Best questions for college undergraduate student survey about academic advising

Here are some of the best questions for a college undergraduate student survey about academic advising, along with practical tips to craft your own. If you want to build or generate an effective survey in seconds, Specific can help you create one tailored to your needs.

Best open-ended questions for a college undergraduate student survey about academic advising

Open-ended questions invite honest, nuanced feedback that goes beyond simple ratings. They're perfect when you want to understand root causes, uncover unmet needs, or collect stories that numbers just can’t capture. Especially in academic advising, where student experiences are personal and varied, these questions open the door to richer insights. Here are 10 of our favorite open-ended questions to ask:

1. Can you describe a recent experience you had with your academic advisor that stood out to you?

2. What aspects of academic advising do you find most helpful in supporting your academic journey?

3. If you could change one thing about how academic advising works at your college, what would it be and why?

4. How easy is it for you to schedule and attend meetings with your academic advisor? Please elaborate.

5. Have you ever faced challenges that you felt your advisor could not help with? Please share details.

6. In what ways do you feel your academic advisor is invested in your personal success?

7. What resources or information do you wish your advisor would provide more proactively?

8. Describe a time your advisor helped you resolve a significant academic or personal problem.

9. How could academic advising be improved to support your long-term goals?

10. Is there anything else you want to share about your experiences with academic advising?

Research highlights that high-quality, frequent advisor interactions boost student satisfaction with academic advising, reinforcing the value of questions like these for surfacing quality experiences and gaps. [2]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for a college undergraduate student survey about academic advising

Single-select multiple-choice questions are great when you need structured data to quantify experiences or opinions, or if you want to get the conversation rolling. Sometimes, it’s easier for respondents to pick a short answer, which you can then probe with follow-ups for deeper context. Here are three well-crafted examples for this audience and topic:

Question: How satisfied are you with the availability of your academic advisor during office hours?

• Very satisfied

• Satisfied

• Neutral

• Dissatisfied

• Very dissatisfied

Question: How confident are you in your advisor’s knowledge of degree requirements?

• Very confident

• Somewhat confident

• Not very confident

• Not at all confident

Question: When you have concerns about your academic progress, who do you turn to first?

• Academic advisor

• Faculty professor

• Peer/other student

• Family member

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" If a student selects “dissatisfied” or “not confident,” ask: “Why do you feel this way?” or “Can you describe a situation that influenced your answer?” These quick follow-ups open the door to specifics, not just a score.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? — Use it when you can’t predict every possible answer. Letting respondents expand ensures you don’t miss surprising insights, which follow-up questions can uncover and clarify—often revealing issues or strengths you hadn’t anticipated.

For context, it’s notable that 57% of students at King Saud University’s College of Pharmacy were satisfied with advisor availability, but 32% felt neutral, highlighting where these questions—and their follow-ups—can identify what might move the needle. [1]

NPS-style question: measuring overall sentiment about academic advising

Using a Net Promoter Score (NPS)-style question in a college undergraduate student survey about academic advising offers a fast, quantifiable way to gauge overall satisfaction and advocacy. Ask: “On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend your academic advisor to a friend or peer?” This approach helps benchmark satisfaction and track changes over time. More importantly, Specific’s conversational surveys can automatically follow up based on student scores, asking for reasons behind low or high ratings. You can instantly generate an NPS survey for your audience—it’s a high-impact, research-backed tool that’s particularly useful for continuous improvement.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions often make the difference between forgettable and outstanding surveys. By using features like automated AI follow-up questions, Specific ensures that responses remain clear, relevant, and actionable. When students respond vaguely, these real-time, AI-powered prompts dig deeper—leading to more usable feedback and a truly conversational experience.

• Student: “Sometimes I can’t get the info I need from my advisor.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you share a recent example when your advisor wasn’t able to provide the information you needed?”

How many followups to ask? Generally, 2–3 follow-up questions are enough to clarify and expand on key responses. With Specific, you can set a limit and allow students to “skip to next” if their answer is clear—this keeps the experience smooth while capturing essential insights.

This makes it a conversational survey: Responses aren’t just one-and-done—they evolve into rich, interactive conversations, where students feel heard and researchers get real stories.

AI analysis, qualitative feedback, and text responses — Even with tons of open-ended feedback, analyzing results is easy thanks to tools like AI survey response analysis. You can chat with AI about themes, counts, or direct quotes without hours of manual coding.

Automated, dynamic follow-ups are a new frontier in student feedback—try generating a survey and watch as these features turn scattered opinions into clear, actionable insights.

How to prompt ChatGPT or GPTs for better academic advising survey questions

AI can draft survey questions in seconds if you give the right prompt. Here’s a quick starter:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for college undergraduate student survey about academic advising.

But here’s the secret: The more context you add—like your university, the types of students you want to target, or challenges you’re facing—the better the suggestions will be. For example:

We are surveying first-generation college students at a large public university. Our goal is to improve access to tailored academic support and resources. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for a survey about academic advising.

Next, ask the AI to cluster its ideas, for better organization:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Review your categories and then ask for more depth in each one:

Generate 10 questions for categories "advisor accessibility" and "personalized degree planning".

Working this way helps you cover all bases and ensures the survey matches your exact needs.

What is a conversational survey? Manual vs. AI-generated survey

A conversational survey feels like a chat—not a form. Instead of bland tick-boxes, your college undergraduate respondents engage in a dynamic exchange where the survey reacts, probes, and encourages deeper thought. What sets this approach apart?

• Traditional manual surveys: Static forms, linear flow, no follow-ups, often low data quality

• AI-generated conversational surveys: Built with tools like AI survey generators, adaptable, context-aware, and offering seamless, friendly interactions that get more from every respondent

Peer-reviewed research shows that AI-powered conversational surveys provide higher-quality, more specific, and more relevant responses than traditional forms. [5]

Why use AI for college undergraduate student surveys? You get fast, tailored questions, smart follow-ups, real-time clarity, and analysis—plus students find it less tedious and more engaging.

For a detailed walkthrough on building these modern surveys, check out our practical guide on how to create a survey for college students about academic advising.

Specific leads the way in conversational, AI-powered survey experiences, making it smooth and intuitive for everyone—students and researchers alike.

See this academic advising survey example now

Start collecting honest, actionable feedback with a conversational survey that adapts and probes in real time—uncover deeper insights, save hours, and make surveys engaging for every student.