NSSE 2025 Topical Module Report
Academic Advising
University of Houston-Downtown
This module, updated for 2025, examines students' experiences with academic advising, including experiences with advisors and advising practices that reflect NACADA core values. It also asks students to identify who has been most helpful. The module complements a question on the core survey about the quality of students' interactions with academic advisors.
Comparison group details are in the Selected Comparison Groups report, available in PDF format in your report download folder.
Prepared 2025-07-28
This page intentionally left blank.
First-Year Students
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
Frequency Distributionsa Statistical Comparisonsb UHD
Advising
Advising
1. To what extent have the following been helpful regarding your academic interests, course selections, academic performance, or future plans?
Academic advisor, faculty, or staff assigned to advise you
Academic advisor(s) available to any student
AADhelpadv
Faculty or instructor(s) not assigned to advise you
AADhelpany
Online advising system (degree progress report, etc.)
AADhelpfac
AADhelponlsys
Website, chatbot, catalog, or other published sources
Student services staff (learning and academic support, cultural centers, etc.)
Career services
AADhelpweb
AADhelpstuserv
AADhelpcarserv
First-Year Students
TRIO Programs staff
AADhelptrio
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University
of Houston-Downtown
Disability or accessibility services staff
AADhelpdisserv
Success or academic coach
AADhelpsuccess
Peer advisor or mentor
AADhelppeer
AADhelpfriend
AADhelpfam
Other, please specify: AADhelpoth
First-Year Students
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
2. Do you know how to contact (in person, email, phone, or online) an advisor at your institution?
AADadvcontact (Means indicate the percentage who responded "Yes")
3. Thinking about academic advising, how much have people and resources at your
Been available when needed
AADresavail
Provided prompt and accurate information
Provided information about learning support services (tutoring, writing center, success skills, etc.)
Notified you of important policies and deadlines
AADresprompt
done the following?
Reached out to you about your academic progress or performance
AADreslearn
Followed up with you regarding something they recommended
AADrespol
AADresprog
AADresrec
First-Year Students
4. Thinking about academic advising, about how
Took the time to learn about your hobbies and personal interests
Actively listened to your concerns
AADofthobbies
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
Respected your identities and cultures
AADoftconcern
AADoftcultures
Cared about your overall well-being
AADoftwellbeing
5. Thinking about academic advising, about how often
Your academic goals and future plans
AADdiscgoals
How your major or expected major relates to your personal, academic, career, or future plans
Special opportunities (study abroad, internship, servicelearning, research, etc.)
AADdiscmajor
AADdiscopp
First-Year Students
Participation in co-curricular activities (organizations or clubs, performing arts, sports, etc.)
Resources for your wellbeing (health, counseling, financial guidance, etc.)
6.
Wellness support services (mental health counseling, student health center, etc.)
AADdisccocurr
AADdiscwellbeing
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
AADsupwellness
Academic success AADsupacad
Career advising AADsupcareer
Emotional and physical health
AADsuphealth
Basic needs (e.g. housing, food)
AADsupneeds
First-Year Students
Social support (e.g., building connections, community, friendships)
AADsupsocial
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising Frequencies
and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
7. Regarding academic advising, who has been the most helpful and in what way?
This final question asked students to respond in an open text box. Comments were recorded for 111 first-year student(s) and 522 senior(s). Responses are provided in your NSSE25 Student Comments Report and in a separate SPSS data file.
These open-ended responses appear exactly as respondents entered them and may not be suitable for distribution without prior review.
Seniors
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University
of Houston-Downtown
Frequency Distributionsa Statistical Comparisonsb UHD
Advising
Advising
1. To what extent have the following been helpful regarding your academic interests, course selections, academic performance, or future plans?
Academic advisor, faculty, or staff assigned to advise you AADhelpadv
Academic advisor(s) available to any student
Faculty or instructor(s) not assigned to advise you
AADhelpany
Online advising system (degree progress report, etc.)
AADhelpfac
AADhelponlsys
Website, chatbot, catalog, or other published sources
Student services staff (learning and academic support, cultural centers, etc.)
