Expectations of the Advising Process

Abstract

In today's difficult economic times, it behooves every program to be prepared to defend its worth. In the higher education arena, evidence of the attainment of our goals for student learning and development are best attained through the assessment of learning and development. Advising is a useful learning, development and retention tool that many in higher education recognize as useful for the undergraduate student population. Much has been written about successful advising and satisfaction with advising services, but how does an adviser address student's learning and development for the funding and worth of the advising program? Beginning the discussion about establishing a standardized set of outcomes for advising is the goal of this research, to see what each of the constituents expects from the process of advising. Once expectations are established, the discussion about deliberately focused and articulated outcomes can occur, leading the way for assessment of these to be undertaken. The findings indicate that expectations do not differ that much between students, advisers and administrators. Relationships, information and clarity in roles are core expectations for the different constituents, each player's understanding of the process is influenced by past experiences and relationships, and awareness of development and learning style affects expectations about the process. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone [phone]. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]