Student Preferences for Personal Contact in a Student-Faculty Advising Relationship

Abstract

The author of this study states that its purpose is to “arrive at a clearer understanding of the type of relationship students want when interacting with a faculty advisor. “ Many researchers claim that a strong, personal relationship is preferred, but is this actually the case? Is developmental advising, which focuses on the integration of a student's social, physical, psychological, and cognitive needs, the form of advising students themselves prefer? The question is a significant one if we are to believe that advising – quality advising – plays a key role in student morale and retention.

The Relationship of Student Satisfaction With Advising to Administrative Support for Advising Services

“…Spring 1992 Questionnaire A questionnaire was constructed as part of a larger project on academic advising (Fielstein, 1987(Fielstein, , 1989. Thirty advising activities were identified based upon a review of existing instruments measuring student perceptions of advising (Grites, 198 1;Trombley, 1984;Winston & Sandor, 1984), questionnaires from several other colleges and universities (e.g., South Dakota State University and the College of St. Benedict), and informal interviews with academic advisors.…”

Advising style perceptions and preferences of students and advisors.

“…Student preference for developmental or prescriptive advisement has varied (Fielstein, 1987(Fielstein, , 1989Winston & Sandor, 1984), and a review of the literature reveals a lack of congruence between the style of advising students prefer and what they receive (Alexitch, 1997;Hale et al, 2009;Mottarella et al, 2004). …”

“…Hale, Graham, and Johnson (2009) found that students strongly prefer developmental advising. Fielstein (1987) discovered that not all students prefer a developmental advising relationship; and Mottarella, Fritzsche, and Cerabino (2004) found that prior advising experiences related to preferred advising style. In their study, students who preferred developmental advising had a history of developmental advisement; whereas those who preferred prescriptive advising historically had received prescriptive advisement.…”

“…One facet of developmental advising relates to how personal the relationship becomes between student and advisor. Fielstein (1987) sought to clarify the type of relationship students wanted when interacting with a faculty advisor. The research question guiding the study asked whether the personal relationship described in developmental advising was the actual relationship desired by students.…”

“…However, nearly 20% of students did not rate personal acquaintance as a priority. Fielstein (1987) posited that offering only developmental advisement could be detrimental to those students who perceived "the role of the advisor . .…”