Integrating academic and career advising in a South African Higher Education institution
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Date
2021-12
Authors
Schoeman, Monique
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
South African Higher Education has focused extensively on widening access to further inclusivity and economic development. However, it has become apparent that access alone is not enough, as students need to persist and succeed in their studies to graduate in the minimum amount of time. International research on what contributes to timely degree completion has focused on academic advising, counselling, orientation programmes, learning communities, and institution-wide reform, amongst others. Academic advising stands out here, because research suggests that a comprehensive approach, specifically where effective academic advising is present and combined with other support efforts, best assists timely degree completion. This study thus delves deeper into effective academic advising practice. Academic advising, a well-known concept in the United States of America (USA), is relatively new field in South Africa. That said, there is a growing body of knowledge in South Africa on the impact of peers on students’ academic development and success. In addition to the challenge of timely degree completion, with the graduate unemployment rate of 11% and other challenges beyond the scope of this dissertation, higher education institutions’ responsibility to help students succeed should not end with assisting students in graduating. Rather, students need to be guided in career-related matters while engaging in curricular and co-curricular matters. As many as three out of four students entering the university for the first time have no clear career goals. The fact that there is little connection between academic majors and future career paths among general degrees can contribute to students making decisions incongruent with their academic and personal strengths. Therefore, it is crucial that academic and career information need to be integrated when advising students. Academic advisors are in an excellent position to facilitate guidance in career-related matters when providing academic advice. They are also well placed to assist students in developing academic goals and career plans consistent with their interests and values in order for them to succeed. This assistance in understanding how academic and personal interests, abilities, and values relate to possible careers and forming plans is what Gordon (2005) terms career advising. To explore how academic and career advising could be integrated in practice, this study uses the University of the Free State (UFS) as a case example. This study uses Gordon’s 3-I Process, a framework that integrates career advising into academic advising practice, as a lens to assess academic advising practice at the UFS. The 3-I Process is widely used within academia in the USA, and is associated with the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) – the global leader in academic advising. This study is situated in the constructivist paradigm and follows a qualitative approach. Results from interviews with advisors at the UFS stress the need for such a unified framework, and recommendations are made on how advising at the UFS could develop more holistically. This study also contributes to the conceptualisation and practical application of advising in the broader South African context.
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Keywords
Dissertation (M. A. (Higher Education Studies))--University of the Free State, 2021, Academic advising, Access with success, Higher education -- South Africa, Mentoring -- Education, Vocational training, Career guidance -- South Africa, 3-I Process