Need-Supportive Advising for Undecided Students

Abstract

To explore the relationship between need-supportive advising and students' decision making on academic majors, we conducted a longitudinal study of 145 students based on their reports of basic psychological need satisfaction and their decision-making processes. We hypothesized that need-supportive advising would positively contribute to autonomous and competent decision making. Results suggest that students who receive need-supportive advising at the beginning of the academic year report increased feelings of autonomy and competence about choosing a major toward the end of the year, implying that advising satisfies students' basic psychological needs throughout the year. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Examining the Relationship Between College Advising and Student Outputs: A Content Analysis of the NACADA Journal

“…Other outputs linked to academic advising relate to measurable student achievement, such as increases in grade point average (GPA) or student retention (McKenzie et al, 2017;Rodgers et al, 2014;Schwebel et al, 2012). Overlapping with these are outputs such as autonomy in academic decision-making (Leach & Patall, 2016), student self-efficacy (Erlich & Russ-Eft, 2013), and student motivation (Henning, 2009), which are often intertwined with or contributing factors to student achievement. A considerable amount of the scholarship on academic advising is centered on students and typically draws from four-year institutions, meaning few studies include academic advisors in the sample.…”

Use of Data Analytics in Supporting the Advising of Undecided Students

“…Some scholars use the terms “undecided students” and “undeclared students” interchangeably (e.g., Leach & Patall, 2016, p.20; McDaniels, Carter, Heinzen, Candrl, & Wieberg, 1994, p.135). However, Leach and Patall (2016) argued that “[u]ndeclared students may have made a decision about their major but have not officially declared it by choice or by design” (p. 29). In this study, we recognized the distinction between undecided students and undeclared students by employing Gordon and Steele’s (2015) definition of undecided students.…”

Medicine Bag: An Autoethnographic Account of Learning to Use Memory and Indigeneity as Resources in College Advising

“…Elements include encouraging problem-solving and decision-making. Advisors teach students about the university to foster knowledge and increase adaptive outcomes (Leach & Patall, 2016). Undergraduate advisors are often thought to relay top-down instructions to students, as I have seen employment descriptions desiring applicants with strong insistence skills.…”

“…Indigenous students coming from communities that were small or isolated might be the circumstances of some tribal nations. The students may embrace their culture and social communities as an integral part of their lives and identities (Leach & Patall, 2016). As students from high relational groups enter higher education, many efforts have been made to provide programs to embrace and encourage them in supportive learning communities within the university setting.…”

“…Advisors work with students to encourage learning about academic requirements and to provide guidance through a successful academic experience (Leach & Patall, 2016). Learning takes place within a decolonizing structure that resists dominant configurations that are divisive as they continue to marginalize those without privileged social status (Arvin et al, 2013).…”