Advisors who actively listen, respect identity and culture, and care about students’ well-being are essential for first-year and fourth-year undergraduates.
That’s the key findings from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which conducts annual surveys around the undergraduate experience and produce data that helps colleges and universities improve student learning and success. This year, NSSE addressed key elements of undergraduate advising: listening, respecting and caring (the LRCs).
The survey focused on first-year students transitioning into college and fourth-year students preparing to leave college and enter the next phase of their lives. NSSE sent the survey to 201 institutions. 42,287 first year-students and 50,957 seniors answered questions about their interactions with academic advisors and how those interactions or lack of interactions impacted their overall college experience.
“Advising is one of those key practices related to student success,” said Dr. Jillian Kinzie, a senior scholar at Indiana University School of Education which houses NSSE. “It requires a lot of interpersonal sensitivity.”
The questions asked included how many times a student met with an academic advisor, a success or academic coach, a peer advisor or mentor or a faculty member not specifically assigned to the student. They were also asked if academic advisors were available when needed, and if they provided prompt and accurate information. Another question asked how often academic advisors addressed a student’s academic goals and future plans.
The data, which included questions on race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, was collected in the spring, with some responding before and after the COVID-19 pandemic hit college campuses. Kinzie noted that regardless of whether these advising services are provided in person or remotely, they remain of the utmost importance.
“We intended to study advising, but it seems even more important given a lot of questions being raised about the delivery of services and broader student success concerns about what the pandemic has created for students in terms of uncertainty about the value of college and how they’re going to get the resources they need to be successful,” said Kinzie.
