Students scramble for needed advising
So many students, so few advisers.
Adviser offices are filling up quickly as Utah State University students scramble to make appointments before spring semester registration begins this week.
With a limited number of available advisers, confusion and frustration rises. Many students are trying to make appointments at the same time and feel they are not getting the sufficient advice they need to guide them through their college careers.
Joslyn Heiniger, academic adviser for the College of Business, said, “We’ve been booked for two weeks and there are only so many hours in a day.”
There are 168 advisers at USU for the roughly 20,000 students enrolled Fall 2002 semester. The College of Business has 1,730 students and three advisers, two of whom are there only 80 percent of the time.
John Mortensen, director of Advising and Transition Services, said, “It’s hard to get an appointment during the peak time, when everyone is trying to register.”
It is not difficult for some students to get appointments with their advisers, but they do not feel they are getting the advice they need.
Cody Ostler, a junior majoring in business, said, “I went in and felt as though she could give me advice. I expected her to give me some options but all she could do was give me a list of requirements that I could have gotten on my own. She hasn’t really given me any advice. The only advice she gave me was to go somewhere by myself and spend at least two hours and do some soul searching.”
Heiniger said, “Sometimes students want the advisers to do something they can’t do. They think exceptions can be made for them, but that is something the advisers can’t do. It gets frustrating all around because there’s not a one-stop place to go to answer all your questions, and that is something that was frustrating to me when I was a student.”
The USU philosophy of advising encompasses developing and delivering accurate, up-to-date information regarding career options, educational programs, courses of instruction, resources, policies and procedures to aid students in pursuing their educational goals, according to the 2002-03 USU adviser handbook.
Heiniger said, “Let the adviser know what you [student] need and don’t leave until you get the right answers to your questions. We’re always open to suggestions from the students on how to make things better for them.”
Frustrations have come from students who claim their advisers told them to take the wrong classes or were not specific enough.
Kristin Adams, a senior majoring in public relations, talked to several different advisers until she got the right information.
“If I hadn’t talked to my major adviser, I wouldn’t have been able to graduate. My previous adviser didn’t tell me the right classes I should take,” she said. “It would have helped if they worked out a schedule with you of specific classes instead of telling you to take some kind of depth or breadth class.”
Mark Seely, a senior majoring in business, has had several advisers while he has been at USU.
“I wish some of my advisers would have given me more information and sat down with me to explore my options and pursue my academic career,” he said.
Ostler said, “I need someone that can give me the benefits of this degree versus this degree and what to expect when I graduate.”
Mortensen is working on ways to improve the advising at USU.
“We are trying to look at the structure overall of the advising and alleviate in places that are needed. I’m looking at models of other universities and colleges within Utah State to find something that we can recommend,” he said.
Students can give feedback about their advisers at www.usu.edu/ats/adviser-evaluation. Advisers can give evaluation cards to their students to fill out after an advising session.
“This is the first time we have done this to get immediate feedback from the students about their advisers,” Mortensen said.
Seely has been working with other students on the Student Advising Council this semester to find out what is working well and what areas need improvement with advising at the university.
The council is focusing on specifics of advising, such as program structure and adviser training.
“I was surprised at how varied advising is at USU. There are some advisers that have 20 students and some that have 500 students. Some of the colleges admit there are some problems and some felt like they were doing really good,” Seely said.
The advising programs at USU are different for each college, so there is no collective, uniform format to follow.
The council is trying to make the advising process easier for students by making online technology more accessible, Seely said.
For now, students can do things to make visits with their advisers better.
Oliver Wade, assistant director of Advising and Transition Services, said, “First of all, students should meet with their adviser in a timely manner. They should also write down their questions that they have and be prepared to take notes and remember everything their adviser tells them.”
Heiniger said, “It helps if the students have done their homework before they come in and have an idea of the classes that they need to take. Students should get to know the university catalog and make an appointment before they come in. Students just don’t call far enough in advance sometimes.”
Kathy Bayn, academic adviser for the College of Engineering, said, “Sometimes it comes down to the students who haven’t been doing their half. You have to make an appointment. You can’t come in and expect to see someone that minute. I think for the most part we [advisers] are trying hard and doing a good job. The main thing is that the students and advisers should work together.”
-mmackay@cc.usu.edu