At our school, students were assigned an advisor whom they stayed with for 4 years. Unless, of course, they wanted a different one. Advisories met regularly as a group and students also met individually on anything more personal.
Dorm parents played a different role - no academic advising but another person looking out for the kids.
This is something that really varies by school. Imho, not every teacher is equally good at the advising function, so a system that makes it easier to switch and make the right match is preferable.