Cracks to Craters: College Advising During COVID-19

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease–2019) pandemic disrupted the education of students across the globe in the spring of 2020. Students who were previously at most risk for falling behind their peers and through the cracks because of academic, financial, racial, and/or generational disadvantage faced a wide range of additional obstacles in the pursuit of their college goals. This qualitative study sought to uncover postsecondary advising implications for students through the perspectives of near-peer college advisers (n = 23) serving in high-need schools in two different states as intensive, in-person advising was forced to adapt to virtual formats. Two key thematic findings reveal that advisers faced new communication challenges and existing systemic barriers for marginalized students became even larger. For seniors who had not yet made final postsecondary decisions or who had remaining to-dos, the impact of school closures and distanced advising may have fatally widened existing cracks in the path to college.

The Perceptions Community College Advising Coordinators Have of Their Institutional Advising Models: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory qualitative study examined how community college advising coordinators describe their roles within the context of institutional advising models. Conducted to address the lack of empirical research concerning advising coordinators, we determined to uncover what institutional and administrative challenges advising coordinators may face within those advising models. Thirteen advising coordinators, employed at separate public institutions within the Northeast United States, participated in this study. Findings demonstrated that split advising models might pose additional logistic or administrative challenges for coordinators, considering their status as middle managers with limited oversight of institutional advising services. Additionally, due to their limited roles as middle managers, advising coordinators may be unable to ensure the consistency of institutional advising practices for students.

Examining the Relationship Between College Advising and Student Outputs: A Content Analysis of the NACADA Journal

In an effort to promote the advancement of the advising profession, this study examines trends related to current knowledge of academic advising and the relationships between various forms of postsecondary advising practices and student outputs. Using content analysis techniques, we analyzed research articles published in NACADA Journal between 2004 and 2018 to identify trends in the ways academic advising has been studied. Major findings include the small number of studies (n = 18) over a 15-year period that relate advising to outputs and the lack of research focusing on underrepresented student populations despite the continued significant growth of these diverse groups. Recommendations highlight characteristics of academic advising that may benefit from further scholarly inquiry.

Exploring Variation in College Counselor Effectiveness

Several recent studies have investigated the impact of college advising on whether students enter and succeed in postsecondary education. These papers generally find positive impacts from advising, yet few explore the extent of heterogeneity in impacts between program counselors. We take advantage of quasi-random counselor assignment to explore variation and correlates of college counselor effectiveness using rich administrative data on adviser-advisee interactions from a multisite randomized control trial of a college advising program. Large overall effects on college enrollment from the advising intervention are consistent across counselors; there is little relationship between counselor characteristics or behaviors and student outcomes.