Peer-reviewed

Academic advising is a key element for learning success in virtual environments that has received little attention from researchers. Since academic advising can contribute to improve the satisfaction and retention of online students, research on this activity is especially needed in the current situation of competition among online universities. This paper describes the online academic advising system in a virtual university, as a contribution to the development of viable models for this activity. We explain the background of the advising system and its main elements: the advisor¿s functions, the types of advisors, the available tools for advisors, the organisation of the advisorial system, and the advisorial activity from the student¿s point of view.