At-Risk Students' Perceptions of Holistic Advising: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand at-risk students’ perceptions of success after having received holistic advising practices at public, four-year universities located in the Southeast United States. The theory that guided this study was Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation, which emphasizes the importance of addressing students’ academic, social, personal, physiological, safety, and emotional needs to support their academic success better. The Central Research Question was: what are at-risk students’ perceptions of success after receiving holistic advising practices? The transcendental phenomenological approach allowed the researcher to explore the phenomenon with others who have experienced the same phenomenon through multiple, in-depth interviews, letter-writing, and a focus group interview of 10 participants who were considered to be at-risk: first-generation college students, students who are provisionally admitted, students who placed into one or more developmental courses. The participants received holistic advising support and had been admitted as freshmen but were juniors at the time of the study. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and examined for any patterns along with the letter-writing. An in-depth analysis was performed on the triangulated data which resulted in the emergence of four major themes: 1) Evolving Perceptions of Advising; 2) Feeling Seen, Valued, and Supported; 3) Career Development and Resource Navigation; and 4) Improving Holistic Advising