Factors Affecting the Satisfaction of Sultan Qaboos University Students about Remote Academic Advising during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the level of satisfaction of Sultan Qaboos University students with remote academic advising during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aimed to explore the factors that might affect the extent of satisfaction, such as gender, academic year, and the nationality of the academic advisor. To achieve these aims, the researchers developed an academic advising satisfaction survey. The survey consisted of three sub-scales, namely, satisfaction with the advisor's competence and information, satisfaction with the advisor's interest and enthusiasm, and satisfaction with the ease of communication with the advisor. The survey was distributed to a sample of 490 undergraduate students (248 males and 242 females) during the COVID-19 period in the Spring 2021 semester. The study results showed that the students were highly satisfied with the competence and information of the academic advisors. At the same time, they expressed moderate levels of satisfaction with the advisors' interest and enthusiasm and the ease of communication with the advisors. The results also revealed that students supervised by Omani faculty members are more satisfied with academic advising than students supervised by non-Omani faculty members. In addition, the results showed that third-year students and above are more satisfied with academic advising than their first and second-year counterparts. Keywords: Academic advising, distance learning, Covid-19, Sultan Qaboos University