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NSO advising changes met with mixed reviews

September 10, 2010

by Alix Finnegan

 

A revised New Student Orientation advising system was implemented for incoming students this year. In previous years, initial advising sessions were conducted between a single student and faculty member. This year, each guidance session was comprised of a group of approximately ten students per advisor.

In the past, individual students and their faculty advisors discussed their academic futures in depth.

During the group advising sessions, most students spent a only couple of minutes discussing academic choices with their advisor. In some classrooms, students were given the option to leave if they already knew what they wanted to take. This resulted in uneven participation among students attending each session.

 According to Director of Academic Advising and Professor of Communication Daena Goldsmith, the change in the academic advising format was due to a desire to limit the number of students per advisor, take a more welcoming approach, and allow students to discuss class selections.

Last year, although students were given one-on-one time with an advisor, each advisor had up to 25 students under their care. Conversely, advisors dealt with ten students or fewer during this year’s NSO advising.

 Despite the goals of the advising changes, many students still felt that the advising time would have been more rewarding and beneficial if given more one-on-one time. A much greater complaint was dealing with the sluggish WebAdvisor when actually registering for classes.

As far as what’s to come next year for NSO advising, the future remains unclear. The faculty’s opinions were divided regarding the effectiveness of the new NSO advising format.

If anyone has an opinion on how advising should be arranged for next year, Dr. Goldsmith is looking for feedback. Reach her through e-mail at daena@lclark.edu.