The Multiple Roles of an Undergraduate's Academic Advisor

Abstract

College academic advisors perceive themselves and are seen by students in various ways. Advisor self perceptions stem from a variety of factors including: (1) how advisors interpret their advising role; (2) what training and/or guidance are provided to advisors; (3) what expectations administrators and colleagues have for advisors; and (4) what recognition or rewards are available for competent or exemplary advising. Student perceptions of advisors arise from perceptions of: (1) advisor interest in the advising task and in individual students; (2) advisor competence; (3) advisor availability, patience, and preparation; and (4) advisor personality. Advisors need training and guidance to do a competent job. Neither faculty nor staff advisors come to the task naturally able to advise competently. Advisors need to learn the content and procedure of their task; they need to acquire and refine their interpersonal skills; and they need to learn how their role fits into both the institution's mission and in students' lives. Such advisor preparation demands resources [ie: money, time, and patience]; trying to advise without adequate preparation portends nightmarish results for students. Students need and deserve competent advising. Not all faculty are suited temperamentally for advising. Such faculty and their students would both be well served by being alternately assigned to other duties. Advisor/advisee partnership can range from a formal impersonal, infrequent, uninspiring exercises to informal, friendly, frequent, rewarding and enjoyable relationships. The responsibility for the outcome is mutual between advisee and advisor. Neither party should allow the other to abrogate, truncate, or neglect good advising. Advisors need to firmly but tactfully demand that students enter the advising arena prepared, focused, and alert. Advisees must demand that their advisors be informed, available, prepared, focused, and alert. Advisors serve a multiplicity of functions, all of which are important to students' progress while attending college. Advisors are resource people. They are expected to know the school's rules, procedures, time tables, and policies. These need to be transmitted to students, when possible, before trouble occurs. Advisors need to be aware of program, policy, and procedure changes. They are expected to keep abreast of graduate school possibilities for interested students; advisors need to be aware of current employment demands, available positions, and job market trends. …