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Advisor Value-Added and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomly Assigned College Advisors

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  • Canaan, Serena

    (Simon Fraser University)

  • Deeb, Antoine

    (University of California, Santa Barbara)

  • Mouganie, Pierre

    (Simon Fraser University)

Abstract

This paper provides the first causal evidence on the impact of college advisor quality on student outcomes. To do so, we exploit a unique setting where students are randomly assigned to faculty advisors during their first year of college. We find that higher advisor value-added (VA) substantially improves freshman year GPA, time to complete freshman year and four-year graduation rates. Additionally, higher advisor VA increases high-ability students' likelihood of enrolling and graduating with a STEM degree. Our results indicate that allocating resources towards improving the quality of academic advising may play a key role in promoting college success.

Suggested Citation

  • Canaan, Serena & Deeb, Antoine & Mouganie, Pierre, 2019. "Advisor Value-Added and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomly Assigned College Advisors," IZA Discussion Papers 12739, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12739
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    Cited by:

    1. Antoine Deeb, 2021. "A Framework for Using Value-Added in Regressions," Papers 2109.01741, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2021.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    college completion; STEM; academic advising; value-added;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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