Andrew Bartsch, Academic Advising Manager for Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies (CANES) and African Cultural Studies (ACS), has been named a recipient of the 2026 Region 5 Advising Excellence Award by NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.
The award recognizes advisors who demonstrate qualities and practices that make significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising and who provide outstanding support to students. Bartsch’s recognition reflects his work with students in CANES and ACS as well as his broader efforts to strengthen advising practices and connections across UW–Madison.
That work has recently extended into the professional advising community through a new publication with Erica Haas, Assistant Director in L&S Academic Advising Services. Their article, “The Advising Index: A Database Tool for Managing Student Advising Transitions,” was published in Academic Advising Today, NACADA’s quarterly electronic publication.
The article explores a project designed to better connect advisors and support students as they transition between advising relationships at a large, decentralized university like UW-Madison. Bartsch and Haas describe the development of an advising index and liaison structure intended to give advisors greater insight into students’ advising histories and help create more continuity as students move between advising units.
For Bartsch, the project reflects an important dimension of academic advising: supporting students not only through individual advising conversations, but also by building stronger connections among the people and systems involved in their academic experience.
Together, these efforts illustrate the range of Bartsch’s contributions to academic advising—from the day-to-day work of helping students navigate their academic paths to developing practices that can improve advising more broadly. His 2026 Region 5 Advising Excellence Award recognizes that work and his ongoing commitment to student success.