Advisors abide by the specific policies, procedures and values of the department and institution for which they work. Where injustices occur and might interfere with students' learning, advisors advocate change on behalf of students with the institution's administration, faculty, and staff. Advisors are responsible to higher education generally. In this spirit, advisors hold a variety of points of view. Academic advisors are free to base their work with students on the most appropriate and optimum theories of college student development and models of delivery for academic advising programs and services.
Advisors accept that one of the goals of education is to introduce students to the world of ideas.
Advisors help students in understanding this process. Advisors advocate for students' educational achievement at the highest attainable standard and support student goals, as well as the educational mission of the institution. Advisors advocate the creation or strengthening of programs and services that are compatible with students' academic needs. Academic advisors interpret the institution's mission, standards, goals, and values to its community, including public and private schools from which the college or university draws its student body. Likewise, advisors understand their student body and regularly inform the schools from which their students come about appropriate preparation so that students may perform successfully in higher education.