Online Academic Advising to Support Part-Time Students

Abstract

This chapter discusses the benefits of online academic advising for part-time university students. Understanding the importance of academic advising in relation to students' academic success, the limited contact that part-time students might have with academic staff and faculty makes advisement even more crucial to fostering a productive academic environment for students like these. Drawing on the Core Competencies of Academic Advising developed by the Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA, 2017), this chapter presents a case study featuring two part-time students at a university in Vietnam who encountered difficulties in their academic journeys and required special support from university advisors. The authors, through an ethnographically-oriented approach as academic advisors, present student narratives at various points of the advisement process, detailing how student support services led to favorable academic outcomes. This chapter presents how advisors demonstrated conceptual, informational, and relational competencies in supporting learners and limitations of the advisement process. Findings from this investigation revealed that the advisement process transcended one-on-one interactions, instead being a collaborative and community-based endeavor requiring input from both institutional and professional networks. In sum, the authors argue for the use of online advisement as a tool for creating an equitable learning environment for university students and to enhance their sense of institutional belonging.