Abstract:

Introduction:
In the Colombian university context, student support programs stay designed as academic and emotional support strategies for those students who have difficulties in their educational process. In this sense, these programs are concerned with favoring students in the development of university life, once they affront changes and responsibilities associated with learning.

Objective:
Analyze the student’s perception of the Academic Advising Program (AAP) in the Department of Humanities and Integral Formation (DHIF) at the Universidad Santo Tomás - Bogotá.

Theoretical Framework:
The demands of the academic context demand a greater responsibility from the student with the acquired commitments. As well as, the university students report high levels of stress associated with the activities that imply evidence of their academic achievement. Martín (2007) declare that there have been effects on the health of students in stressful situations that require follow-up by university institutions. In this context, the AAP emerge as a strategy of academic counseling, aimed at providing comprehensive care to students who have or have had problems of an academic, family and social.

Methodology:
Quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants: the sample was N=445 students aged 33.5±17.5 years, with validation of 95% of the students tested (p<0.05) in the DHIF academic spaces at the first semester of 2018. The sample being 46% (n=204) from of the female gender and 54% (n=241) for the male gender. Instruments and Procedure: A self-administered questionnaire it was designed Likert Scale that includes 25 questions divided into 3 analysis criteria about psychosocial variables: Emotions (E), Stress (S) and Well-being (WB).

Results:
The sample presented a positive index for E. Comparing between genders, the women show an emotional tendency of 20% lower in E than men. For women, 40% (n=80) cannot act productively when they are angry; as also, 36% (n=73) are not productive when they are in situations of anxiety. For S, the same positive trend presented in the E variable stay. In this sense, the female gender shows 8% lower than men; 12% (n=24) of women fail to solve the problems presented in academic spaces, and 21% (n=43) fail to achieve the academic goals that are proposed. On the other hand, the WB presents a negative index, which reflects attitudes, values and habits of the students independent of the gender. For 54% (n=241) do not realize a regular physical exercise at least twice a week, they also do not involve strength and muscle stretching activities. In particular, men show a negative trend, with 13% higher than women in the consumption of tobacco and alcohol daily, which represents 40% (n=97) of the male gender.

Conclusions:
The results show that there is a difference in E and S in terms of gender. For women it is difficult to manage their emotions in situations of academic pressure, which can affect their productivity. In the case of men, they have a better management of emotions. However, they show a high consumption of tobacco and alcohol as an alternative to reduce the levels of stress produced by academic demands. Finally, it is necessary to strengthen the strategies of the AAP that allows to minimize the effects of these variables.

Keywords:

Academic Advising, University Students, Stress, Emotions.