OUR VIEW: In advising, quality always beats quantity

Why hire more people to not do their job?

One reason behind the major changes to the Taggart Student Center this summer is the addition of more advising services to the student center. The hiring of more advisers is made possible by Tier II Tuition funds.

A common complaint among students is the lack of good advising. This problem may not be because there aren’t enough advisers, but because the students aren’t getting the help they need.

Students aren’t complaining because they have trouble meeting with the adviser, but because when they do meet with him or her they don’t get any help. This unfriendly response can be found in the words of one adviser: “That’s a waste of my time and your time. Besides, you’re probably going to change your major anyway.”

With an adviser with this attitude, it’s no wonder why so many students get discouraged and take longer than four years to graduate, often changing their majors.

Another student asked his adviser in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences about a general education course and was told she didn’t know anything about it and to look it up online.

This is a serious case of quality versus quantity. It’s not going to matter how many advisers are hired if they don’t do their job. Let’s hope there will be beneficial trainings given periodically to aid in the quality of advising. It’s quality the students need and deserve. Give them advisers that care and help, not hinder.