Assessing the quality of faculty-delivered individual academic advising

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to describe the development and validation of a student survey instrument to assess academic advising services. The instrument was based on the SERVQUAL scale, a well-known instrument for service quality. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative methodology was used. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire using a survey instrument adapted from SERVQUAL. Survey responses were collected from 457 students at a large public university in the USA. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to validate and develop the assessment instrument. Findings A validated assessment scale for academic advising services was generated, which consists of three distinct advising service dimensions: information resources, reliability and empathy. For the study participants, information resources and empathy were found to significantly influence satisfaction with advising. Practical implications This study describes the development and validation of a concise nine-item survey instrument that may be used by practitioners to evaluate three distinct dimensions of advising service quality: information resources, reliability and empathy. Originality/value This research develops and validates a survey instrument to assess academic advising services based on the SERVQUAL scale using structural equation modeling.