Undecided students who self-identify as uncertain of their academic path represent a unique population to support from an academic advising perspective. In a sample of 257,813 students who entered 243 four-year institutions nationally, this study examined the relationship between students who selected undecided as their intended college major and…

We analyzed the impact of a self-assessment instrument on the self-efficacy of those deciding on majors in a university setting. Using a pre- and post-test methodology, we employed "Career Cruising" to measure career decision-making self-efficacy. Participants completed the "Career Decision Self-Efficacy-Short Form" (CDSE-SF)…

In this study, we sought to determine whether psychosocial development and self-efficacy of major changers differ from those classified as relatively stable. Participants completed the "Life-Skills Inventory-College" (Picklesimer, 1991) form to measure psychosocial development and the "General Self-efficacy" (Schwarzer &…

Foreclosure students have prematurely committed themselves to academic majors and future careers, but present themselves to academic advisors as very decided. From a developmental theory perspective, foreclosures represent an immature identity status and include students whose failure to explore their personal and vocational identities and achieve…

In this qualitative study, we investigated the academic major and career decision-making processes of honors college students who were declared as "exploratory" students in their freshman year at a large, public, midwestern university. We used semistandardized interviews and document analysis as primary data collection methods to answer…

College students who change majors often drift without recognition or advising. University College at Ohio State University has established an innovative program to help these students identify, explore, and decide on alternative educational and career directions. Components include individual and group advising, a course in academic alternatives,…

The Office of Placement Services at Michigan State distributes a publication that lists by college and major the names of all students who graduated, and includes degrees earned the previous academic year. The publication contains information relevant to advising students interested in current employment prospects and trends. (Author/MLW)

The effect that scores on a career-maturity scale and college experience have on the change of major status of four groups of college students was examined. The dependent variable was academic success measured by cumulative grade point average over a two-year period and change of major status. (MLW)

Describes a scheme for advising college students undecided about major or career choice: an active, time-limited method using students' self-descriptions instead of lists of curricula as the starting point for dialog that points students in the right direction. Outlines specific procedures and provides several case descriptions illustrating the…

The inability of some students to continue pursuing the undergraduate academic program they initially selected because of stringent institutional or departmental requirements is discussed. A survey to study the problem of the need for alternative advising for these students is described. (MLW)

As enrollments in engineering programs soar, many schools have been forced to control enrollment, resulting in a large population of pre-engineering majors. To aid in the understanding and advising of these majors, student profiles reflecting motivation patterns are presented. (MLW)

The extent to which students in preprofessional programs used academic resources to assist them in making decisions about a change of major or college was studied. Undergraduates who changed majors were expected to rely primarily on the University Bulletin for program information. (MLW)

Research proposals funded by the National Academic Advising Association are summarized. Topics include adult student retention factors, high-risk students' learning processes, undergraduate engineering performance predictors, traditional and computerized advising in research universities, re-entry women, advisor training through case studies,…