“Academic advising is a developmental process which assists students in the clarification of their life/career goals and in the development of educational plans for the realization of these goals. It is a decision-making process by which students realize their maximum educational potential through communication and information exchanges with an advisor; it is on-going, multi-faceted, and the responsibility of both students and advisor. The advisor serves as a facilitator of communication, a coordinator of learning experiences through course and career planning and academic progress review, and an agent of referral to other campus agencies as necessary.”
Davis S. Crockett in “Models for Designing and Implementing a Successful Program”
Also see the advising resources for each school–for which there are links on the home page of the individual schools.