شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

This study aimed to identify the status quo of academic advising in Saudi universities, the obstacles facing it and the actual services academic advisors provide to undergraduate students. The study also aimed to suggest a proposed vision for academic advising for the University of Tabuk affiliated university colleges located in several governorates in Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of such a proposed academic advising model is to meet students’ academic needs, decrease the effort and time an academic advisor exerts and spends on academic advising, and thus ensure that the student has the experience necessary to help him succeed in his academic life and future career. The researcher used the documentary approach in data collection. He surveyed and reviewed previous studies conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia about academic advising and analyzed interpreted their results. He found out that the current situation of academic advising in Saudi universities is below the hoped-for level and that the services academic advisors provide to students are quite traditional. The researcher found out that there are a number of obstacles facing academic advising in Saudi universities. The most prominent of these obstacles are the lack of databases about students’ academic progress, which the academic advisor may need to use during the process of academic advising, poor communication between the academic advisor and his students, and the students' lack of awareness of the importance of such academic services. The research concluded the study with a suggested proposal for academic advising that can be used in the university colleges affiliated to the University of Tabuk. The researcher recommended the need for the University of Tabuk university colleges in the various governorates in Tabuk and other Saudi universities to adopt the proposed academic advising model and to circulate it among their academic advisors. Moreover, the researcher recommended conducting studies in the University of Tabuk affiliated university colleges that adopted this proposed academic advising model to investigate the effect of its application on improving the level of academic advising services provided by the academic advisors to their students. (Published abstract)