Transition Into Higher Education: The Structure and Practice of Academic Advising

Abstract

This article aims to understand how four-year public institutions in the U.S. assist students in transitioning into higher education (HE) and how the individual characteristics and qualifications of academic advisors and administrators contribute to first-year students" transition and navigation through the campus.As higher education comprises not only direct instruction facilitated by the faculty, teaching is also employed in academic staff"s and academic advisor"s responsibilities (Crookston, 1972;Hunter & White, 2004). Hence, Appleby (2008) considers advising as teaching. Academic advisors explore their interests, weaknesses and strengths, and the impact of classes students favor, directing students to resources on campus and encouraging their socialization. Conversing about ethics, beliefs and values, academic advisors help students align their academic engagement and socialization (Bigger, 2005;Campbell, 2008).The study based on educational inquiry (Maxwell, 2013) drives primarily on interviews (Kvale, 2006). The constructivist and interpretivist frameworks are interchangeably applied. The collected, analyzed, and interpreted data facilitate understanding of the organization and delivery of academic advising in a four-year public institution in the U.S.. A purposeful sampling, particularly snowball sampling strategy, has been utilized. The saturation applied has helped to find distinct knowledgeable individuals. Data triangulation has assisted in drawing the evidence from multiple sources, including observation and document review. The construct validity and reliability of findings have been addressed and established.The findings do not reveal any fixed or long-established guideline for advising first-year students, except Academic Orientation Programs in fall, spring, and summer terms and First-year seminars. This research has occurred right in the middle of a year of significant change in advising at a college level. Loosely coordinated and decentralized advising practice in the College of IT, Technology, and Machinery has transitioned and moved under the Undergraduate Studies Office. The big shift in the structure has made academic advising delivery somewhat consistent, centrally coordinated, and overseen across the campus.Based on the Academic Advising Model utilized in the research site, the researcher offers an adapted academic advising model to be established as a structure in HEIs in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Academic Advising Model is a combination of academic services and student affairs, which is a centralized advising unit in which professional academic advisors and faculty are housed in one office. The centralized model may assist HEIs in the Republic of Azerbaijan to best ensure the first-year students have equal access to quality studies and academically support them.