Academic advising—traditional or developmental approaches?: Student perspectives

Abstract

Academic advising schemes in higher educational institutions have received little research attention in the UK Two approaches w academic advising schemes are explored: the traditional and developmental approaches. The role of the adviser of studies system is examined and applied to one UK institution of higher educarion. Empirical research involving group discussions with jinal-year undergraduate students was conducted to assess the role of the advising scheme. This explored the approach students expected or desired of advisers of studies schemes. Analysis of the p r i m a y data concludes that students appear to favour a developmental approach to academic advising.

Understanding and unlocking the potential of online academic advising

“…In a study to assess the ability of an advising model to enhance the quality of instruction at a college in the United Kingdom (UK), Broadbridge (1996) conducted focus groups of 40 undergraduates in 14 different majors. These focus groups began with a discussion exploring student perceptions o f their advising relationships, planning, and thoughts surrounding advisors.…”

“…Lastly, each plot had a dashed line to denote the boundary between developmental or prescriptive approaches, with this value taken directly from the manual (Winston, Jr. & Sandor, 2002). Values that are close to this cut-off region, one standard deviation, can be understood using an integrative or comprehensive approach to academic advising (Broadbridge, 1996;Fielstein, 1994;Heisserer & Parette, 2002).…”

“…This scale measures the behavioral approach used during an advising session, as perceived by the advisee. A prior study has suggested that the developmental approach would be the preferred system by students (Broadbridge. 1996;Winston, Jr. & Sandor, 1984a).…”