About Us

The Advising Administration Community of Practice (AACoP) fulfills an unmet need for community, data-sharing, and scholarship around advising administration (as distinct from advising practice). Transforming the advising enterprise across the whole university is a systems-level change with potential to impact all students -- and especially those who, research shows, benefit disproportionately from quality advising such as low-income, first-generation, and minoritized students.

How AACoP Leads Change

More than 300 advising leaders from research universities across the country convene for regular monthly meetings and working groups on assessment, advising roles, and advisor training and development.
Advising leaders advance structure and systems change on campus, through influencing decisions around allocation of resources and institution-wide data collection.
Advising leaders contribute toward research and scholarship to build the evidence base.
AACoP promotes an agenda for change at the annual Mentoring and Advising Summit, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh.

Consulting Services

The Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU) Advising Administration Community of Practice (AACoP) Steering Committee provides myriad exceptional services to higher education institutions. Our consultants, facilitators, and speakers are experts in student success, advising redesign, and change management, specifically for the research (R1/R2) institutional context.

We will work with you on a customized plan for your specific goals. Please complete the following interest form and we will follow up to schedule a meeting to learn more. If you have any questions, reach out to April Belback at abelback@pitt.edu.

Consultation Interest Form

Join UERU

Institutions without active UERU memberships, learn more about joining UERU here.

Join Community

If your institution is already an active UERU member, request to join community here. ^{(MyUERU log in required)}

Resource Library

MyUERU members can access the AACoP content library for more resources and supports.

Leadership Team

April Belback

Steering Committee Co-Chair

Associate Vice Provost for Student Success and Advising

University of Pittsburgh

April E. Belback is the co-chair of the Steering Committee, a group of experts that provides overall direction and oversight of the AACoP.

April is the Associate Vice Provost of Student Success and Advising at the University of Pittsburgh. She leads and implements an institutional collaborative vision for holistic advising, mentoring and student success by connecting campus innovators, advisors, faculty, and students. As Associate Vice Provost of Student Success and Advising, she leads professional development and training opportunities across the University and administers programs to support exceptional students who are at-promise. In 2022, she launched the opening of the inaugural "Student Success Hub" at the University of Pittsburgh, which aims to reduce equity gaps for first-generation, limited-income and underrepresented minority college students and build a campus where every student can feel they belong. These include the Kessler Scholars Program, Provost Scholars Program, and TRIO McNair Scholars Program. Dr. Belback also leads initiatives such as the University Undergraduate Advising Committee (UUAC), Pitt ACT Program, the annual Mentoring and Advising Summit, the Program Impact Project, and the Pitt Transition Study.

Prior to joining Pitt, Dr. Belback served as the Director of Advising and Division of Undergraduate Studies Coordinator at The Pennsylvania State University, Greater Allegheny Campus. Under her direction, the Advising Office launched a host of new campus-wide initiatives including the rollout of new training curricula and professional development experiences for academic advisers, orientation programming, and the formation of a campus-wide student success and support collaborative. Additionally, Belback served the campus as the Program Director for TRIO Student Support Services. Earlier in her career, Belback taught high school English, and was awarded “Educator of the Year” for Secondary Schools by the Fayette Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Belback leads a national community of practice of academic advising leaders for the Association of Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU). She serves on the advisory team for the American Talent Initiative’s Academic Equity Community of Practice. She also serves on NACADA’s Advising Administrator Community steering committee.

A proud first-generation college student, Belback earned her DEd in Administration and Leadership Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a MSEd in Secondary English Education and a BA in English from Duquesne University. Her research is focused on advising, retention, student success, and leadership.

Lisa Dysleski

Steering Committee

Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Success and Advising

Colorado State University

As a member of the Steering Committee, Lisa Dysleski is an expert that provides overall direction and oversight of the AACoP.

Dr. Lisa Dysleski serves as the Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Success and Advising at Colorado State University. She leads universitywide academic advising initiatives and the implementation of programs for undergraduate students that positively impact their academic success, retention, and graduation.

Lisa has spent a career at CSU dedicated to improving the academic experience for students, as a faculty member and academic advisor in the Department of Chemistry (2006-2013), as Director of the College of Natural Sciences Learning Community (2013-2014), and as Associate Dean in the College of Natural Sciences (2015-2024).

Lisa earned a B.S. with a double major in Chemistry and Performing Arts from Mary Washington College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Colorado State University.

As co-chair of the Steering Committee, Claire Robinson is an expert that provides overall direction and oversight of the AACoP.

Dr. Robinson serves as Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Advisement and Director of the University Advising Center at the University of South Carolina. In her role, Dr. Robinson oversees campus-wide first-year advising, transfer advising, exploratory advising, academic coaching, four-year curriculum mapping, advising technology, and advisor training and certification. In addition, several special initiatives fall within the purview of the Advising Center including Faculty/Student mentorship, the University Advisors Network, and academic recovery initiatives. Dr. Robinson has authored several publications evaluating academic advising and coaching and co-authored a book on Appreciative College Instruction. Claire has trained and consulted dozens colleges and universities and served as the Lead SACS Quality Enhancement Plan Evaluator for multiple institutions seeking to enhance their advising practices.

Claire Robinson

Steering Committee Co-Chair

Assistant Provost, Undergraduate Advisement

University of South Carolina

Michael Stokes

Steering Committee

Executive Director, Academic Success Analytics & Operations

University of Miami

As a member of the Steering Committee, Michael Stokes is an expert that provides overall direction and oversight of the AACoP.

Sharon A. Aiken-Wisniewski

Steering Committee

Assistant Vice Provost, Academic Advising

University of Arizona

As a member of the Steering Committee, Sharon A. Aiken-Wisniewski is an expert that provides overall direction and oversight of the AACoP.

Sharon A. Aiken-Wisniewski (she, her), Ph.D., is the Asst. Vice Provost for Academic Advising and Affiliate Faculty in the Center for the Study of Higher Education. She has held a variety of advising focused positions during her 30-year career that range from primary role advisor and faculty advisor to advising director and Associate Dean. In a previous AVP role, she focused on quality and accountability of campus-wide academic advising for supporting the institutional mission of student retention and completion. She is an active member in professional organizations with leadership roles in NACADA and NASPA, a reviewer for the NACADA Journal, Journal of College Student Retention, Research, Theory & Practice, and Journal of Appreciative Education, a Fellow for the Excellence in Academic Advising Initiative, and a research affiliate for the Collaborative for Higher Education Research & Policy at the University of Utah.

Her research focuses on the scholar-practitioner identity in higher education. Through rich narratives from students and colleagues as well as her advising and administrative roles, she has developed an understanding of the importance of this identity within the realm of empowering students for success. Her research agenda centers on questions that emerge from interactions with scholar-practitioners, administrators, and students as they design programs, policies, and processes for student success. During her tenure as a clinical professor at the University of Utah, she facilitated classes for future academic advisors and student affairs practitioners, participated on campus-wide committees such as Academic Senate and published multiple journal articles, book chapters, and a book.

Sharon grew up in rural Vermont and is a first-generation college student, practitioner, and faculty. She attended the University of Maine at Presque Isle for a B.A. in Political Science. An early adopter of distance education, she completed an M.S. in International Studies from Troy State University while living in the United Kingdom and a certificate in enrollment management from the University of Florida as she shuttled between Utah and Vermont. Next, she returned to the traditional classroom for a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah. She has lived in the United Kingdom, Germany, and a variety of U.S. locations; never misses an opportunity to try a new recipe, and values time to read and hike with Alan and her Boston Terrier.