Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

John Schmidt

Abstract

The higher education market has intensified, especially with online programs, which are becoming mainstream at a steady pace. Institutions are using academic advisors to support online students because advisors are uniquely positioned to achieve student-centric learning objectives, contributing to institutions’ sustainable competitive advantages. The essential role of an academic advisor is still not recognized as a career track, making effective talent management in an advising department challenging. A phenomenological study was conducted to obtain the experiences and perceptions of 13 seasoned academic advisors using semistructured interviews. The interview questions focus on the phenomenon of hiring, onboarding, and assigning advisors; therefore, providing transcripts that were examined for themes, concepts, and patterns using Giorgi’s five steps to analyze data in a descriptive phenomenology study. The participants expressed a reoccurring theme that recruiting is siloed and always a challenge, particularly to those institutions that provided limited support for this department. Other emerging concepts were inconsistent onboarding practices and the need to improve training for the advising role. In addition, there were unexpected outcomes, like working in the education field in some form before becoming an academic advisor, on-the-job training was used extensively but unstructured, and participants ended up as advisors fortuitously. Understanding the lived experiences of these participants can provide helpful information for institutions’ talent management that supports SCA and promote positive social change. This study will positively impact students’ success for those who pursue online higher education.

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