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 We are having this very discussion on our campus right now so it's a timely question. As one who falls in the “professional” category, I believe it really boils down to who is best qualified to answer certain questions and how much of a partnership exists with our faculty. I am happy to say that there is a real sense of partnership and acknowledgement of who has particular strengths that can best assist the student. In my mind, the “ego” has to be taken out of the idea of advising and keeping the student's best interest at the center of all “advising” by whomever does it. I think it goes without saying that avoiding misadvising a student should always be the guiding principal . . . not position or status on a campus determining who is the “best” choice to advise a student.~ Don Scott, Chapman University, October 3, 2007 As director of advising for the campus here at Framingham State College, I'll answer this question the way I do when speaking about advising for all students. Our system of advising is faculty-based, and most students have a faculty adviser. My position calls for me to train and support faculty and students in advising-related matters. Therefore, from first year through to graduation, my role is to provide valuable information to faculty and students to support them in their roles as adviser and advisee. When students enter junior year, I'd much rather they be fully immersed in the major course-wise and advising-wise so that they benefit from advice imparted by a faculty member who knows about the major's curriculum, requirements for graduate school, and potential internships and careers specific to the major. I will support faculty and students as they enter into and are immersed in this process.~ Christopher Gregory, Framingham State College (Massachusetts), October 3, 2007 Faculty advisers often know more about the job market for their field of study. They also have in-depth knowledge of what the major classes involve. Faculty members are usually the best recourse for students who want to know more about the major.Professional advisers are often more interested and knowledgeable in scheduling and general education issues than are faculty advisers. Students who have lingering general education questions are often best advised by a professional adviser. Also, students who are considering changing their major or working in a field not associated with the particular major can often get more general information from a professional adviser. There are also benefits to a students having one adviser who is with them throughout their college career. The student is familiar with this adviser and is often more comfortable continuing to see the same adviser. Students are also more likely to get consistent advice when only seeing one adviser. Receiving conflicting advice can be very frustrating for students. In addition, advisers who only work with students for the first two years may be tempted to be complacent with students taking only their general education courses. These advisers may not encourage their students to begin the major-decision process early and take appropriate course work because they do not see the negative situations the students can find themselves in when they run out of general education classes but are unprepared to begin major course work either because of lacking prerequisites or because they have not yet begun the major decision-making process. ~ Susan Bates, Tidewater Tech Online, October 22, 2007 I think it depends a lot on the size of the department. My department where I work as a professional adviser has nearly 500 majors and around sixteen full-time faculty members. I along with another adviser handle the advising load, but we certainly encourage students to still meet with faculty during office hours. For those who wish to someday be a faculty member, we encourage them even more to get to know faculty members. Inside the same college, there are other departments where the number of majors is very small and a faculty member serves in both capacities. Again, I say the numbers should be a large factor in this decision.~ Kevin Seymore, Oklahoma State University, October 23, 2007 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 | |
