When cultures clash: exploring Latino students’ experiences with cultural mismatch in academic advising

Abstract

In an environment of rapidly changing student demographics and enrollment, higher education institutions face the challenge of eliminating institutional performance gaps. Latino students are the fastest-growing population in higher education and represent an opportunity for institutions to increase enrollment, yet they experience disproportionately low rates of degree completion. This study aimed to understand how academic advisors may contribute to the successes or challenges of Latino students through the lens of cultural mismatch theory. Using a generic qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with undergraduate Latino students regarding their academic advising experiences. Two overarching themes emerged from the interview data, indicating that Latino students experience cultural match or mismatch in their advising interactions based on whether they view advising as relational vs. transactional and on whether their advisors offer them flexibility vs. rigidity in navigating the institution. These findings suggest that institutions may improve Latino student success by building advising structures that foster ongoing connections between advisors and advisees and by intentionally providing professional development for their advisors to enhance relational skills.