School officials, policymakers, administrators, and colleges and universities express concerns express concern regarding issues that affect the persistence of community college students. Graduation rates from community colleges continue to decline at colleges across the United States. The problem investigated in this study was how the negative perception of advising among community college students impacts degree completion. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the academic advisement experiences of full-time freshmen and sophomore students who were enrolled at a community college. The study participants completed at least one full-time semester and had at least one academic advising session with an academic adviser at a community college. The appreciative inquiry theory guided this investigation as its theoretical framework. Individuals who have attended a community college as full-time students for at least one semester were the focus of this investigation. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews (N=9) were utilized in the data collection process. Using thematic analysis and open coding, five final themes emerged. Access and interaction with advisers positively affect students' experiences with advisement, according to the findings. Participants emphasized that information and the availability of support services and resources contributed to their academic success. Students also stated that academic advising was the foundation and gateway to academic success. Recommendations for future research include: (a) for students to be assigned one constant adviser throughout the tenure of the student's career, (b) surveying students at the end of the academic year, and (c) to build career-related information into the advising process. Future research is recommended to investigate the perception of academic advisement from graduates who have completed terminal degrees or entered the workforce to document how their academic advisement experiences contributed to their goals. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]