Perceived Quality of Academic Advising: The Effect on Freshman Attrition

Abstract

Using data from 1,033 freshmen at a public urban university, this study examined the effect of the perceived quality of academic advising on student attrition in a model of the student attrition process. High-quality advising negatively influenced attrition through effects on GPA, satisfaction in the role of a student, the value of a college education for future employment, and intent to leave the university. Low-quality advising was related to greater attrition than was high-quality advising, but, on the other hand, low-quality advising was associated with less attrition than no advising at all. The effect size of the advising variables suggested that a more extensive provision of high-quality advising might be considered as one strategy in a multifaceted institutional effort to reduce freshman attrition.

Academic Advising Structures that Support First-year Student Success and Retention

“…The work by Metzner (1989) did not find any direct relationship between academic advising and retention.…”

“…Miller's approach also presents a structure that is more functional for use in individualized institutional assessment of learning outcomes, particularly regarding the "efficiency" of a particular advising model for a particular student population. While Miller's (in press) four dimensional focus on advising structures provides a framework for assessment, it is lacking a variable that has been identified in the literature as a key to student retention and advising learning outcomes; that factor is the frequency with which a student sees an academic advisor (Astin, 1977;Beal & Noel, 1980;Lowe & Toney, 2000;Metzner, 1989;Pascarella & Terenzini, 1977;. Some institutions do not require any of their students to ever see an academic advisor, while other institutions may require that a student meet with an academic advisor several times throughout the year.…”

“…Research associated with retention and advising has focused on either intensive advising interventions (Patrick et al, 1988;Seidman, 1991), quantity or quality of relationships with faculty or staff (Creamer, 1980;Grosset, 1991;Kuh et al, 2006;Nordquist, 1993), or student satisfaction with advising (Metzner, 1989;Schreiner, 2009;Schroeder, 2012).…”

“…A study by Metzner (1989) was designed to examine the perceived quality of advising and related influences on student attrition for freshman students. The goal of the study was to determine if better advising could reduce student attrition using a retention model developed by Bean and Metzner (1985).…”

The Advising Palaver Hut: Case Study in West African Higher Education

“…Through these interactions, professionals and faculty members at the institution can leverage the opportunity to address the complexities of new student transitions, academic and career exploration, and student cognitive and social development. Research has shown that academic advising can improve college student academic and social success, college experience satisfaction, gradepoint average (GPA), learning, retention, and graduation rates in the United States (Abdussalam, Chen, & Khan, 2007;Bahr, 2008;Drake, 2011;Gardiner, 1994;Hale, Graham, & Johnson, 2009;Heisserer & Parette, 2002;Kiker, 2008;Kuh, 2008;Ludwig-Hardman & Dunlap, 2003;Metzner, 1989;Pan, Guo, Alikonis, & Bai, 2008;Rice et al, 2009;Schwebel, Walburn, Jacobsen, Jerrolds, & Klyce, 2008;Smith & Allen, 2006). However, the role of academic advising in non-Western settings has escaped scrutiny.…”