Predictors of Advising Learning

What is it about?

The learning that occurs when college students see an academic advisor has only recently been the subject of educational research. In this study, we surveyed over 22,000 undergraduates about their attitudes toward and experiences with academic advising on their various campuses. We looked at five different domains, or components, of advising that together constitute quality academic advising for undergraduate students: whether the advising helped them integrate the various aspects of their curricula; access campus resources should a problem arise; and know graduation requirements for their program of study as well as rules and regulations of their college or university. We also asked if the advising was tailored to them as individuals; and if it encouraged them to develop problem-solving and decision-making capabilities in a context of shared responsibility with the advisor. We wanted to see what best predicted students’ advising learning—those outcomes one might expect from receipt of quality academic advising. Was it student satisfaction with the advising they receive—in other words, did students who rated themselves as more satisfied with advising also report more advising learning? Or was it the importance students attribute to advising, so that students who believed that advising is important report more learning than those who did not? We even looked at the possibility that both satisfaction and importance matter in an interactive way, such that student satisfaction with the advising they receive on domains of advising they deem most important is what best predicts advising learning. Results were clear-cut: Satisfaction ratings were a significant predictor of advising learning, as were importance ratings and the interaction of satisfaction and importance ratings. But when we looked at effect sizes, only one of these predictors was found to have crucial practical significance: how satisfied students were with the advising they received. We discuss the implication of these findings for advising research and advising practice.

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Why is it important?

This research is an important step in better understanding how academic advising influences whether college students stay in school and complete their degree. Indeed, we suspect the learning that takes place as a result of advising could very well be the mechanism through which advising influences retention.

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