Promoting Equitable Advising Practices: Examining the Impact of Growth Mindset and Appreciative Advising Micro-Messages on Disclosure and Student Success

Given high rates of attrition among first-year college students (e.g., Walker et al., 2017), increasing student retention while reducing educational inequality is imperative for institutions of higher education. Academic advisors play a critical role in these efforts, as advising communications can have powerful effects on important student outcomes (e.g., Kyte et al., 2020). Across two experimental studies, we examined how small changes in language used in advising communications influence students’ thoughts and behavioral intentions (e.g., support, persistence, disclosure of learning disability/need for accommodation). Building on recent work supporting the effectiveness of advisor communication based in growth mindset and appreciative advising frameworks (Buchanan et al., 2022), we investigated the utility of advising micro-messages congruent with these frameworks on students. In Study 1, undergraduate students imagined receiving a message from an advisor regarding a challenging class that contained growth mindset micro-messages, appreciative advising micro-messages, or policy/resource information only. Participants then completed measures of student outcomes. Overall, when students saw either of the advising micro-messages (vs. only information), they experienced more positive student outcomes and reported being more willing/comfortable to disclose a learning disability to their advisor. In Study 2, we replicated the positive effects on student outcomes of Study 1 using a combined growth mindset and appreciative advising message. Messaging matters, especially as college campuses seek to foster and support their increasingly diverse student bodies. Our research suggests that subtle language used in advising can have a powerful influence on student affect and behavior.