An Assessment of Academic Advising
Emporia State University
May 2000
Background
At its May 20, 1999 meeting, the Kansas Board of Regents adopted a new policy on academic advising. This policy mandates each state university to establish an Academic Advising System. The policy defines the attributes of "high quality advising" and requires these systems to provide training for advisors ". . . to assist them in meeting the responsibilities of this policy." The policy further requires the development of a mechanism ". . . to assess academic advising at the departmental level . . . on a yearly basis" and that the results of these assessments are to be reported to the Board. The policy was adopted by the Board on the recommendations of the Regents Student Advisory Council and Council of Presidents.
In September of 1999, Directors Goltra and McGlone were asked by Vice President Schwenn to develop a plan for conducting an assessment of academic advising. It was agreed that this assessment should focus on the advising of upper division students, because annual assessments are already conducted for students served by the Student Advising Center (SAC). The overall goal of the assessment was to obtain baseline data for the university, each school and college, and each division. The data collected are to be used as a basis for comparison in subsequent years. It was decided to conduct a mail survey along the lines of the existing SAC Advising Survey. A survey instrument based on the May 1999 Board of Regents policy statement was developed. The instrument and the plan for the assessment were discussed with the Deans' Council at its October 19, 1999 meeting.
Method
The survey instrument was revised on the basis of suggestions from the deans, interested faculty and administrators and two pilot studies. The final version contains twelve items scored on a modified Likert-type format. The population of interest was defined as students who are seeking degrees at ESU and who are advised at the divisional level. This definition was operationalized to include the 1843 undergraduate students who had completed at least 60 semester hours and who were enrolled on a "full-time" basis for the Spring 2000 semester at ESU. A folded returnable postcard containing the survey instrument was mailed to these students after ESU's Spring break with a return deadline of April 14, 2000.
Twenty-five of the postcards were returned because of "bad" addresses, reducing the population to 1818 students. Four hundred thirty-five students returned completed surveys for a return rate of 24%. While this is an acceptable rate for a mail survey, the data probably under-represent students who have no strong opinions about advising.
Results
Table 1 contains the mean student responses to the fifteen survey items broken down for the university and the school/colleges. The possible responses to each item were 5-Strongly Agree 4-Agree 3-Uncertain 2-Disagree 1-Strongly Disagree and NA - Not Applicable. NA ratings were not included in the analysis.
The highest ratings were obtained for the following items:
5. My advisor is knowledgeable about major and course requirements (4.11).
4. My advisor listens to what I have to say (4.06).
7. I am able to meet with my advisor outside of enrollment periods (4.01).
6. I am able to see my advisor within a reasonable period of time when I need to enroll for classes (3.97).
2. My advisor helps me select courses suitable to my goals and interests(3.96).
These ratings may indicate reasonable student satisfaction with advising specific to the major and the accessibility of advising and advisors.
The lowest ratings were obtained for these items:
10. My advisor counsels me concerning career opportunities and other matters that may affect my entry into my chosen career or profession (3.43).
11. When I need it, my advisor gives me information about resources and support services on campus such as the Reading Lab, Writing Lab, Math Lab, Student Organizations, and Vocational Testing (3.56).
9. My advisor helps me select courses so as to minimize the number of semesters required for graduation (3.63).
8. My advisor informs me about graduation requirements (e.g., minimum competency exam, multicultural requirement) (3.68).
These suggest that advising about all matters other than the specific major requirement may be deficient. Of particular concern should be the weak appraisal given to advisors' knowledge of university requirements and academic support services.
It must be noted that the advisors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences received higher ratings than those in the other school and college. Also, only the LAS college achieved a relatively high rating (4.27) on the summary item
12. Overall, I am satisfied with the advising I receive at ESU.
The university rating on this item was an unimpressive 3.77.
Nevertheless, it must also be acknowledged that there is considerable variation in these ratings from division to division. In particular, four divisions were clearly rated as deficient in their advising. When the data are analyzed without including these divisions, the differences among the schools and colleges are reduced, and all school, college, and university ratings are improved. For example, the university rating for the summary item 12 becomes 4.20 without these four divisions.
