Advisor Value-Added and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomly Assigned College Advisors

Serena Canaan, Antoine Deeb () and Pierre Mouganie
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Antoine Deeb: University of California, Santa Barbara

No 12739, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper provides the first causal evidence on the impact of college advisor quality on student outcomes. To do so, we exploit a unique setting where students are randomly assigned to faculty advisors during their first year of college. We find that higher advisor value-added (VA) substantially improves freshman year GPA, time to complete freshman year and four-year graduation rates. Additionally, higher advisor VA increases high-ability students' likelihood of enrolling and graduating with a STEM degree. Our results indicate that allocating resources towards improving the quality of academic advising may play a key role in promoting college success.

Keywords: academic advising; STEM; college completion; value-added (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 I24 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2019-10
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2020, 14 (4), 151–191

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Related works:
Journal Article: Adviser Value Added and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomly Assigned College Advisers (2022)
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