Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.6, 2020 196 Awareness of Academic Advisory Roles of Lecturers by Education Undergraduates in University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Dr. Chikwe Agbakwuru Department of Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counselling, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Dr. Stella Ugwueze Department of Psychology College of Management and Social Sciences, Renaissance University, Ugbawka, Enugu, Nigeria Abstract This study investigated awareness of academic advisory roles of lecturers by education undergraduates in University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The design of the study was descriptive survey, while the population was 1,460 regular final year undergraduates of the university 2018/2019 academic session. The sample was 500 students who were composed through proportionate random sampling technique from seven departments of Faculty of Education that had final year students. Relevant data were collected from the sample through personal contact method of administration of copies of researchers’ made Academic Advisory Awareness Questionnaire (AAAQ). The reliability was established through the Pearson Product Moment formula and for the three sections of the instrument it was 0.71, 0.76 and 0.72 while the overall reliability co-efficient was 0.73. Data were analyzed with mean and standard deviation statistics. The results show that the respondents have faint knowledge of the roles of an academic advisor, their assessment of the effectiveness of the academic advisers is poor and their perceived impediments to effective academic advising is also slightly poor. The results were discussed and some recommendations were also made. One of the recommendations is that counsellor educators, counsellors in the counselling unit in the student affairs department and the director of counselling services in the university should sensitize/enlighten the students on the roles of their academic advisers to them. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-6-24 Publication date: February 29 th 2020 Background of the study Successful academic career requires among other things, the adjustment of the learner to the learning environment. Adjustment to the learning environment demands bringing the learners behaviours in conformity with the norms of the school setting. It is principally designed to facilitate the adaptation of the learner to school life/culture (Agbakwuru, 2019). Those who adjust successfully feel relaxed, happy, comfortable and also exhibit enthusiasm in pursuing academic goals. On the other hand, those who fail to adjust successfully experience the reverse. In recognition of the importance of school adjustment in successful academic career, every school strives to enhance the adjustment of its students to school life / culture. One major way universities in particular adopt to facilitate this required adjustment of their students to academic culture is through academic advising. Academic advising is a series of intentional interactions with a curriculum, pedagogy, and a set of students learning outcomes (Bitz, 2013). It is concerned with academic staff guiding and directing students assigned to them on the academic regulations and activities to ensure they maximize their academic potentials (Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, N.D.). In academic advising assistance is given to students by academic staff called academic advisor to realize the maximum educational benefits to them by helping them to better understand themselves and to learn to use the resources of the institution to meet their special educational needs and aspirations (Crockett, 2008). By so doing, academic advising synthesizes and contextualizes students’ educational experiences within the frameworks of their aspirations abilities and lives to extend learning beyond campus boundaries and time frame (National Academic Advising Association, 2006). Research repost (Fowler & Boylan, 2010) has shown that academic advising increase students satisfaction and mitigate their feelings of isolation or disconnection from the institution as a whole. This is in addition to its positive effects in increasing university students’ retention and graduation and reduced attrition and withdrawal rates (Gravel, 2012). The need for effective academic advising in the contemporary Nigerian university system cannot be over emphasized. This is so because there is an apparent decline in the standard of university education, low level of academic motivation among many students, gross under achievement of some bright students, increased crime rate by students, etc. Furthermore, many students in the university possess diverse educational backgrounds and abilities. By assisting them in effective decision making and providing them with current and reliable information about university policies, procedures, resources and programmes through academic advisory services, the