In response to positive feedback following changes to summer orientation advising, Miami University is continuing to address years of student complaints about poor undergraduate advising. The university has created an undergraduate academic advising council composed of a wide range of faculty, including assistant deans from the divisions, the registrar, admission representatives, the director of undergraduate advising and student representatives.
The committee is discussing the idea of making advising mandatory for first and second-year students. The editorial board of The Miami Student hopes the council seriously considers this idea and how it could help foster a positive relationship between students and their advisers. The DARS can be confusing, and it is all too easy to realize during senior year that one may have overlooked a section of the Miami Plan or took a class that didn't count toward a chosen major.
Upperclassmen who haven't gone to an advising session since their first year may think it is too late to try and create that relationship or ask for help. Requiring sophomores to meet with advisers could lead to the continuation of students working with advisers into their junior and senior year and ensure they have fulfilled all the requirements for their major and the Miami Plan.
The council is also discussing standard training for all advisers to help them understand advising in all divisions and how to better refer students to the appropriate person to answer their questions. The board believes educating first-year advisers to be better able to handle all majors and their different requirements could lead to better advising. They don't need to know the answer to every single question, but they should at least direct them to the proper place to find the answer. If that means a student has to talk to a department head, the adviser should give notice and let the head know they should expect the student's e-mail or drop-in. This could eliminate the problem of sending students in circles to find answers with department heads referring students back to the original adviser.
The board also hopes the students on the committee take their job seriously and take the time to talk to their friends in all different majors and various schools to find the biggest problems. These students have great tools in all of their friends have had some experience with advising and are probably from various majors. These students have an important responsibility to educate themselves on student complaints and work toward addressing them.
The committee also has a responsibility to be accessible to all students, not just those on the committee. They could have students send suggestions via e-mail or have an open town hall meeting to give all students the chance to meet with them and voice concerns.
