The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Dorothy Moss Hale

for the degree of Doctor of Education

November 4, 2016 at 10:00 am in 405 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Deborah Lowther, PhD

AN EXAMINATION OF ACADEMIC ADVISING EXPERIENCES OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN FACE-TO-FACE VERSUS ONLINE ONLY COURSES WHEN CONSIDERING GENDER, ETHNICITY, FIRST GENERATION STATUS AND PELL GRANT ELIGIBILITY STATUS

ABSTRACT: Higher attrition rates among Online compared to Face-to-Face students are a concern in higher education. Institutions are rethinking academic advising to support student retention and graduation. Responses of 522 undergraduate NSSE Academic Advising Module Face-to-Face and Online participants were analyzed by gender, ethnicity, first-generation and Pell Grant eligibility to determine whether differences existed in their academic advising experiences. The findings revealed that Online…White, First Generation, and non-Pell Grant eligible students sought primary advice from their assigned advisors significantly more than their Face-to-Face counterparts. The findings have policy and practice implications for academic advising. Recommendations for future research also included.