Academic Advising and Counseling in Universities in South East Nigeria: A New Perspective

Academic advising and counseling is the lynchpin for students’ success in the university and integral to fulfilling the teaching and learning mission of higher education. This study utilized the survey design to explore aspects of academic advising services offered in the universities and their influence on some variables, identify the level of accessibility of academic advisers and institutional mechanisms as well as identify ways of fostering academic advising in the universities. Five hundred and forty (280 males, 260 females, mean age 23.5, SD 0.54) undergraduates purposively sampled from four universities in South East, Nigeria completed the Undergraduate Academic Advising and Counseling questionnaire. Result using percentage, mean and t test revealed that academic advising as done in the universities surveyed focused mainly on academic matters neglecting other important areas. It was also found that most of the academic advisers were not always accessible and institutional mechanisms were weak. Ways of fostering academic advising like slotting time in the time table for academic advising were identified. Training academic staff on academic advising issues, university showing more commitment on academic advising and getting feedback from students were some of the recommendations made. Limitations, further research and implications were highlighted.