Validation of student academic advising and counseling evaluation tool among undergraduate nursing students

Abstract

Abstract Background Academic advising and counseling services support students in achieving their educational outcomes. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of research on academic advising and student-support systems among nursing students. Therefore, the current study aims to develop a student academic advising and counseling survey (SAACS) and measure its validity and reliability. Methods Cross-sectional design was used to collect online self-administered data from undergraduate nursing students in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The SAACS is developed based on relevant literature and tested for content and construct validity. Results A total of 1,134 students from both sites completed the questionnaire. Students’ mean age was 20.3 ± 1.4, and the majority of them were female (81.9%), single (95.6%), and unemployed (92.3%). The content validity index (CVI) of SAACS overall score (S-CVI) is 0.989, and S-CVI/UA (universal agreement) is 0.944, which indicates excellent content validity. The overall SAACS reliability showed an excellent internal consistency with a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.966 – 0.972). Conclusions The SAACS is a valid and reliable tool for assessing students’ experience with academic advising and counseling services and can be utilized to improve those services in nursing school settings.