Research on the influence of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) on academic advising is limited. Using a comparative case study method, I respond to this research gap by exploring how the standards influence practices of academic advising programs. Study results indicate that participating advisors knew little about the standards, practices were naturally aligned with the standards through the services provided, and the standards influenced programs when intentionally implemented. The findings of the study have implications for academic advisors, advising administrators, and CAS.

In this study, we examined patterns of persisting in and switching from an intended college major (chosen in high school) in the third year of college. We focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major persistence because of the national effort to increase those entering STEM careers. Results showed differences in persistence by academic field as well as by gender, parental income, and first-generation college student status with the largest variation by ethnicity. Further examination of STEM major persistence showed that high school performance in math and science, taking advanced placement exams in STEM, articulating positive science self-efficacy beliefs, and professing a goal of obtaining a doctorate were also related to persistence in varied ways across STEM majors.

While research models show that faculty advisors play an important role in academic advising, the data are limited regarding faculty conceptualization of their roles and responsibilities as advisors. In this study, we gather faculty perspectives about the components that have made the model effective in a large, urban, community college. Faculty members describe their strategies for developing student accountability, goal-setting abilities, and decision-making skills. They also discuss strategies for building student academic success and encouraging student self-regulation and self-determination. The described program has helped increase buy-in from faculty members undertaking advising via systematized delivery. The faculty feedback will help others design and implement advising programs proven to increase persistence and reduce attrition.

In this article, I report on the development and validation of a new survey instrument measuring first-year students' perceptions of the advising relationship. I collected survey data from 113 residential freshmen enrolled in a first-year seminar course at a small, public, midwestern university during the fall of 2009. Factor analysis of students' responses to the survey revealed three key components of the advising relationships: advisor concern, advisor contact, and advising relationship quality. Internal consistency of students' responses to questions loading on each factor, as measured with Cronbach's a, ranged from .89 to. 93, and the internal consistency for all survey items was .95. The article concludes with a revised version of the questionnaire as a basis for future replication studies.

In this study, we sought to determine whether psychosocial development and self-efficacy of major changers differ from those classified as relatively stable. Participants completed the Life-Skills Inventory-College (Picklesimer, 1991) form to measure psychosocial development and the General Self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) scale to measure students' level of self-efficacy. Major changers reported a lower level of self-efficacy than relatively stable students, and relatively stable students scored higher on the self-perception measures of the Problem-Solving/Decision-Making subscale on the Life-Skills Development Inventory than did major changers.

The first cumulative index to the contents of the NACADA Journal, covering the first 15 years of publication, was published in 1995. This second cumulative index covers the subsequent 15 years of the Journal, making it possible for readers to follow the progress of scholarship in academic advising concerning subjects of interest across all 30 years of publication of the NACADA Journal.