Synchronous Communication Technology for Remote Academic Advising at a State University

The use of synchronous communication technology has significantly increased in recent years for communications in online learning and instruction, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Synchronous communication technology, such as Zoom, Google Meets, and Microsoft Teams, is widely adopted by academic advisors to continue their advising services as many universities were forced to move their traditional in-person academic advising to remote academic advising (RAA) in an online format. In this context, we explored the knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of students and academic advisors at a state university using synchronous communication technology for RAA during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study includes data collected from 539 sets of data from students and 28 from advisors. Through descriptive data analysis, the study revealed knowledge and a variation of perception gaps among students, in addition to students and academic advisors for RAA. With research results, we discuss the implications for effective RAA, concluding with suggestions for effective uses of synchronous communication technology to conduct RAA for academic advisors