At a town hall meeting with University President Richard Joel in November, Gaby Elkaim (SCW ’14) voiced her concern, based on her own and others experiences, regarding the ability of Academic Advisement to effectively and adequately address the needs of the student body. Her statement led to a meeting last month between Elkaim and Miriam Schechter, director of the Academic Advisement Center.
“I hadn’t intended [my comments] to go anywhere,” said Elkaim, “but after the town hall meeting, I was approached by several students thanking me for what I had said, and asking me to be a representative for their complaints. I emailed Miriam Schechter, apologized if my comments [at the town hall meeting] had come off as harsh, and told her that students had approached me to act as their representative. She agreed to meet with me at some point. I decided that if we were going to meet, I would need a cohesive presentation.”
Using Facebook, Elkaim posted a survey of free response questions, which received 63 responses (both positive and negative), totaling about 5% of the student body. Though her survey clearly represents the opinions of a minority of the school population, Elkaim used her findings to create a proposal for her meeting because, as she noted, “the same problems were recurring…complaints were consistent and were independent of academic standing or major.”
One of the problems that showed up consistently in the survey was student dissatisfaction with academic advisement. Complaints included being misinformed and a seeming lack of communication between academic advisement and other departments vis-à-vis requirements for different majors/departments.
“I felt that my meeting with Mrs. Schechter went well, that I was heard out respectfully, and she was troubled by the fact that there was so much dissatisfaction on the part of the student body,” Elkaim remarked after the meeting. “From her perspective, Mrs. Schechter stressed that she felt some student complaints are the result of students not assuming responsibility.” For example, though some complain that academic advisement is not helpful in explaining requirements, there are color-coded sheets that list requirements for each major available in the academic advisement office; general academic policies are available upon request; and the Banner schedule includes a column at the end of each course with a description of what requirements that course fulfills.
“[We currently have a situation where] students meet with an advisor once, get fed up, and never went back because they feel that the advisor failed them,” said Elkaim. “Some students just go to seniors, who have been on campus longer, and ask them for tips about planning a schedule. Rather than learning the ropes by the end of one’s college career, we should be taught from the beginning.”
Elkaim proposed that meetings should be set up between student and academic advisor early on, preferably during the first semester. The student would choose an advisor to work with for the duration of their stay in Stern, and at their first meeting create a plan for the student’s entire college career, based on an intended major. Students who are undecided in their majors could plan for a few options. Sheets similar to those used for the junior and senior check could be utilized to that end.
“Having a comprehensive meeting to go over requirements, policy, and career planning could solve many of our current problems,” said Elkaim.
Elkaim also pointed out that there are organizations in place on campus whose job is to monitor the various departments and see what needs improving.
“We have the Department of Student Life, which acts as a liaison between the student body and the administration,” she said, “and there is also the Department of Institutional Research, who put out surveys to examine student satisfaction and see which offices and departments could use improvement.”
Elkaim’s main reason for meeting with academic advisement was to start – and hopefully perpetuate – an open dialogue between students and academic advisors.
“Academic advisement is important and necessary, and there should not have to be animosity to any degree,” emphasized Elkaim. “If a student feels a meeting did not go well for whatever reason, they should express that to the advisor. Students must realize that they are participants in a dialogue, so silence will only perpetuate problems. If we can all be more aware of the concerns on either side, we can have a more open and respectful discussion.”