1 / 44

Faculty & Student Perspectives on Academic Advising: Implications for Practice Student Success and Retention Confe

Faculty & Student Perspectives on Academic Advising: Implications for Practice Student Success and Retention Conference February 5, 2009. Janine M. Allen, Ph.D. Cathleen L. Smith, Ph.D. Professor of Education Professor Emerita of Psychology

gamada
Download Presentation

Faculty & Student Perspectives on Academic Advising: Implications for Practice Student Success and Retention Confe

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Faculty & Student Perspectives on Academic Advising: Implications for PracticeStudent Success and Retention ConferenceFebruary 5, 2009 Janine M. Allen, Ph.D. Cathleen L. Smith,Ph.D. Professor of Education Professor Emerita of Psychology Portland State University Portland State University allenj@pdx.edusmithc@pdx.edu

  2. Why Study Faculty & Student Perspectives on Academic Advising? • Advising often linked to retention • Student dissatisfaction is a pervasive problem • Faculty provide the bulk of academic advising to students

  3. Why Study Faculty & Student Perspectives on Academic Advising? • Faculty are stereotyped as “uninterested, unskilled, and unconcerned” advisors • And the solution to student dissatisfaction is for faculty to just do more and better advising • But is this the whole story?

  4. Why Study Faculty & Student Perspectives on Academic Advising? • To examine if faculty and students hold different expectations of and attitudes about advising

  5. Research Questions • Do faculty and students agree on what is important in advising? • Do faculty assume responsibility for the kinds of advising they and students deem most important? • If not, are there implications for student satisfaction?

  6. Method • On-line survey of instructional faculty and students • Administered during on-line registration for spring term 2006 • 171 instructional faculty responded (23.3% of population) • 733 students responded (5.4% of population)

  7. Survey Instruments • Inventory of Academic Advising Functions-Student Version • Inventory of Academic Advising Functions-Faculty Version

  8. Measures • How important is it for undergraduate students (you) to get this kind of advising? 1 = Not Important / 6 = Very Important • Faculty only: It is part of my responsibility to provide students with this kind of advising. 1 = Strong Disagree / 6 = Strong Agree • Students only: How satisfied are you with the advising you receive on this function? 1 = Not Satisfied / 6 = Very Satisfied

  9. Advising FunctionsAcademic advising that helps students: Integration (Holistic Advising) • Connect their academic, career, and life goals (overall connect) • Choose among courses in the major that connect their academic, career, and life goals (major connect) • Choose among various general education options that connect their academic, career, and life goals (gen ed connect)

  10. Advising FunctionsAcademic advising that helps students: Integration (Holistic Advising) (contd.) • Decide what kind of degree to pursue in order to connect their academic, career, and life goals (degree connect) • Choose out-of-class activities that connect their academic, career, and life go(out-of-class connect)

  11. Integration: Importance1=not important 6=very important

  12. Integration: Importance1=not important 6=very important

  13. Integration: Importance1=not important 6=very important ***p<.001 **p<.01

  14. Advising FunctionsAdvising that refers students, when they need it: Referral • To campus resources that address academic problems (referral academic) • To campus resources that address non-academic problems (referral non-academic)

  15. Referral: Importance1=not important 6=very important ***p<.001 **p<.01

  16. Advising FunctionsAcademic advising that: Information • Assists students with understanding how things work at this university (how things work) • Gives students accurate information about degree requirements (accurate information)

  17. Information: Importance1=not important 6=very important

  18. Advising FunctionsAcademic advising that: Individuation • Takes into account students' skills, abilities, and interests in helping them choose courses (skills, abilities, interests) • Includes knowing the student as an individual (know as individual)

  19. Individuation: Importance1=not important 6=very important

  20. Advising FunctionsAcademic advising that: Shared Responsibility • Encourages students to assume responsibility for their education by helping them develop planning, problem-solving, and decision-making skills (shared responsibility)

  21. Shared Responsibility: Importance1=not important 6=very important

  22. Relative Importance Ratings of Facultya=most important e=least important

  23. Add the Relative Importance Ratings of Studentsa=most important f=least important

  24. Relative Importance Ratings of Faculty & Studentsa=most important e,f=least important

  25. Convergence on What is Most Important in Advisinga=most important e,f=least important

  26. Convergence on What is Least Important In Advisinga=most important e,f=least important

  27. Divergence on What is ImportantIn Advisinga=most important e,f=least important

  28. Add Faculty Responsibility Ratingsa=most responsible f=least responsible

  29. Convergence of Student Importance &Faculty Responsibility Ratingsa=most e,f=least

  30. Convergence of Student Importance &Faculty Responsibility Ratings a=most e,f=least

  31. Divergence of Student Importance & Faculty Responsibility Ratingsa=most e,f=least

  32. Add Student Satisfaction Ratings a=most satisfied f=least satisfied

  33. Divergence of Student Importance & Faculty Responsibility Ratings: Implications for Student Satisfaction a=most e,f=least

  34. Summary of Findings • Although faculty rated 7 of the 12 advising functions higher in importance than did students, • Students and faculty were like minded on the kinds of advising that are relatively most and least important • With the exception of the two referral functions, which faculty rated as relatively more important than did students.

  35. Summary of Findings • Faculty responsibility ratings were commensurate with their own importance ratings and those of students, with the exception of: • Referral Academic, which was among the functions with which students were most satisfied • How Things Work, which was among the functions with which students were least satisfied

  36. Implications for Practice • Colleges and universities should provide a comprehensive set of advising functions • Faculty are not “uninterested, unskilled, and unconcerned” advisors, • But there are more demands placed upon them than they can meet

  37. Implications for Practice • Faculty spend less time advising than they did in the past • Reward structure is changing faculty work life • Unintended consequences for providing good advising

  38. Implications for Practice • Change reward structure? • Change how we provide academic advising to students?

  39. Implications for Practice: Alternative Model for Advising • Findings support the Dual Model of academic advising • Collaboration between faculty and student affairs professionals • Uses the best each group has to offer

  40. Implications for Practice: Alternative Model for Advising Faculty provide advising that • Addresses “Big Picture” concerns • Assists with curricular choices in major • Connects students to resources that address academic problems

  41. Implications for Practice: Alternative Model for Advising Student Affairs professionals provide advising that: • Assists with co-curricular and other curricular choices • Connects students to resources that address non academic problems • And most importantly, helps with navigating institutional policies and procedures

  42. Avoiding Pitfalls • Delineate and communicate roles and responsibilities of each advisor • Maintain open lines of communication • Collaborative training • Orient students on how to access and effectively use advising services • Accommodate undecided and transitional students

  43. Implications for Practice: Universals of Advising • Regardless of who provides what kind of advising, all advising relationships should be built upon a foundation of: • Trust that the advisor will provide accurate information • Respect for student’s individuality • Shared responsibility

  44. Thank you! Comments? Questions?

More Related