Ethicality of Advisor Motives in Academic Advising: Faculty, Staff, and Student Perspectives
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Ethicality of Advisor Motives in Academic Advising: Faculty, Staff, and Student Perspectives Xiafei Xue Kohlfeld 1 & David J. Lutz 1
& Austin T. Boon
1
# Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract Although the advising literature has emphasized the importance of good academic advising, there has been little emphasis on ethical issues. NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising provides Core Values to guide ethical behavior. This study used an experimental design to examine perspectives of ethical behavior among faculty, staff, and students. All groups could differentiate between ethical and unethical extremes, but students had difficulty differentiating between ethical and neutral behavior. All groups hesitated to rate advisors as highly ethical or unethical. Even when behavior was seen as less ethical, students and faculty/staff perceived limited opportunity for students to do something about that behavior, such as change advisors. Suggestions are offered to increase the likelihood of more ethical behavior within advisement. Keywords Ethics . Advising . Faculty perspectives . Student perspectives Students rely on advisors as primary, credible sources, believing that the information they are given is valid and appropriate for their situations (Ellis 2014; Workman 2015). For example, in a first-year foundations course at our university, students were asked, BWhat is the primary purpose for having an academic advisor?^ In a sample of over 200 student responses, not one answer mentioned anything that could be construed as students expecting advisors to provide anything less than complete, unbiased information tailored to the interests and success of the students. The common answers were: (1) make sure you graduate on time, (2) help you choose the right classes suited for you, (3) help you make the right decision on a career path, (4)
* David J. Lutz [email protected] Xiafei Xue Kohlfeld [email protected] Austin T. Boon [email protected]
1
Department of Psychology, Missouri State University, 901 S National Avenue, Springfield, MO 65897, USA
X.X. Kohlfeld et al.
answer any questions you may have, (5) answer questions about classes or different majors, (6) keep you on the right track, and (7) help you succeed and graduate. Although students may have these expectations, advisors may have difficulty balancing these expectations with other demands. For example, some advisors might focus mainly on the student’s interest and expectations with an emphasis on benefitting students. In contrast, other advisors may focus more on responding to institutional pressures, which may emphasize institutional or personal priorities rather than student priorities (Vianden 2016). Some advisors, especially staff advisors, receive some training, but fewer than 35% of advisors in academic departments receive training with even fewer receiving formal training (King 2000). Most training of advisors continues to focus on factual information with some attention paid to defining advising and the importance of advising (R
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