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

Abstract

The substantial rise in the college wage premium has led to large increases in postsecondary enrollment rates. However, many students fail to complete their degrees, and few invest in majors with the highest earnings potential such as those in STEM fields. To help students navigate the complexities of college, policymakers are increasingly advocating for the use of support services such as academic advising and mentoring. As of yet, much of the existing evidence on college advising comes from studies that focus on whether access to advising improves student outcomes. However, little is known about whether quality of advising impacts students' success. 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: College Completion, STEM, Academic Advising, Value-Added

JEL Classification: I23, I24, J16