Date of Award
6-19-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Mahauganee Bonds
Committee Members
Matthew Capps; Mitchell Henke; Ross Larsen
Abstract
Institutions of higher education continue to seek effective strategies to improve student persistence, academic performance, and degree completion. Academic advising is widely recognized as a key institutional support that helps students navigate academic requirements and institutional expectations. However, universities organize advising services using different structural models, and limited empirical evidence exists regarding how these models influence measurable student outcomes. This study examined the predictive relationship between academic advising models and undergraduate student success outcomes at a public university in North Texas. The study investigated the extent to which advising models, centralized or decentralized, predict cumulative grade point average, first-to-second-year retention, four-year graduation, course withdrawal, failure, and drop occurrences, and overall academic progression when controlling for student demographic and academic background characteristics. Guided by Vincent Tinto’s Institutional Departure Model, this quantitative multiple regression study analyzed historical institutional data from 4,455 undergraduate students enrolled between 2010 and 2023. Multiple regression, logistic regression, and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the predictive relationships between advising models and student outcomes. Results indicated that the centralized advising model type significantly predicted cumulative grade point average when controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and academic readiness variables. Students served within a centralized advising model demonstrated modestly higher grade point averages compared to students in decentralized advising structures. Advising model type did not significantly predict first-to-second-year retention or four-year graduation when other student characteristics were considered. However, advising structure was associated with minor differences in course withdrawal, failure, and drop occurrences. Across all analyses, measures of academic preparedness and socioeconomic status emerged as stronger predictors of student success outcomes than advising structure alone. These findings suggest that advising models may contribute to certain aspects of academic performance but operate within a broader institutional context that shapes student success. The results highlight the importance of integrating advising structures with comprehensive academic and support services designed to promote student persistence and achievement. Future research should examine the quality and frequency of advising interactions, as well as student engagement with advising services, to better understand how advising practices influence long-term student outcomes. Keywords: academic advising, advising models, student success, student retention, higher education, academic persistence
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Meaders, Kayla, "The Impact of Academic Advising Models on Undergraduate Student Performance: A Multiple Regression Analysis" (2026). Student Theses and Dissertations. 1189.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/1189
