Campaign promises, lofty goals, finding the time to talk with your constituency, these are things that can easily slip away from a Student Body President once the crush of classes, meetings, and social functions start to kick in with the start of the semester.
But Maggie Guzman has started off strong, organizing an advising institute this summer that drew 150 participants – including 60 faculty members – to assist in the consolidation of three departments into the Student Success Center.
“The central piece of advising institute was setting consistent expectations from faculty advisors,” said Guzman. “Students have to understand what they are expected to do as advisee, and the faculty should understand what their role is – this role has never been well defined at USM,” she added.
Guzman does not take credit for the consolidation, but says that the plans were “implemented much more effectively and smoothly because of the desires that came out of that conversation; for all areas of university to make change that would support student success. “They are now required to have an extensive knowledge of all areas of the university,” said Guzman.
On a campus where the average student takes – at Guzman’s estimate – at least five years to graduate, and where only 60 percent of freshmen see their USM education through to the end, Guzman has chosen the issue of student success as her cause cél?bre, focusing on revamping the roles of faculty and professional advisors as a means to this end.
“There is no requirement for advisors to read any handbook, or take any test,” said Guzman. “They don’t need extensive knowledge of university requirements, and there is no method of assessment to see if they do.”
USM has since solved this problem by firing, and then rehiring every employee of the three consolidated departments after giving them an assessment that measured their ability to aide in student success.
Guzman feels that this lack of understanding is a major obstacle to student success, which she defines as “graduating in reasonable amount of time, being able to have conversations with faculty that will enrich your experience in your field, and being able to get job out of school that enriches your life.”
“We have a culture in our institution that doesn’t focus on advising as teaching or career planning,” said Guzman “that needs to change.”
Advising is not the only USM service that needs a hard look, in Guzman’s opinion. The nation’s current economic struggles have forced some students out of their plans for higher education, or limited the number of credits they can afford to take, making a user-friendly financial aid department another essential component to student success. Guzman discussed the role of financial aid with CFO Dick Campbell in a meeting last week, a department that Guzman feels is “significantly understaffed.”
“The amount of aid awarded has been increased two-fold, the amount of recipients has also increased two-fold, but the amount of staff has stayed the same,” said Guzman, who noted “Negative experiences with support services are closely related to negative retention rates.”
“It’s most students first experience at the university,” said Guzman “If you feel that you’re not well informed, not receiving up to date, complete, or accurate info, you don’t feel cared for, and you don’t want to stay here.”