LETTER: Administration: help us out

To the editor:

Students need accurate information on university policy to graduate on time. Their source is the administration.

Unfortunately, a student may not get the right answer to their question or they may receive conflicting answers from different sources. There is a lot of policy so some errors are understandable. Advisors, for instance, need to know a lot of information and it’s unlikely they will have a flawless memory of it.

The problem with the current system is that while the student relies on administration for information, the administration is completely unaccountable. The school’s policy is that the student alone is responsible for getting the information that they need. There is a logical problem here – if students get their information from administration, and administration doesn’t give the right answer, how can the student get accurate information? How can the student be the only one held accountable? This is nothing more than a convenient strategy to sidestep even appropriate accountability.

I don’t mind being held accountable. In fact, I prefer it with one stipulation. If I am going to be held accountable, I want to have all the information that I’m being held accountable for available to me – organized, centralized, and accessible. Put it online and let me read it myself. Tell my advisor to answer my questions with hyperlinks so that I can’t blame anyone but myself for misreading the policy.

If we don’t have the in-house talent to build a usable online system then go to eLance.com, spend the money, and get it done. Banner may be an upgrade from the old system but it is still pathetic considering the technology that is out there. If referring students to online documents seems too cold and impersonal to recruit new students then at least be willing to shoulder some of the blame when, due to dissemination of misinformation, one of your students encounters a problem, such as not being able to graduate on time. The “you-should-have-known-because-you-are-responsible-so-you-are-out-of-luck” approach to problem solving isn’t doing much for recruitment either. I’m certainly not going to recommend anyone attend USU due to this problem alone.

Brian Gladu