Abstract
<p>Online education is the fastest growing segment of higher education. Unfortunately, many students attending college online fail to successfully earn their college degrees. The high attrition rate among online students proves costly for both the student and the university and is a multifaceted problem. This study investigated whether academic advisor-advisee demographic matching plays a role in the satisfaction or intent to graduate of online students. Guided by Dyadic Fit Theory, the study is the first to examine advisor and advisee matching among students attending an online college. <br />
Data was collected from an online survey of students attending Herzing University-Online. Results indicated that most participants did not consider matching with their academic advisors something that would influence their satisfaction or intent to graduate.However, underrepresented students of color and nonheterosexual students seemed to put more value on advisor-advisee demographic matching. It is hoped the results will help college officials better understand the online student population for developing strategies to increase satisfaction and persistence among online students.</p>