SHOUTING (using all CAPITAL LETTERS in you message). If you feel the need to vent anger (flaming) to another network member, please respond privately!
Learn the basics of using e-mail at your institution!
