Abstract:
It is not easy for the overburdened student counselors in
universities to adequately address students’ needs in all areas.
Hence, the establishment of academic advisin
g
Western countries
and rece
ntly in some Kenyan institutions. Academic advising
should be need
-
centered for it to be popular with students and to
succeed. This study aimed at evaluating students’ academic
advising needs so as to enable academic advisors and universities
to be able to
prioritise when planning for academic mentorship.
The study applied the descriptive survey method in which
subjects were asked to indicate the areas in which they
thought
they needed help. A questionnaire was used to collect data.
A
random sample of 187 (
53, 41 and 93 first, second and third year
students respectively) participated in the study. Purposive
sampling was used to select Laikipia University College of
Egerton University which is one of the seven public universities
in Kenya.
The findings showed
that the top ranking academic
advising needs were maintaining high grades, handling heavier
academic workload, setting career goals, and setting academic
goals irrespective of the year of study and gender. It was
recommended that students’ needs should be
taken into account
when planning for academic mentorship activities.
