Perceptions and Attitudes of Students in an Online Allied Health Program Regarding Academic Advising Methods

• Main Author: Hicks, Joel Matthew
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest LLC 2016; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subjects: Academic Advising; Academic Persistence; Allied Health Occupations Education; Conventional Instruction; Correlation; Counseling Techniques; Data Analysis; Education; Educational Finance; Educational technology; Health education; Health sciences; Higher Education; Lifelong Learning; Online Courses; Preferences; School Holding Power; Statistical Analysis; Student Attitudes; Student Attrition; Student Needs; Student Satisfaction; Surveys; Louisiana
• ISBN: 0355093235; 9780355093230

Academic advising has been found to be an important component in satisfaction and retention among online and distance students. This quantitative study examined the perceptions of both online and allied health students in an allied health program regarding academic advising methods. These perceptions were then examined to determine if there was a relationship to the students' overall satisfaction and retention. To determine student perceptions, a convenience sample of both online and face-to-face students from two allied health programs in Louisiana was used. The students were given the Academic Advising Inventory (AAI), which was used to evaluate their perceptions regarding academic advising. The review of the literature found that there are two primary models of academic advising: prescriptive and developmental. The literature indicated that different types of students prefer different advising models (Belchier, 1999; Gravel, 2012; Jeschke, Johnson, & Williams, 2001; Kelley & Lynch, 1991; LaPadula, 2003; Luna & Medina, 2007). There are limited findings, however, regarding the preferences of online students. Further, there is no literature describing the preferences of online students in an allied health program. This research study investigated student preferences regarding advising in an allied health program. This research study also investigated whether those preferences regarding advising had any effects on the overall satisfaction and persistence of students within an allied health program. Finally, this research study investigated if there were significant differences between the type of advising received between online and face-to-face students in the two programs. Based on the data analysis, it was first found that students who experienced developmental advising had higher satisfaction than students who had prescriptive advising. Second, students who experienced developmental advising were more likely to persist in the allied health program than students who had received prescriptive advising. Third, students who experienced advising closely matched to their preferred advising style were more likely to be satisfied than students who experienced a wide gap between actual and preferred academic advising. Finally, it was found that face-to-face students were much more likely to receive developmental advising than online students in the same allied health program. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]