Using Systems Theory to Understand the Identity of Academic Advising: A Case Study

For decades, advising practitioners and scholars have worked toward developing an identity for advising as a unique field of scholarly inquiry and practice. To date, the identity crisis in advising remains. This study presents an examination and description of the function, purpose, and identity of a university advising system through comparisons of ideals espoused by advisors and administrators with practice. Based on systems theory as a framework, this study shows that the identity of academic advising can be misunderstood because of systemic issues. Addressing systemic flaws may help clarify the identity of academic advising within a specific system and possibly the field as a whole.