The Work Life of the Professional Academic Advisor

108 Pages·2015·0.41 MB·English

by  Susan Bramlett Epps

East Tennessee State University
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5-2002
The Work Life of the Professional Academic
Advisor: A Qualitative Study.
Susan Bramlett Epps
East Tennessee State University
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Dissertations.Paper 672. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/672
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The Work Life of the Professional Academic Advisor:
A Qualitative Study

A dissertation
presented to
the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership
and Policy Analysis
East Tennessee State University

In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctorate in Education

by
Susan Bramlett Epps
May 2002

Dr. Hal Knight, Chair
Dr. Nancy Dishner
Dr. Terrence Tollefson
Dr. Norma MacRae

Keywords: Academic Advising, Professional Advisor, Work Life
ABSTRACT
The Work Life of the Professional Academic Advisor: A Qualitative Study
by
Susan Bramlett Epps
Professional advisors are bearing the burdens of a) helping students make a connection to their
institution; b) being largely responsible for the efforts to retain these students; and c) providing a
multitude of services to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. While a great
deal of information is available about students, retention, and services, the literature is void of
detailed information on the professional advisor and the advisor’s work life. The purpose of this
study was to learn more about how advisors experience the elements of work life (job
satisfaction, relationships with colleagues, commitment to the organization, performance,
variety, and autonomy) and, in doing so, illuminate ways in which institutions can create
environments in which advisors are encouraged to maximize their potential.

Advisors’ perceptions and the way they experience their work lives were collected through
eighteen one-on-one personal interviews. The interviews were audio-taped and then
professionally transcribed for a verbatim transcript. The transcripts were coded into the
categories of work life and then sub-coded by emergent themes.

In general, the professional advisors interviewed reported they were satisfied with their jobs as
advisors and, most particularly, with the support and guidance they receive from their colleagues
and supervisors, the amount and level of variety in their work responsibilities, and their level of
autonomy. These advisors described a strong degree of commitment to quality advising and
notably to their students. Most of the frustrations they reported were related to concerns of
’letting the students down.’

As a result of this study, recommendations for further research in the area of academic advising
include 1) examining the roles, attitudes, and responsibilities of professional versus faculty
advisors, 2) investigating the reasons institutions do or do not employ professional advisors, 3)
collecting more detailed, preferably qualitative, information on the advisor/student relationship
from the student perspective, and 4) addressing the issue of whether advisors would advocate for
academic advising to become a profession.
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DEDICATION
"Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships."
- Charles Simic

To professional advisors everywhere and especially those eighteen who gave me their time and
their stories...

May your light guide the way for all the ships you see.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I certainly would not have completed this endeavor without the following people:

Tracey Fields of Ablescribe in Elizabethton, TN, who is a transcription goddess. She should
charge more.
Dr. Ramona Milhorn-Williams, my debriefer, she is a true advocate for academic advisors.
Dr. Sally Lee, my auditor, but more importantly, my friend and the woman who showed me
women can be good supervisors and good leaders.
Brenda, Rana, Mary Jo, Michael, Ute, Bob, and Peter, my colleagues in the physical therapy
department who encouraged me, and particularly Duane Williams, boss extraordinaire, who
has led by example.
Jane Jones, whose presence warms my heart and brightens my days, for her inspiration and
friendship.
Tim Dills, who was the initial inspiration for this study.
My family: those who came before me who knew the importance of an education; and those here
now, all of them, who have never let me forget that I can do this thing.
John Bramlett, computer god, who saved this darn thing when the file got corrupted.
My husband, Jimbo, my anchor, who cannot wait to tell people he is married to a doctor.
My angel boys, John Parker and Christopher, who remind me every day to be amazed by little
things.
My committee members, Dr. Nancy Dishner, Dr. Terrence Tollefson, and Dr. Norman MacRae
who were there for me with their guidance and support.
And finally, my committee chair and ’the boss of me’ for the last four and a half years, Dr. Hal
Knight, whose patience rivals that of Job; who has challenged me, encouraged me, and
unceasingly supported me; and who has made me ever so glad that someone is "teaching me
something I didn’t already know."
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CONTENTS
Page

ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................... 2
DEDICATION....................................................................................................................... 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................... 4
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 8
Statement of the Problem........................................................................................... 10
Purpose of the Study.................................................................................................. 10
Research Question..................................................................................................... 10
Significance of the Study........................................................................................... 11
Definitions of Terms.................................................................................................. 11
Limitations of the Study............................................................................................. 11
Assumptions............................................................................................................... 12
Organization of the Study.......................................................................................... 12
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE........................................................................................ 13
Lack of Research........................................................................................................ 13
Advisors and Student Retention................................................................................. 13
Advisor Concerns....................................................................................................... 14
Advisor Retention and Career Mobility............................................................... 14
Compensation...................................................................................................... 17
Recognition and Involvement.............................................................................. 17
Burnout and Disillusionment............................................................................... 18
Elements of Work Life............................................................................................... 19
Job Satisfaction.................................................................................................... 19
Relationships with Colleagues............................................................................. 20
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Chapter Page
Commitment to the Organization......................................................................... 21
Performance, Variety, and Autonomy................................................................. 22
3. PROCEDURES.............................................................................................................. 24
Interview Format........................................................................................................ 25
Data Analysis............................................................................................................. 26
Credibility, Transferability, Dependability, and Confirmability............................... 26
4. RESULTS...................................................................................................................... 29
Data Collection.......................................................................................................... 29
Findings...................................................................................................................... 30
Becoming an Advisor.......................................................................................... 31
Elements of Work Life......................................................................................... 37
Job Satisfaction.............................................................................................. 37
Likes......................................................................................................... 37
Dislikes.................................................................................................... 41
Compensation.......................................................................................... 46
Support for professional development..................................................... 49
Relationships with Colleagues....................................................................... 51
Within the unit......................................................................................... 51
With advisors outside the unit.................................................................. 54
How the advisor developed relationships................................................ 54
With other staff........................................................................................ 57
With faculty............................................................................................. 58
With students........................................................................................... 61
With supervisors...................................................................................... 65
Commitment to the Organization................................................................... 68
Performance................................................................................................... 71
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Chapter Page
Variety............................................................................................................ 75
Autonomy...................................................................................................... 77
Career Plans......................................................................................................... 79
Why They Would Leave................................................................................ 81
Why They Would Stay................................................................................... 82
Summary.................................................................................................................... 84
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................ 85
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 85
Findings...................................................................................................................... 86
Entrance to the Field and Training....................................................................... 87
How the Advisor Experiences the Elements of Work Life.................................. 87
Job Satisfaction.............................................................................................. 87
Relationships with Colleagues....................................................................... 88
Commitment to the Organization................................................................... 90
Performance................................................................................................... 90
Variety and Autonomy................................................................................... 90
Advisor Retention................................................................................................ 91
Conclusions................................................................................................................ 91
Compensation, Caseload, and Cachet.................................................................. 93
Recommendations for Institutions............................................................................. 94
Recommendations for Further Research.................................................................... 95
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................... 98
APPENDIX A: Debriefer Certification................................................................................. 105
APPENDIX B: Auditor Certification.................................................................................... 106
VITA...................................................................................................................................... 107
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
On most college campuses professional academic advisors, those people who are full-
time, non-faculty personnel, are responsible for more than just helping students with their
schedules each semester. The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Journal
cumulative index to volumes 1-15 (1995) provides a daunting list of job tasks facing academic
advisors, including: working with academically under-prepared students; handling college
adjustment issues; setting up advising centers; training peer advisors; meeting the needs of adult
students, athletes, minorities, and gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans-gendered students; dealing with
alcohol and drug problems; assisting students with career advising and decision making; and
performing evaluation and assessment of services.
Meskill and Sheffield recognized academic counseling as a new specialty in 1970,
indicating a role that was no longer the sole responsibility of the faculty. Historically, academic
advising, with its wide range of job tasks, has not been viewed as a desirable responsibility
(Walsh, 1979). However, as institutions placed greater emphasis on advising (Mash, 1978;
Trombley & Holmes, 1980) the literature did begin addressing the roles and skills of the advisor.
In addition to the job tasks, advisors must function in various roles necessitating the
development of a number of skills. Walsh (1979) outlined the roles of "counselor", "advocate",
and "guardian" as they pertained to the advisor’s relationship with both the institution and the
student. The advisor’s role is to help the institution meet its goals for recruitment and retention
and to assist students in meeting their goals of academic success and in selecting a good
major/career (Baer & Carr, 1985). Gordon (1992) suggested that advisors needed skills in
teaching, counseling, mentoring, referring, monitoring, decision-making, and information
disseminating, as well as the ability to work with a diverse population of students. The advisor is
more than an information provider and the need for the previously mentioned roles and skills is
evidenced in Crockett’s (1985) definition of academic advising:
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a developmental process which assists students in the clarification of their life/career
goals and in the development of educational plans for the realization of these goals. It is a
decision-making process by which students realize their maximum educational potential
through communication and information exchanges with an advisor; it is ongoing,
multifaceted, and the responsibility of both student and advisor. The advisor serves as a
facilitator of communication, a coordinator of learning experiences through course and
career planning and academic progress review, and an agent of referral to other campus
agencies as necessary. (pp. 248-249)

In addition to the responsibilities inherent in developmental advising, NACADA’s
Statement of Core Values adds the following:
1. Advisors are responsible to the students and individuals they serve.
2. Advisors are responsible for involving others, when appropriate, in the advising process.
3. Advisors are responsible to the college or university in which they work. Advisors are
responsible to higher education generally.
4. Advisors are responsible to the community (including the local community, state, and
region in which the institution is located).
5. Advisors are responsible to their professional role as advisors and themselves personally.
(NACADA, 1994).
Obviously, advisors bear a significant amount of responsibility for the students of their
respective institutions and, as Goetz and White (1986) argued,"[d]espite the current flurry of
interest there still remains much that is not known about academic advising" (p. 43). More
recently, Tuttle (2000) argued that academic advising is one of the most "technically challenging
positions in the area of academic or student services" (p.19) and suggested that these
overwhelming responsibilities are one reason for the dearth of advising research.
Another reason for the lack of information on advisors is that there is no "average
advisor" in terms of a typical context within which an advisor works (Severy, Lee, & Polson,
1996). Fox (1994), speaking of work in general, stated that "We workers are being called to
reexamine our work: how we do it, whom it is helping or hurting: what it is we do" (p.103).
While there is seeming clarity in what an advisor is supposed to do, little if anything is known
about how advisors experience their work. Understanding the advisor’s "work life," defined for
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