Assessment Of The Excellence Of Academic Advising: Lessons Learned

Abstract

Numerous studies have described the importance of the quality of academic advising in student retention. Some studies have explored the impact of effective academic advising on student retention rates while others have explored the correlation between student retention/satisfaction and advisor-student interaction. Recent studies have also demonstrated the range of students’ expectations about academic advising. However, there are not very many studies to indicate what factors affect an advisor’s effectiveness and success in their performance. Our study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by incorporating these issues in an academic advising effectiveness process. For the purpose of this study, a sample of 225 students in an urban, private university was used to assess the excellence in academic advising. We found that excellence in academic advising is greatly linked to such factors as students’ personal, cultural, and academic background, including the quality of their relationship with their advisor.