The career concern differences between undecided and decided college students (N = 223) are examined. Undecided college students (n = 83) reported lower career decision-making self-efficacy, higher incidences of negative career thoughts, and more career decision-making difficulties than their decided peers (n = 143). Results reveal that undecided…

In this paper, we analyzed the relationship between students' motivations for choosing academic majors and their satisfaction and sense of belonging on campus. Based on a multi-institutional survey of students who attended large, public, research universities in 2009, the results suggest that external extrinsic motivations for selecting a…

In this study, we examine the impact of a fill-in-the-node spatial display that college students complete while considering alternatives and action plans related to dilemmas and behavior change. College students who utilized the cognitive tool reported greater positive expectations for future decision making and personal change than did those in a…

In this mixed-methods study we identify situations that impact students' decisions to withdraw from a course and examine their affective reasoning and attitudes toward course withdrawal. Exploring students' decision-making processes through the lens of self-authorship, we show that students frequently seek information from people with whom they…

Utilizing generational theory, we explored the relationship between Millennial characteristics and students' major selection and academic advising experiences. We conducted focus groups of students with senior standing at a private, midwestern university, and we utilized a closed coding technique to analyze the qualitative data. Consistent with…

In this qualitative study, we investigated the academic major and career decision-making processes of honors college students who were declared as "exploratory" students in their freshman year at a large, public, midwestern university. We used semistandardized interviews and document analysis as primary data collection methods to answer four…

Foreclosure students have prematurely committed themselves to academic majors and future careers, but present themselves to academic advisors as very decided. From a developmental theory perspective, foreclosures represent an immature identity status and include students whose failure to explore their personal and vocational identities and achieve…

In this study, we sought to determine whether psychosocial development and self-efficacy of major changers differ from those classified as relatively stable. Participants completed the "Life-Skills Inventory-College" (Picklesimer, 1991) form to measure psychosocial development and the "General Self-efficacy" (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) scale to…

Self-authorship is an additional orientation to traditional college student, epistemological, development theories. Facilitation of self-authorship, via academic advising, may help students meet the desired outcomes outlined by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education and integrate these abilities into their knowing and…

Presents a user-friendly seven-step model for the career decision process and discusses how advisors can use it to help students make career and academic choices. Offers practical guidelines for discussions between advisors and advisees. (SLD)

Uses chaos theory as a metaphor for advising undecided college students. Applies chaos theory concepts of dependence on initial conditions, strange attractors, emergent behavior in complex systems, and fractals to the advising relationship. Suggests the paradigm reinforces the basics of advising, such as the importance of accepting the student's…

Describes a scheme for advising college students undecided about major or career choice: an active, time-limited method using students' self-descriptions instead of lists of curricula as the starting point for dialog that points students in the right direction. Outlines specific procedures and provides several case descriptions illustrating the…

Examines implications of postmodernism, particularly chaos theory, for academic advising. Suggests that postmodernist advising acknowledges student angst and self-doubt, views each individual as a unique person and each advising session as a unique opportunity, views change as an ally rather than nemesis, and believes the advisor's impact is not…

Examines the dynamics of student decision making in the era of information technology. Presents and challenges long-established paradigms associated with decision making. Examines the roles of individual and societal epistemologies, and suggests a new model with a less rational approach that recognizes varied viewpoints and helps students think…

The extent to which students in preprofessional programs used academic resources to assist them in making decisions about a change of major or college was studied. Undergraduates who changed majors were expected to rely primarily on the University Bulletin for program information. (MLW)