As sophomores and freshmen prepare to register for next semester’s classes, students and administrators say advising experiences depend on students’ motivations.
Some colleges within BU require their students to meet with an advisor before registration, while others leave that decision up to the students. Whether they are required to meet with their advisor or not, students have differing opinions about the effectiveness of the advising system at BU.
College of Arts and Sciences students, like in other colleges, are required to meet with their advisor before registration in order to obtain a code needed for online registration. This requirement leaves some students frustrated about the quality of advising they are receiving.
CAS senior Justin Mausner said he only sees his advisor to get the code he needs for registration.
“My experience is that they just don’t know what they’re talking about,” he said. “They’re not helpful in suggesting what professors are good or bad.”
CAS senior Zoe Hanly-Forde described a different experience with her advisor, whom she said she meets with about twice a semester.
“He’s helpful because he can call people in other departments,” she said. “I ask him about requirements and recommendations for courses.”
Many students say they went to their advisors with questions about long-term course planning as well as planning for the next semester, but their advisor’s abilities to answer these questions varied.
A School of Education junior who requested anonymity to avoid retribution, said she was frustrated with her advisor, who she said did not tell her she was in danger of not graduating until this semester, which affected the classes she is able to take.
“Considering I’m eight credits behind and I just found out, they aren’t that helpful,” she said. “I understand that advisors have a lot of advisees, but if they have my individual file in front of them, the fact that I was behind is something that should’ve been caught semesters ago.
“The point of having advisors is [to make sure] that you are on the right track and graduate on time,” she continued. “I don’t know whether to place the blame on the advisor or to place the blame on myself.”
SED Associate Dean Boyd Dewey said SED students are required to meet with their advisors in order to graduate. He said he believes this system is helpful in keeping students on track academically and for their future careers.
“[As] a professional school, all of our programs lead to licensure and if [students] miss a step in the programs they could end up not being eligible for graduation or not being eligible for licensure,” he said.
While SED reaches out to students who are in academic trouble and encourages them to seek advising assistance, Dewey said the responsibility falls mainly on the student.
“I think the biggest problem you have as a faculty advisor is that students wait until the last minute,” he said. “I would like to encourage students that if they sense they are having a problem to get in touch with their faculty advisor immediately.”
Dewey said students should be utilizing their advisors for more than just the codes needed for registration.
“I think it’s a mistake,” he said. “They ought to develop a certain type of relationship with their advisor because they can be used for more things than just academic advising.”
The School of Management uses a different system of advising than CAS and SED. Students are not required to meet with their advisor every semester before registration.
According to SMG Undergraduate Programs Director Norm Blanchard, students in SMG are only required to meet with an advisor once during their time at SMG.
“The only other time that we really require that a student meets with an advisor is … to declare their concentration,” he said.
SMG offers students academic advising from both faculty and professional advisors and Blanchard said the demand for advising increases during the pre-registration period.
“We’re doing walk-in advising over the month during the registration period,” he said. “Even though we don’t compel students to see an advisor every semester, I hope that the word is out there that they should meet with us every semester.”
Like Dewey, Blanchard also encouraged students to develop a relationship with their advisors.
“I would hope that they have the kind of relationship where they’re meeting at least once or twice a semester not only to discuss academic issues but to make sure they’re on track with their career goals,” he said. “The faculty advisors are the ones who by and large have experience in the working world and are experts in their field.”
SMG Freshman Affairs Assistant Director Amelia Catone said SMG’s approach is different from its peer colleges.
“SMG is unique in that we don’t require students to come in to see an advisor,” she said. “It’s not just coming in to get a signature, because they don’t need to get a signature.
“We do have a higher volume of students coming in around registration because that’s when students are thinking about both long-term and short-term course planning,” she continued.
College of Communication Dean John Schulz said advising can help to guide students into their areas of interest.
“Students should meet with their COM faculty advisor during the pre-registration period to ensure they are taking courses that will help them in their area of interest,” he said in an email.
Schulz said he believes that many students do not take full advantage of the opportunities available to them through advising.
“Most students cheat themselves in this aspect of their education,” he said. “So many of our faculty members are highly accomplished professionals who have so much to offer, and so few students really ever value this or bother to establish the kind of personal relationship that could come from two or three meetings a year, especially in the last two years.”
The responsibility, according to Schulz, falls on the student to seek out advising and take full advantage of the resources available to them.
“Ultimately, it is then up to the student to take advantage of our Academic Advising Staff for some things,” he said, “and their faculty advisor for many others, from course choices to life and career mentoring, which, when the relationship builds properly, are the keys to any ideal advising relationship.”