The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which houses the largest number of majors on campus, is forming a committee to evaluate advising within the college. The committee’s primary task will be to explore alternative advising models.
Interim Dean of CAS Luiza Deprez said she sees a need for improvement within the advising program. “Most of us understand that it’s not always an area that we do the best in.”
The Student Senate has received multiple complaints about advising. The Princeton Review released comments last fall from anonymous students calling advising at USM a “joke.”
Dispite this, many students are satisfied with their advisors.
“If you’re a business major, you have the hired advisor, but we get to have our professors,” said math major Joseph Thompson.
The advising service differs between the schools at the university. Where undeclared students go through central advising (where the advisers are full time trained professionals), declared students are advised in a number of ways depending on which college their major is in. While CAS uses faculty advisers, the School of Business (SOB) and College of Nursing hire professional full-time advisers. Though the negative comments from the Princeton Review cannot be identified as coming from any particular area, two years ago the Student Senate wrote a letter to Provost Joe Wood stating, “The Student Senate receives many concerns…about advising…coming from those discouraged by advising in their major.” An evaluation of the Advising Services Department presented in May 2001 stated, “The results of the survey demonstrated an overall positive response the program.” Wood said about the Advising Services Program, “It’s my sense that piece works fairly well.’ He also said that within faculty advising “there are definitely volume issues.”
CAS has a number of programs with high student numbers and low faculty numbers. This is true of the media studies (MES) program, which lost one of its full-time faculty to sabbatical this summer.
“Even if one person leaves, that can leave a dent,” said Director of Advising Services Beth Higgins, who agreed to take on this year’s media studies first year and transfer majors when approached this summer by Interim Chair of MES David Pierson.
Advising services took on roughly 40 students for MES.
The systems governing advising practices within the University also varies depending on the college or school.
The SOB does not require all students to receive a RAN before registration. Their system breaks students into two categories: business major and “pre-major.” Until you fulfill certain requirements you are considered a pre-major and must meet with an adviser to get your RAN. Once you have met the requirements and reached major status, you no longer need to meet with an adviser to sign up for classes.
“We’re giving them more freedom. They can register first and check with us after,” said Coordinator of Advising in the SOB Sharon Bannon.
However, the handing out of RAN numbers by faculty is intended to be an assurance that students meet with their advisers at least once during the semester.
Availability of faculty advisers was an issue discussed by the Student Senate a few weeks ago at their weekly senate meeting. A lot of advisors are teachers and they don’t have time,” said Senator Ben Strout.”
“I know the students like the convenience of knowing where their adviser is eight hours of the day,” said Bannon.
Bannon, whose background is in science and adult education, also said faculty connections are crucial to student development and opportunities in their field.
Another advising concern voiced by the Student Senate was the lack of faculty training. Though the adviser’s within the Advising Services Department are trained, the University has no standard for training faculty advisers.
Executive Director of Advising Susan Campbell said, “We need to come up with a common definition of what advising is — a shared philosophy.”
Associate Professor of Political Science Ron Schmidt said student needs are different. Some students just want their RAN, while others seek out a mentor. To those students he can provide guidance, but it is the ones who are less clear about their needs that pose a challenge. “You talk to them and you feel the opportunity is slipping through your fingers.”
Schmidt said he could better steer the students who might be more indecisive if he were given more comprehensive training about the opportunities for students to participate in the USM community.
Wood said training at the individual school or college level allows faculty to specialize training to suit the needs of their particular major.
Though past Senate’s have recognized problems with advising and taken initial action, change has been more difficult to come by. “This has been the most consistent issue with the Senate,” said Senate Adviser and Assistant to the Dean of Student Life Chris O’Connor. Though the Senate has intended to address advising concerns in the past, “they didn’t come up with an action plan and that’s where the process fell apart,” said O’Connor.