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Each student's response to the downturn in the economy will be different based on a number of factors, not the least of which is socioeconomic. However, my advising approach will not change. Specifically, I will tell students and their parents (the latter at day-long orientation sessions) that I have not the slightest care what the student chooses to major in. Part of my job as an adviser is to emphasize the importance of writing well, speaking well, listening critically, and working effectively with other students and faculty. I will remind all students of the importance of being generally educated and informed about events in the world. Finally, I will tell them that the most practical major is the one they enjoy and will excel in. The so-called marketable majors will not work for them if they do not have an aptitude for them, but skills in the aforementioned areas will serve students well for life. Christopher Gregory, assistant dean of academic affairs, Framingham State College, December 3, 2008 The downturn in the economy has been the upswing for my industry—online education. I have been really busy advising prospective students who need to further their education to keep or get a job. The face-to-face traditional setting is not conducive to the student who needs to work full-time and thus the huge surge in online academics. The cost is cheaper and the time commitment is often less but more concentrated. And many prospective students that I am currently advising already have degrees but need a certificate to keep them current in marketable job skills or even employed. Rebecca Graetz, online student advisor, Minnesota Online (MnSCU), December 15, 2008 I am seeing various ways the economic downturn is affecting my students. I usually plot out my advisees' last two years of their secondary education majors. However, due to the budgetary crisis the state of Florida finds itself in, my university has not decided on our semester offerings for this upcoming summer 2009. This affects my students in many ways. If they are unable to take courses this upcoming summer, it may push off their graduation an additional two semesters due to their requirement of completing a semester of internship in a school setting. And since many of them are working full- or part-time to afford their programs, any uptick in tuition will adversely affect them as well. They are optimistically pessimistic. I must give them credit: they are dealing with the situation better than some in the past have. Lynne A. Carlson, counselor/advisor, University of South Florida, December 15, 2008 Something I am seeing at my university is student course selections being dictated by when they can pay off their bursar bill. Students are not allowed to enroll in courses for the next semester until they are paid up with the university, so those who are having a harder time making ends meet and getting loans together are those who enroll later and then have to hope enough people drop courses that they might need. Though I don't have any figures to back this up, I feel like I am seeing more and more stressed-out students who weren't able to originally get into courses because of their bursar bill. Unfortunately, course selection is based too much with these students on what came open or what will just get them to full-time status, no matter what it is, for their loans as opposed to what they might have a true intellectual interest in. As for students making major choices, something the collapse of Wall Street has given me is the ability to really make the point clear that being a business major is not a lock on a lifetime of good employment. It is an Heraclitean world for all of us, so why not major in the liberal arts where at least you can get the meaning behind references to dead Greek philosophers! Kevin Seymore, senior academic counselor, Oklahoma State University, December 16, 2008 A legitimate fear for the liberal arts is their ability to raise funds and compete with the science- and research-based majors on campuses. The liberal arts are very vulnerable in this time of economic uncertainty, and any department not able to support itself will most definitely see difficulty through budget reductions. If funding decreases enough and the number of TAs and class size increase too much, the liberal arts will have a difficult time selling itself to students. What is by far my biggest fear about today's economy is its effect on low-income college students. Attainment of math and science degrees, and the higher salaries they come with, is much lower in these groups. As advisers, we have a responsibility to help educate these students financially as our nation's economic shape directly impacts the vulnerability of the already vulnerable group of low-income college students. How students pay for college is a question every counselor needs to be comfortable asking! Troy Miller, counselor/advisor, University of South Florida, December 31, 2008 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 | |
