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Academic advising to be reassessed |
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Thursday, 20 March 2008 |
 | Stephenson
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by LAUREN LAWSON
News Reporter
Appalachian State University’s University Advising Council is planning a reassessment of student advising.
One reason for the reassessment includes concerns that advisors are not providing students with complete information for their academic college careers.
“Our purpose is to have more centralized and overall advising for students,” said Martha E. Stephenson, academic advising and orientation director.
Stephenson said the reassessment will happen next year and surveys and other information for the
assessment is currently being assembled.
“The goal of the university college is to move students out into their majors with a sense of autonomy
and control over their curriculum and requirements,” she said.
Stephenson said after leaving the university college and being assigned an advisor within the student’s
major, students often come back with questions and problems.
“Students come back when they have changes to their major or general questions, but frequently we
have students return when they believe their faculty advisor doesn’t feel comfortable with the core
curriculum,” she said.
Stephenson said they plan to have the assessment sponsored by the University Advising Council and
also hope this assessment will include creating a position at Appalachian that will have more general
oversight over all advising at the university.
“I sense that students feel there needs to be more advising accountability and they are not getting all
the information they need,” she said.
Sophomore elementary education major Nicole L. Gellert said she is still receiving advising from
university college because she only recently declared her major.
“My advisor has always been easy to contact, helpful, and has a good understanding of my major,”
Gellert said.
Some students have had issues with advising within their major’s department later in their college
careers.
“I switched advisors in my department. [My advisor] didn’t really know what she was doing because
she was new and I pretty much advised myself,” said Kirsten L. Wedde, a junior foods and nutrition
major.
Wedde said she knows a large number of students who were graduating and only after receiving their
graduation audit realized they were missing a required course.
“I think it’s fine for teachers to be advisors but they need to know more about the curriculum…I don’t
think advisors get enough information on their students initially,” she said.
Stephenson said she wants students to know they can always come to university college for questions
and concerns about their curriculum.
She also encourages students to contact her personally at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or in the
academic advising department in D. D. Dougherty Hall.
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