Effect of Low and High Advisor Involvement on the Academic Performances of Probation Students

While advisors can find support in theory and practice for assisting students who are performing poorly in academics, the optimal involvement level for improving academic performance is undetermined. We conducted three experimental trials to compare low- and high-involvement of advisors assisting probation students. The involvement levels for the low-involvement groups were identical, while involvement varied among those groups receiving the high-involvement treatment. We found a significant difference in academic performance only between the group that experienced the greatest advisor involvement and the simultaneously assessed low-involvement group. The results suggest that full institutional intervention is needed to effectively help probation students.