Exploring Students’ Perceptions of Academic Advisors’ Performance: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Background: Despite the critical role academic advisors play in students’ academic success, limited understanding of students’ perspectives has left fundamental issues, such as underutilization of advising services or dissatisfaction with them, largely unresolved. Accordingly, the present study aimed to explore students’ perceptions of academic advisors’ performance at Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This qualitative study employed a conventional content analysis approach. Given the use of a qualitative research design, data were collected through focus group discussions. A total of 26 students from various medical science disciplines attended three focus group sessions. The students were selected through purposive sampling from different academic levels (bachelor’s and professional doctorate). Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection and continued until data saturation was reached. Transcribed interviews were manually coded, and the codes were subsequently grouped into themes using more abstract categories. To ensure trustworthiness and rigor of the findings, Lincoln and Guba’s criteria were applied. Results: Analysis of 360 initial codes resulted in 10 subcategories, 7 main categories, and 2 overarching themes, including advisor characteristics (advisor accessibility, understanding diverse student needs, and confidentiality) and advisor responsibilities (academic guidance, educational leadership, developmental support, and problem-oriented responsiveness). Conclusion: The students in this study perceived effective advisor performance as a combination of individual characteristics and the fulfillment of various educational, developmental, and problem-solving roles. It is recommended that a comprehensive assessment of advising challenges be conducted from multiple perspectives. Moreover, a performance evaluation tool for academic advisors should be developed, and appropriate interventions should be designed based on these insights.