Pre- and Post-Transfer Academic Advising: What Students Say Are the Similarities and Differences

Abstract

To better understand the role of academic advising in the challenges faced by students who transfer from community colleges to 4-year institutions, we examined advising experiences of two groups: (a) from two community colleges students who intended to transfer to 4-year institutions and (b) from five universities students who had transferred from one of those community colleges. Results showed that pre-transfer students were more satisfied than post-transfer students with the advising they received, but both groups were less satisfied with advising than with their overall educational experience. Qualitative analysis of student comments helps explain these findings.

Ties That Bind: Academic Advisors as Agents of Student Relationship Management

“…While these differenc es cannot be evaluated quantitatively, they may call into question previous findings that students express more dissatisfaction with academic ad vising than with any other program experienced during their undergraduate careers (Allen & Smith, 2008;Allen, Smith, & Muehleck, 2014;Keup & Stolzenberg, 2004;Kuh et al, 2005) and that satisfaction with academic advising positive ly affects overall satisfaction with the institution (Anderson et al, 2014;Roberts & Styron, 2010;Teasley & Buchanan, 2013;Young-Jones et al, 2013).…”

Using Ethnography to Understand How Policy Reform Influences the Transfer Process at One Community College

“…A well-known challenge for community colleges is their limited capacity to serve the thousands of students on campus (Allen, Smith, & Muehleck, 2014;Webb, Dantzler, & Hardy, 2015). Allen and colleagues (2014) found that students' perceptions of advising quality was a primary factor in transferring.…”

Understanding the Advising Learning Process Using Learning Taxonomies

“…Krathwohl et al explained that the emotional reward of satisfaction reinforces valuing behavior. In fact, according to research reported by Allen and Smith (2008), Allen, Smith, and Muehleck (2014), and Smith and Allen (2006), students not only rated accurate information about degree requirements as the most important advising function, they also identified it as among the advising functions with which they are the most satisfied; this finding suggests that advisors who provide accurate information may increase stu dents' preference for an advising relationship.…”