2. Academic Advising Experiences of
First-Year Undecided Students at a
Public Southeastern High Research
Activity Institution
Kyle Ellis, Ph.D.
NACADA Region IV Conference
March 12, 2012
3. Purpose Statement
• The purpose of this qualitative case
study was to explore academic
advising experiences of first-year
students who were undecided in a
major at a public southeastern high
research activity institution, and how
academic advisors could better
serve them relative to these
experiences.
4. Significance of the Study
• High institution acceptance rate.
• Needs improvement in graduation rate.
• Undecided majors have lower graduation
rates.
• Lower retention from year one to year two.
• Preliminary exploration of a larger
problem of undecided students being
retained and graduated from the
institution under study.
5. Research Questions
• How do students being advised by the
Advising Center (AC) describe their
experiences and perspectives on
academic advising during their first year
of college?
• How can the AC and the academic
advisors better serve these first-year
students relative to their experiences and
perspectives of the advising process?
6. REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
• Academic Advising Structure
• Academic Advisors
• Freshmen Experiences with Advising
• Impact of Academic Advising
• Defining the Undecided Student
8. METHODOLOGY
The research design for this qualitative
case study focused on rich, meaningful
narrative data gathered through a series of
individual student interviews. Open-ended
questions focusing on first-year students’
experiences encountered during the
academic advising process guided the
study.
9. Research Design
• Phenomenological qualitative study
• Purposeful sampling
• Open-ended questions
• Individual interview design
1. 16 questions (fall); 8 questions (winter/
phone); 13 questions (spring)
2. Digitally recorded and transcribed
3. Coded for themes
10. Participant Characteristics
• 30 First-year students undecided in their
major.
– 30 participated in fall
– 25 participated in winter
– 25 participated in spring
– 16 male (53%); 14 female (47%)
– 21 Caucasian (70%); 8 Black (27%); 1 Asian
(3%)
11. List of Participants
Jason Jackie Cathy
Carla Sara Clay
Tamara Walt Karen
Chad Chuck Josh
Monique Sue Zairia
Roxanne Karl Alex
Fadra Ralph Thad
Bernard Lucy Chris
Rick Heather Paul
Keisha Wesley Mike
12. Advising Center (AC)
• 4 professional advisors
• One-on-one advising sessions
• Appointment vs. Walk-in
• Developmental Advising
13. Findings
• 5 Themes emerged from participants’
interviews:
1. High school advising experiences: A
mixed bag
2. No major, no problem. Or is it
3. So many choices, so little time
4. Learning to crawl before you walk
5. If only I would have known
14. Theme 1:
High school advising experiences:
A mixed bag
• Satisfaction with advising prior to college
– 9 Good, 9 Bad, 12 Neutral
• Who helped before college
– Over half named more than one person
– Family members were most common
15. Theme 2:
No major, no problem. Or is it
• Concerns about being undecided
– Almost all participants admitted at least one
concern in the fall
– Only eight admitted a concern in the spring
• Messages from others
– Fall: 11 Positive, 10 Negative, 9 None or
neutral
– Spring: 7 Positive, 2 Negative, 14 None or
neutral
16. Theme 3:
So many choices, so little time
• Majors under consideration
– Fall: 28 (93%) claimed at least one major of
interest; 15 (50%) cited two or more; 2 (7%)
had no majors of interest.
– Spring: 15/25 (60%) declared or were very
confident in one major; 10 considering
multiple majors; 0 had no majors of interest.
• Appeal of certain majors
– Various reasons
17. Theme 4:
Learning to crawl before you walk
• Initial advising expectations
– 19 expected help with course selection
– 5 expected to discuss possible majors
– 5 had no expectations
– A few surprises
• Actual advising session
– Almost all were positive in describing the advisor’s
location and availability
– Fall: 83% positive; Spring: 96% positive
18. Theme 4:
Learning to crawl before you walk
• Preparation for the next session
– Research possible majors
– Research class availability
– Get advised earlier
– Unsure
• Thoughts on college advising
– 100% positive response rate
19. Theme 5:
If only I would have known
• A look back
– 22/25 spring participants admitted their
advising expectations have changed
• Advice for future first-year students
– Most common advice: Have an open mind; Do
not worry; Advisors will help you; Have some
majors in mind
• Making advising better
– A mixed bag
20. Discussion
• Advising satisfaction: A tale of two situations
– High school advising
– College advising
• A sprint versus a marathon
– Short-term goals (sprinters)
– Long-term goals (marathon runners)
– Combination (relay racers)
21. Discussion
• It is no coincidence, it is confidence
– Changes from Fall Spring
– Chickering’s Theory of Identity
Development (Chickering and Reisser,
1993)
– Career Barriers Inventory (CBI) (Gordon,
2007)
– Career Decision-making Difficulties
Questionnaire (CDDQ) (Gordon, 2007)
22. Implications for Practice and Policy
• Nexus between advising efficiency and student
development
• Findings will allow practitioners, policymakers,
and researchers to further explore how efficient
academic advising impacts student development
and vice-versa
• Overall goal of student retention and timely
graduation
23. Implications for Practice and Policy
• High school personnel
• Students’ families
• Future students
• Academic advisors
• Academic advising administrators
24. Implications for Future Research
• Quantitative Research
– Larger number of participants
– Freshmen with declared majors
– Faculty in contrast to professional
advisors
– Generalized findings
25. Implications for Future Research
• Qualitative Research
– Focus more on student development
– Focus more on relationships with
others
– Students’ experiences before they
arrive at college
– Expand career exploration piece
– Extended data collection
26. Implications for Future Research
• Mixed Methods Research
– Multiple institutions under study
2.Quantitative survey to gauge a large
number of participants
3.Qualitative interviews to follow up on
findings from survey
28. References
Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education
and identity (2nd Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey
Bass.
Gordon, V. N. (2007). The undecided college
student: An academic and career advising
challenge (3rd ed.). Springfield, IL: Charles C
Thomas.
