The purpose of this study was to share the design and development case of Advising Virtual Assistant (AVA), a chatbot created to provide support in academic advising in higher education. By analyzing participants' usage data and chatbot performance, we attempted to understand how students engage with AVA to fulfill their advising needs. AVA…

This qualitative study explores the perceptions of NACADA leaders regarding institutional and structural sources, obstacles, and opportunities related to learning and professional development (PD) for primary-role academic advisors. Through semi-structured interviews with 17 NACADA leaders, the study identifies three key themes: the critical role…

In the dynamic educational environment, college and university leaders are feeling more pressure from federal and state funding agencies to justify the rising cost in college education. A major influence in student success is the ability of students to develop attainable educational and career goals. College administrators put academic advisors in…

Academic Advising values and approaches can often conflict with the culture, norms, and practices within an institution. The purpose of this study is to explore the values that academic advisors bring to their work, how those values might conflict with the practices of their universities, and how advisors navigate conflicting values and advocate…

Community colleges represent a main pathway for students seeking to earn bachelor's degrees. This path allows students who may be unable to enter a 4-year university to gain access to higher education, often at a decreased cost. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students are utilizing this pathway as state and federal…

Effective pre-service teacher educator programs are among the most important components in preparing the nation's next generation of educators. Today's educators collectively work to support the diverse cultural, linguistic, and social needs of students through the unprecedented demands of a transitioning school system. This dissertation examined…

This study aimed to understand the barriers that two-year college students face that prevent graduation and the possible intervention program to assist them with overcoming these barriers. The perceptions of academic advisors working at a two-year college were gained in the areas of barriers related to environmental factors, social integration,…

From 2016-2023, College Futures Foundation supported several California State University (CSU) campuses to partner with California community colleges in their regions to increase the number of students transferring from community colleges and completing bachelor's degrees at the CSU. In an effort to learn more about this work, College Futures…

The role of intrusive advising in the persistence of community college students has not been well-studied even though intrusive advising has been touted as a practice to improve retention in U.S. community colleges. Student retention is important for sustaining community colleges that serve as open admissions institutions because they are…

Academic advising is regarded as an important student support practice that impacts college students' academic retention and graduation (Habley, 2009; Holland et al., 2020; Kuhn, 2008, Mayhew et al., 2016). However, research examining the use of academic advising services revealed that, as a demographic group, Black male undergraduate students are…

University leaders spend significant resources developing retention strategies, including promoting personal connections, engagement, and a sense of belonging for students and have recently infused trauma-informed care as a retention strategy. Although colleges are increasingly recognizing the impact of trauma on student success, trauma-exposed…

To understand the complex nature of learning recognition and credit transfer in American postsecondary education and examine the systemic barriers to entry many students face as they navigate its institutions, Ithaka S+R conducted a series of qualitative interviews in fall 2024 with state and system-level leaders in Idaho, Illinois, Ohio, and the…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine undecided first- generation students' experience with academic advising at a community college and whether receiving advice from an academic advisor helped guide them towards a major. The researcher conducted one-on-one-interviews with ten students using a protocol based on three research…

The purpose of this Dissertation in Practice was to examine the perceptions and attitudes of faculty members at Florida State University - Panama City and then to further explore, through interviews, why the faculty hold a positive, neutral, or negative view of intrusive advising. The goal of this project was to understand the barriers for faculty…

To ensure the effectiveness of academic advising efforts on campus and to increase Black male collegians' use of such services, administrators must better understand how Black males experience academic advising in college. This exploratory qualitative case study aims to understand the academic advising experiences of Black males at a large urban,…