Career services
AADhelpweb
AADhelpstuserv
AADhelpcarserv
Seniors
TRIO Programs staff
AADhelptrio
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
Disability or accessibility services staff
AADhelpdisserv
Success or academic coach
AADhelpsuccess
Peer advisor or mentor
AADhelppeer
Friends or other students AADhelpfriend
Family members AADhelpfam
Other, please specify: AADhelpoth
Seniors
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
2. Do you know how to contact (in person, email, phone, or online) an advisor at your institution?
AADadvcontact (Means indicate the percentage who responded "Yes")
3. Thinking about academic advising, how much have people and resources at your institution done the following?
Been available when needed
AADresavail
Provided prompt and accurate information
Provided information about learning support services (tutoring, writing center, success skills, etc.)
Notified you of important policies and deadlines
AADresprompt
Reached out to you about your academic progress or performance
AADreslearn
Followed up with you regarding something they recommended
AADrespol
AADresprog
AADresrec
Seniors
4.
Took the time to learn about your hobbies and personal interests
Actively listened to your concerns
Respected your identities and cultures
AADofthobbies
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
Cared about your overall well-being
AADoftconcern
5.
Your academic goals and future plans
AADoftcultures
How your major or expected major relates to your personal, academic, career, or future plans
Special opportunities (study abroad, internship, servicelearning, research, etc.)
AADoftwellbeing
AADdiscgoals
AADdiscmajor
AADdiscopp
Seniors
Participation in co-curricular activities (organizations or clubs, performing arts, sports, etc.)
Resources for your wellbeing (health, counseling, financial guidance, etc.)
6. Overall, how
Wellness support services (mental health counseling, student health center, etc.)
AADdisccocurr
AADdiscwellbeing
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
AADsupwellness
Academic success
AADsupacad
Career advising
AADsupcareer
Emotional and physical health
AADsuphealth
Basic needs (e.g. housing, food)
AADsupneeds
Seniors
Social support (e.g., building connections, community, friendships) AADsupsocial
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising Frequencies
and Statistical Comparisons
University of Houston-Downtown
7. Regarding academic advising, who has been the most helpful and in what way?
This final question asked students to respond in an open text box. Comments were recorded for 111 first-year student(s) and 522 senior(s). Responses are provided in your NSSE25 Student Comments Report and in a separate SPSS data file.
These open-ended responses appear exactly as respondents entered them and may not be suitable for distribution without prior review.
First-Year Students
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Detailed Statisticse University of Houston-Downtown
Seniors
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising
Detailed Statisticse University of Houston-Downtown
Endnotes
NSSE 2025 Academic Advising Endnotes
University of Houston-Downtown
Column percentages are weighted by institution-reported sex and enrollment status (and institution size for comparison groups). Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. Counts are unweighted; column percentages cannot be replicated from counts. Comparison group details are in the Selected Comparison Groups report, linked in the Data & Reports table on the Institution Interface.
All statistics are weighted by institution-reported sex and enrollment status (and institution size for comparison groups). Unless otherwise noted, statistical comparisons are two-tailed independent t-tests. Items with categorical response sets are left blank.
These are the values used to calculate means. For the majority of items, these values match the codes in the data file and codebook.
Effect size for independent t-tests uses Cohen's d; z-tests use Cohen's h.
e.
Statistics are weighted by institution-reported sex and enrollment status (and institution size for comparison groups). Categorical items are not listed.
f. The 95% confidence interval for the population mean is equal to the sample mean plus or minus 1.96 times the standard error of the mean.
g. A measure of the amount individual scores deviate from the mean of all the scores in the distribution.
Degrees of freedom used to compute the t-tests. Values differ from Ns due to weighting and whether equal variances were assumed.
Statistical comparisons are two-tailed independent t-tests or z-tests. Statistical significance represents the probability that the difference between your students' mean and that of the students in the comparison group is due to chance.
Statistical comparison uses z-test to compare the proportion who responded (depending on the item) "Done or in progress" or "Yes" with all who responded otherwise.
Mean represents the proportion who responded (depending on the item) “Done or in progress” or "Yes."
Key to symbols:
▲ Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size at least .3 in magnitude.
△ Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.
▽ Your students’ average was significantly lower (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.
▼ Your students’ average was significantly lower (p < .05) with an effect size at least .3 in magnitude.
Note: It is important to interpret the direction of differences relative to item wording and your institutional context. You may not see all of these symbols in your report.