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“It seems to enhance my advising. I get questions from my advisees late at night, and I sometimes find myself answering an advising question at 11:00 PM. They still drop in to see me, as they always used to do, but they now have another way to ask questions, chat, point me to something on the web that interests them, etc. I have more contact with some students than I ever expected to have. It's great!” – George Ball, Alfred University, Mar 04 “The average age of students at our college is twenty-seven. Most of them work full-time or part-time. Many have children and other responsibilities besides college. Any information that we can make available to them is generally appreciated. Often they do not have time to visit with an adviser for all the answers. I think it depends on the type of information the student is seeking which determines whether not seeing an adviser is a good or bad idea. I believe information technology does not keep students away from advisers, but does allow them to make better informed decisions on their own!” – J. Starker, Ivy Tech State College, Mar 04 “My answer to the first question is 'yes and no.' My answer to the second is 'yes.' How's that for being vague? But I do think there are many shades of gray in this issue, and we cannot afford to cram those subtle shades into a black-and-white paradigm. As more and more information is put into students' hands, they will have less reasons to visit the advising office. That's good when it fosters efficient, timely registration and allows students to spend more of their time where they belong: in the classroom, the library, the lab, etc. It's bad when the students don't fully understand what they're reading and register improperly. On the other hand, some students armed with general information may actually be drawn to the advising office (or to their adviser via e-mail) with questions that might not have occurred to them otherwise. Information technology has not, in my experience, reduced my workload. It has made my advising duties more interesting and productive. On the other hand, it has also presented me with new challenges, as I now have to monitor enrollment electronically for students, some of whom I rarely if ever see in person. What a brave new world we're living in!” – Gregory Halbe, The Ohio State University-Newark Campus, Mar 04 “Information technology (web sites, e-mail) is a useful communication tool, especially for students who are seldom available to meet with an adviser during regular office hours. Students can become more frustrated by a lack of information than by lack of personal contact with an adviser. I think technology can enhance the student-adviser relationship, because students are grateful to the adviser for meeting their information needs. In-person meetings can then focus on issues other than simple information dissemination, such as personal issues, career goals, etc., and will be more efficient and productive.” – Susan Weir, Oklahoma State University, Mar 04 “I'm a strong believer in human contact--while it's great that so much more information is available to a larger population, there's too much room for misinterpretation which leads to misunderstanding which leads to misinformed assumptions. By the time the error is caught, it's too late and the damage is done. Also, those that would most benefit by interacting with others will avoid doing so.” – Kaleilani K. G. Keolanui, University of Hawaii, Mar 04 “I believe that we need to find a balance between technology and human contact. The students that we work with have been brought up in a society which places a strong emphasis on technology use. They are not prepared to interact with others because they have spent a significant amount of time interacting with a machine. As a result, their level of social interaction is hindered and their development of social skills is limited.” – Angelyn M. Anderson, Roosevelt University, Mar 04 “In my opinion, information technology can save time and frustration for both students and academic advisers, but the saving is only as good as the information is current. The purposes of academic advising are many, but accurate, up-to-date information on course requirements and course offerings is essential. Information technology can offer such information in a public domain to which both student and adviser have access. So, it's good as long as that is the case. Information technology does not provide a shoulder to cry on, a role model to emulate, or a coach to inspire. If academic advisers are good at their jobs, interpersonal contact can be more important as information technology reduces the amount of time needed purely informational issues.” – Dorothy A. Jones, Purdue University, Mar 05 “Information Technology is one more tool that is available to students today. The fact that they are using the tool is a big plus! Students do not keep the same hours as a regular office. Many are working and raising families along with their school. The ability to make contact with an adviser, on their time, at least gets them in contact with one. The students still come in to the office when they can, it's just not as stressful as it could be. Yes, some of them need the contact with a real live person, but those are the few not the many.” – Sharon, East Tennessee State University, Mar 05 “Advising will be carried out in the near future with a lot of electronic software programs. With large student bodies, expensive salaries for advisers, and student demand to have information at their fingertips on a twenty-four hour basis through electronic media (Web), it is the only reasonable way to go. Advisers will still be needed to explain to some individuals the electronic pages and to clear up isolated problems. Advisers may also spend more time on the Web advising students and it should save time and avoid the problem of students not showing up for their appointments. I hope we do not completely give up the face-to-face contact with all students but we do not see every student every term now anyway. Someday we will have live video of each other to communicate with. I would like to hear what has worked for community colleges our size when it comes to advising.” – Larry Wolford, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, Apr 05 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 | |
