Boston University students and administrators said BU’s academic advising systems continue to be effective, after sophomores and juniors spent the last two weeks scrambling to arrange appointments with advisors and choose fall 2003 classes.
Sophomores and juniors can begin fall 2003 class registration Sunday, and freshmen begin Apr. 6.
Both BU administrators and students said they have few complaints about BU’s academic advising system, which helps students make intelligent class-selection decisions.
Students interviewed said they were happy with their advisors and liked the process, but BU faculty emphasized the need for students to meet with advisors more often.
Joyce Liang, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she is very pleased with her advisor.
‘My current advisor is really good she is very thorough, always prepared, very punctual and definitely knows her stuff,’ Liang said.
But Liang said she changed advisors this year, after finding her previous advisor unhelpful.
‘Advisors who don’t enjoy their job shouldn’t be doing advising,’ Liang said. ‘Some advisors just put you down and don’t want to help you, like when they don’t make a phone call they should make because they have resources that the student doesn’t have.’
Jin Hur, a junior in CAS, also had difficulty in the past with finding an advisor he liked before finding his current advisor, whom he said is someone he can relate to.
However, he still feels that the advising system can be improved.
‘Sometimes when I have talk to any advisor, I feel like they’re afraid to make suggestions,’ Hur said. ‘I was really hoping my advisor would give me a set schedule of classes to take because I am behind on graduation requirements but I got vague answers.’
He said it would be helpful for advisors to offer more personalized advising.
College of Engineering sophomore Lindsey Nelson had only good things to say about her advisor, which ENG assigned to her as a freshman.
‘My advisor is so much more than just a signature,’ she said. ‘He honestly and actually cares about my life, and talks about his research.’
Nelson said her advisor helped iron out some scheduling problems she ran into last year.
‘I went in for advising and my advisor pointed out a class that I would’ve taken later on but he suggested that I take sooner, which turned out great because I did really well and the class I took helped me in other classes that I took afterward,’ Nelson said.
All students interviewed agreed that requiring an appointment in order to get the registration code is a good idea, even if it may seem like an inconvenience initially.
‘There were definitely times when I thought I wouldn’t need the advising but I really did need it,’ Nelson said. ‘The advisors know their stuff, and meeting with them is worth your time and not that long.’
Liang added that requiring an appointment to see your advisor keeps you on track.
‘Registering appointments are important, especially if you don’t want to depend on yourself entirely to make sure everything gets taken care of,’ she said.
Administrators emphasized that students need to see their advisors more often than just to get a registration code.
‘The main problem remains getting students to take advantage of the availability of faculty advisors,’ Provost Dennis Berkey said.
Faculty members post at least three office hours each week, he said. Spending time with a faculty advisor on a regular basis can develop a valuable and rewarding relationship, he said.
‘Students often miss out on this opportunity by waiting until the semi-annual periods for pre-registration, when it seems that everyone is trying to see his or her advisor,’ he said. ‘By getting into regular contact with advisors outside these periods questions that have to do with course and program selection can be addressed in advance of the critical registration periods.’
Kate Goldfield, the College of Communication’s director of Student Services, said frequent meetings with advisors make a difference.
Evaluations and feedback from students show they like the personal attention they get, especially with questions regarding AP credits, internships and study abroad programs.
Goldfield said COM improved advisors’ availability to students this year.
‘We now have evening hours and a walk-in hour at noon for students who want to drop by and ask questions,’ Goldfield said.
In her four years at BU, Liang said she has not seen many changes to the academic advising process. The only improvement she wanted was the ability to make appointments through e-mail.
‘Why can’t you just make an appointment directly through your advisor?’ Liang said. ‘I hate how you have to walk in just to make an appointment every time.’