Academic Advisory Services in Pakistani Universities: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Academic advisement services were established in higher education institutions worldwide in the 1980s. The need for student guidance and support became evident after the increased student dropout rate. Since then, research has been done to improve student satisfaction levels, increase the chances of retention, and lessen dropout rates. In Pakistan, the implementation of structured academic advisement services in all higher education universities is recent, even though some private institutions have established such services for their students since before it was mandated by the HEC in 2020. Therefore, there was a need to investigate how establishing academic advisement services in Pakistani universities can benefit the student’s academic journey. The study utilized qualitative research methodology. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 17 university students. The data analysis is conducted using reflexive thematic analysis. The results showed that for advisory to be effective, both students and advisors need to take on ownership of their roles. Moreover, by establishing a functional feedback system for academic advisement, identifying the gaps would become easier. It was also found that multiple factors such as gender, personality, years of experience of the advisor and similarities between them and the students played a role in establishing an effective advisory relationship. The study aimed to gain insight into the current reality of academic advisement in Pakistan and help develop informed improvements for the effective delivery of these services.