Recommendations:
1) An Advising Handbook should be developed at the university level. This handbook should pay particular attention to the problems identified in this report. It should be updated on a regular basis. Deans and chairs need to emphasize that this Handbook is an important reference for every advisor.
2) Training programs should be developed for current and new academic advisors. These programs should include opportunities for the campus community to learn from the advisors in the most highly rated programs in this study.
3) Deans and chairs should give careful study to the data that pertain to them. Plans should be developed for improving advising where appropriate. Special attention on the part of the appropriate deans and chairs should be given to dealing with problems in those four divisions with deficient ratings. While staffing and organizational solutions may be proposed, candid discussions about priorities and attitudes affecting advisement are also appropriate.
Source: Assessment & Teaching Enhancement Center
Student Advising Center
May 15, 2000
Table 1
Student Responses to Advising Survey
April 2000
Survey Item |
Population |
Number of Responses |
Mean |
1. My advisor helps me to develop appropriate academic goals. |
ESU |
406 |
3.81 |
Business |
73 |
3.32 |
|
LA&S |
172 |
4.10 |
|
Teachers College |
161 |
3.73 |
|
2. My advisor helps me select courses suitable to my goals and interests. |
ESU |
407 |
3.96 |
Business |
71 |
3.48 |
|
LA&S |
174 |
4.18 |
|
Teachers College |
162 |
3.95 |
|
3. My advisor helps me plan a course schedule which takes into account my work and other obligations. |
ESU |
404 |
3.84 |
Business |
69 |
3.30 |
|
LA&S |
171 |
4.18 |
|
Teachers College |
164 |
3.71 |
|
4. My advisor listens to what I have to say. |
ESU |
410 |
4.06 |
Business |
72 |
3.79 |
|
LA&S |
173 |
4.46 |
|
Teachers College |
164 |
3.77 |
|
5. My advisor is knowledgeable about major and course requirements. |
ESU |
410 |
4.11 |
Business |
71 |
3.87 |
|
LA&S |
174 |
4.35 |
|
Teachers College |
165 |
3.95 |
|
6. I am able to see my advisor within a reasonable period of time when I need to enroll for classes. |
ESU |
410 |
3.97 |
Business |
71 |
4.05 |
|
LA&S |
174 |
4.53 |
|
Teachers College |
165 |
3.34 |
|
7. I am able to meet with my advisor outside of enrollment periods. |
ESU |
403 |
4.01 |
Business |
71 |
4.00 |
|
LA&S |
171 |
4.42 |
|
Teachers College |
161 |
3.59 |
|
8. My advisor informs me about graduation requirements (e.g., minimum competency exam, multicultural requirement) |
ESU |
410 |
3.68 |
Business |
72 |
3.63 |
|
LA&S |
167 |
4.08 |
|
Teachers College |
165 |
3.27 |
|
9. My advisor helps me select courses so as to minimize the number of semesters required for graduation. |
ESU |
401 |
3.63 |
Business |
69 |
3.22 |
|
LA&S |
167 |
3.98 |
|
Teachers College |
165 |
3.44 |
|
10. My advisor counsels me concerning career opportunities and other matters that may affect my entry into my chosen career or profession. |
ESU |
400 |
3.43 |
Business |
71 |
2.92 |
|
LA&S |
173 |
3.84 |
|
Teachers College |
156 |
3.22 |
|
11. When I need it, my advisor gives me information about resources and support services on campus such as the Reading Lab, Writing Lab, Math Lab, Student Organizations, and Vocational Testing. |
ESU |
336 |
3.56 |
Business |
55 |
3.05 |
|
LA&S |
138 |
3.82 |
|
Teachers College |
143 |
3.5 |
|
12. OVERALL, I am satisfied with the advising I receive at ESU. |
ESU |
410 |
3.77 |
Business |
73 |
3.25 |
|
LA&S |
171 |
4.27 |
|
Teachers College |
166 |
3.48 |
Last Updated March 19, 2007