The role of an academic advisor is emphasized in this study. There is only one academic advisor in the School of Engineering at the Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU). The academic advisor addresses the advising needs of more than 1,200 engineering students. The importance of professional advising and the need for higher advisor-student ratio is highlighted. Both advisor and student perspectives are addressed in this paper. Student data is collected through a survey to analyze their understanding of the difference between academic and faculty advisors. The survey also reveals the importance of an academic advisor for the retention, progression and graduation success of the engineering students.