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 “I have found that with e-mail advising, simple questions can be handled efficiently. I can often answer a student's question quickly on e-mail rather than have that student schedule a 1/2 hour appointment for a 30 second reply.When questions are asked that require much more complicated answers, then I have more appointment time available for those students who need it most. In those cases, I reply with something like, 'Whew! You're asking some complicated questions here. Let's sit down and visit about all of this. Stop by and make an appointment to see me and I'll see if I can clarify some of these issues for you.' With e-mail advising, I also find that I can serve regional campus and non-traditional students better. They do not have to take time off of work or get a babysitter to get advising. They can write me at midnight and I can answer the next morning.” ~ Phyllis Mendenhall, Miami University, July 10 “Rather than playing voice-mail tag or waiting for an appointment, e-mail is a far more efficient way for students to ask simple questions of an adviser. It is also a great way for keeping in touch during breaks and after graduation.”~ Kirk Dowson, University of Winnipeg, July 17 “Although the majority of advising I do is still in person, I use e-mail to respond to students' questions, or to follow up on office sessions. One advantage I see is that you can have an automatic and accurate record of what you've told students – I find it an easier way to keep advising notes. Of course, there are some things which should not be 'discussed' in the e-mail format. I would hope that the personal office visit will always be an option.”~ Marlys Escobar, University of North Dakota, July 18 “I would like to use e-mail more than I do for advising. I find that I over-explain with e-mail, since I don't get to check out what the student knows as I advise. Even when I spend 10 minutes on an e-mail (a very long time) it is much less than the time for an appointment, and it is at my convenience. Of course there are some issues that need a phone call or face to face. But I think it is a very nice alternative to the appointment.”~ John Wick, Naugatuck Valley Community College, July 24 “Regarding John Wick's comment about e-mail taking a lot of time to do right, I thought I'd mention something I started doing a couple of years ago. If I find that I am giving the same or similar answers to the same or similar questions over and over, I take quite a bit of time creating a good, basic reply to a commonly asked question. I save it in my e-mail with no recipient and I am careful not to delete it. I use a topic (such as 'scheduling woes' or 'transfer inquiry') on the subject line, so when I need that reply for a student's question, I just copy and paste it into my response to the student, modifying it to fit any unique aspects of their questions.”~ Phyllis Mendenhall, Miami University, July 31 The Mentor is published by Penn State's Division of Undergraduate Studies Available online at www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/ Privacy and Legal Statements | Copyright | © The Pennsylvania State University | All rights reserved | |
