Evaluating the Trio Advising Model: Identifying Successes and Strengths

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the TRIO Academic Advising Model and determine what strengths and successes can be utilized by Academic Advising Centers at community colleges and universities. Strong Academic Advising Centers are essential to the retention, persistence, and completion of students who are first generation and low income students. The success of students in college often depends upon the relationships that they have with their academic advisors. The methodology used for this research was qualitative. There were nine academic advisors who were interviewed for this study. The data were collected and analyzed by the researcher using selective coding, then separated into categories and themes. Five themes emerged from the analysis of the data: (1) Helping students, (2) Academic Advising Systems, (3) Communication, (4) Advisor/Student Relationships, and (5) Training.
Although the findings for this research show the importance of students receiving advising assistance from an advisor with whom they have established a relationship that extends from the beginning of college through graduation, they also indicate the importance of supporting and investing in the professional development of the academic advisors on college campuses. Future research should include interviewing faculty advisors and residential advisors, as well as academic advisors from several community colleges across the country, to analyze the similarities and differences in the advising systems across community colleges. Recommendations for future research suggest the need for a proactive academic advising system that supports retention, persistence, and completion of first generation students who are non-TRIO participants.