The "Survey of Academic Orientations" ("SAO") measures six orientations in college students believed to represent desirable or undesirable perspectives. Previous research established the connections of "SAO" orientations with grades and persistence. This study shows the extended utility of the "SAO" as an early warning indicator, enabling advisors…

The definition and the need for appropriate services to the gifted college population are not as apparent in the postsecondary environment as in the K-12 schools. Many college educators perceive that college curricula provide the needed rigor and enrichment for gifted and honors students to make continuous progress in their learning. We explore…

Academic program closure is explored and student advising needs that emerged in 3 stages of program decline and discontinuation are identified. Data from interviews and advising communication of 20 graduate students enrolled in a master of education program targeted for discontinuation were qualitatively analyzed within a framework of an…

Sophomores interested in professional colleges with grade-point average (GPA) standards for admission to upper division courses will need specific and realistic information concerning the requirements. Specifically, those who fall short of the standard must assess the likelihood of achieving the necessary GPA for professional program admission.…

Five potential work profiles for full-time academic advisors, based on the impact of technology, are proposed. The forces accelerating the impact of technology are identified, and the impact of emerging technologies on full-time advisor practice is discussed.

Using grounded theory methodology, we examined the experiences of first-generation Latino/a college students. Themes emerged in students' interactions with and perceptions of peers, advisors, and faculty members. A model derived from the data was developed to describe the unique ways first-generation Latino/a students sought information relating…

Data from 65 colleges and universities across the United State were used to study course substitution practices for postsecondary students with disabilities. Data indicate that the majority of surveyed institutions (90.8%) allow course substitutions, yet only 50% had written policies directing substitution decisions. At responding institutions (N…

The American workplace today is unlike any other in history because for the first time it is made up of four distinct generations. The advising workplaces on today's college campuses mirror this generational diversity. Four generations and their different perceptions of work attitudes and values, management expectations, communication patterns,…

Four advising styles, authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved, were identified according to doctoral students' perceptions of demandingness and responsiveness of their advisors. Doctoral students who perceive working with authoritative advisors reported the highest levels of perceived development in cognition, motivation,…

Students with emotional disabilities are attending institutions of higher education in increasing numbers. Professionals considering appropriate postsecondary classroom accommodations and support may face advising challenges. However, most advisors have little training in responding to the needs of students with emotional disabilities. Answers to…

The number of students with learning or psychiatric disabilities entering college continues to increase. When advisors are unaware of a student's disability, they are unable to provide direction and appropriate referrals, leaving the student uninformed of the assistance available to him or her. As a result, the educational process may be…

Advisor perceptions of and responses to the social and emotional needs of college students with learning disabilities (LDs) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) are studied. Through a mixed-method approach of surveys and focus groups, four themes emerged: social-emotional issues that students present in the advising relationship;…

Premedical students have often been viewed as academically narrow and cynical about liberal education. To investigate the veracity of this generalization, I conducted a qualitative study of premedical students at a liberal arts institution. Contrary to negative stereotypes, the students in the study expressed a positive attitude toward liberal…

This psychometric study was designed to test the feasibility of measuring college students' preferences for developmental and prescriptive advising styles as separate constructs. Part 5 of the Academic Advising Inventory (Winston & Sandor, 1984b) was revised into two independent scales, one for measuring preferences for developmental advising and…

We present a theoretical basis for engaging in academic advising as friendship and offer examples of the applicability of friendship in advising. We begin with interconnections between civic friendship and personal friendship in the context of academic advising. Next we overview theoretical work on communication and friendship that offers…