Facts: Student Government read the Advising Bill for the first time Tuesday, Jan. 18. The bill was approved by the Academic Committee in November. The senators interviewed students, faculty and staff for input.
Opinion: Student Senate’s review of academic advising was very comprehensive and gives the students’, as well as pertinent staff and faculty, opinions a voice. Provost Warwick Arden needs to include the suggestions made by the senators in the Strategic Plan so advisors can begin the process of improving their advising sessions.
Student senators worked last semester to identify the weaknesses of the advising system from all perspectives. After their research, they have developed a comprehensive list of solutions for Provost Warwick Arden to review. With his approval, these solutions can begin helping students gain a better academic experience. There is no reason Arden should hesitate to improve advising at N.C. State.
For students, academic advising time can either be constructive or a hassle. The University is counting on advisors to give students one-on-one time to work on their course of study and refocus their goals. If this isn’t done effectively, this can wreck a student’s chance of graduating or getting the most out of their time here. This bill and the research the senators conducted comes mostly from students’ experience, not administrators’ observations. This means students’ opinions have been considered and summed up in an easy plan that the provost only has to delegate out to the faculty and staff to get in motion.
An effective advising system will allow students to have better relationships with their advisor. They can use these professors for recommendations, get professional advice and truly access the resources in their department. The provost should realize that students are left to brave the University bureaucracy without this relationship. This can cause more work for students and professors, and also makes the University look bad when students are negative because they are confused.
The solutions the senators propose are not out of the realm of possibility. They are reasonable and use the resources already available within the system. What they are suggesting is not a completely new system, but a reorganization. The provost should recognize this is something he can check off his budget cut checklist. It will take some initial work, but the payoff in the long run will make it a more effective advising session.
The ultimate goal is to give students what they need to succeed, but only by listening can the provost and faculty know where they need to improve. Provost Arden needs to work with Student Government and the Strategic Planning Committee working on advising to get this bill into action. He has the power to quickly review it and give the okay to implement it. By stalling or not taking the time to review the bill he is impeding the improvement of advising for the entire University. The more time that passes is the longer advising cannot work to get into new habits and, ultimately help students succeed more efficiently.
