Academic advisor job satisfaction: Implications for student satisfaction

This study investigated full-time professional staff academic advisor job satisfaction at three Midwest urban/suburban community colleges and related it to students\u27 satisfaction with advising services. The intent was to determine if a significant relationship existed between job satisfaction for academic advisors in centralized advising offices and students\u27 satisfaction with the academic advising received. The data were collected from 34 academic advisors and 573 of their students. Advisors were asked to complete the Academic Advisor Job Satisfaction survey, and students were asked to complete the Student Satisfaction with Academic Advising survey. The surveys were mailed to participants during the Spring 2005 term. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and mean correlation was utilized as the statistical method for testing the hypotheses developed from the four research questions. The independent variables were: academic advisor job satisfaction with advancement opportunities; academic advisor job satisfaction with recognition within the institution; academic advisor job satisfaction with perceived autonomy; and academic advisor job satisfaction with compensation. The dependent variable was students\u27 satisfaction with academic advising. The data analysis yielded four significant correlations. Academic advisor job satisfaction with compensation had an inverse correlation with students\u27 satisfaction with academic advising, academic advisor job satisfaction with recognition within the institution had a direct correlation with students\u27 satisfaction with academic advising, academic advisor job satisfaction with perceived autonomy had a direct correlation with students\u27 satisfaction with academic advising, and academic advisor job satisfaction with advancement opportunities had a direct correlation with students\u27 satisfaction with academic advising