By Dalya Eichler, Staff Writer
Before beginning this piece, I would like to make a disclaimer on the following: I did not originally think writing a piece on this was necessary. After hearing multiple accounts from other students of their experiences, I assumed the system would be fixed. I thought that these issues clearly would have been brought to the attention of faculty who would have realized change was needed. But, the stories kept on coming, and then I had my own. I realized then that the system was still very much in need of help. My intention with this piece is to make this message heard, recognized, and at the forefront of people’s concerns in hopes of creating a fix. If after so many stories, there is still minimal change, I don’t see what other choice I, as a member of the community, have rather than to speak up.
I remember being a new student at Yeshiva University. I was told on my first tour of YU that there were numerous resources I could rely on during my time here that would help me along the way and allow me to thrive. I believed it to be true, and a part of me still does, but part of what I was told that day was flawed. I truly believe that at its core, Yeshiva University aims to create the best and brightest students, helping in whatever ways they can. The issue is that a system that is not well organized in vital departments will fail to accomplish this to its full potential. YU has been around for over 135 years, and though I cannot speak about all the previous years at YU, I can report on the bits and pieces my peers and I have witnessed firsthand.
Yeshiva University: where academic excellence is not just an aspiration but a reality. Here, the educational experience is as enriching and profound as the legendary debates between Hillel and Shammai, stimulating minds and encouraging deep thought and analysis. The faculty is outstanding, their teaching methods engaging, and the courses offered are both diverse and challenging, truly preparing students for the complexities of the modern world. However, when it comes to the administrative side of things, particularly academic advising, the experience can sometimes feel extremely bewildering. The promise of guidance and support, from enrollment through to graduation, often gets muddled amidst a web of bureaucratic complexities.
The Academic Advisement’s homepage states, “From your first registration through graduation we provide a supportive environment to help you define and meet your academic goals.” According to the Office of the Registrar’s homepage, “The mission of the Office of the Registrar is to provide convenient and effective services to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others in the areas of registration services, student records, transcripts, and degree certifications.” Both of these statements, I have learned, are not completely accurate. I am not here to make any claims that the staff is not competent or dedicated, or aiming to steer us in the wrong direction, because I don’t believe that to be true. I believe the issues I have come across point to an underlying problem of disorganization that hampers effective communication and coordination. The result, as I have witnessed, is unnecessary obstacles such as taking courses that do not align with students’ academic goals or facing preventable scheduling conflicts, and sometimes a failed course.
I have met with several academic advisors at least once. With each visit, I was always informed about some policy I wasn’t aware of previously. During one visit in particular, I hoped to switch a cross-listed course to fulfill a requirement I wasn’t signed up for at the time. For example, class A can count towards requirement B or C, and I wanted to switch it from B to C. I was told that after the add/drop date, I was unable to switch it, and since I put in the wrong CRN than I had planned to when registering, I was at a loss with nothing to do. Months after this incident, a student informed me that for her that was not the case, and to speak with the Office of the Registrar. I went straight to their office to get this sorted, and to my surprise she was right. The first staff member of the registrar that I approached had no idea how to answer my question, and sent me to the supervisor who explained that until there is a final grade on a transcript, I can switch which requirement my course fulfills. At this point, however, I had my final grade, the transcript was frozen and there was nothing I could do. My issue with this incident is that when I spoke to an advisor originally, there was something I could have done, but I was given incorrect information. When I explained this to the advisor, I was told that they had not known of this rule, and at that point there was nothing I could do. I felt cheated through this process with the misinformation. There was no promise from advising to fix this lack of knowledge and communication between the departments, just an annoyed answer from them describing how I could not feel cheated since it was my fault I had input the wrong CRN. The claim academic advisement makes to “provide a supportive environment to help you define and meet your academic goals” is not what I had experienced at all.
I think that it is in the interest of the registrar and academic advising staff to help the students do their best in the most efficient way possible. I truly believe that these offices would like to avoid these mishaps just as much as the students do. However, to achieve this goal there must be more communication between all the departments. It must be made clear to students what truly is and is not allowed when registering and what the best methods are to go about dealing with their courses. There must be a way for these unfortunate situations to not occur as frequently as they do right now.
The contrast between the high-caliber education and the administrative hurdles at Yeshiva University is stark. It’s a call to action for a tighter administrative ship to ensure the support structure matches the quality of the education. With some retooling and a focus on clearer communication, Yeshiva University can ensure that the administrative journey is as seamless and enriching as the academic experience it so proudly offers. I make a call for this now specifically as I watch those who would never go to a non-secular college enroll in YU. As the applications are rising so immensely, new dormitories need to be purchased to support the numbers. More and more students will be leaning on YU and their advisement, and with issues already happening before all of this, the need for change is absolutely necessary. As a proud YU student, I don’t want to be tentative to seek help, but as of now, I am. I am nervous to be told misinformation again, I am nervous to be blamed for a mistake caused by both ends of the system, I am nervous that the future and rising student body won’t be getting the best help they can be given.
With that, I reached out to the Stern WhatsApp chat asking for stories on this topic, and in no time at all the messages came flooding in. Going through them, I was shocked at some of the stories I was receiving. I am fully aware that I am being told the stories from only one side of the situation, and have nothing to say on how the departments of academics viewed these girls’ situations. Still, sharing their stories and experiences is crucial in showcasing why many other students want change within the system.
From an anonymous Stern student: “I was in Bio I and II. I asked for medical advancement for a final, to take it later since I had back surgery. They told me no, that it wasn’t a legitimate enough excuse, that it wasn’t that bad of a surgery. I wasn’t allowed to fly, and I had to go back home. They gave me 48 hours notice. I failed the course because I wasn’t allowed to take the final later, and I had to go to summer school. It took me six months to get summer school approved, and it was denied four times by different academic advisors. I went to the Dean and my high school principal had to get involved. Once I finally did summer school, I wanted to change my major from nursing to bio, and was told I wasn’t allowed to because of the course I took in summer school. They said I couldn’t be any science major other than sociology, so now I am a sociology major with a bio minor because I am not allowed to be a bio major.”
From an anonymous Stern student: “There’s this thing called fundamentals that they introduced in 2020. I was a true freshman in 2021 and no one ever told me about it, so now I can only take fundamentals to make sure I fulfill the requirements. I was told I only needed to take 2-3 a semester to be a Judaics major but that was based on if I went to seminary, which I didn’t. I’m overloading on Judaics now. I think they have like a certain outline for people in that major, and it doesn’t include people who didn’t go to seminary so they didn’t calculate it right. I have absolutely no hate towards the advisement center, and I honestly understand that they make so many mistakes. But they are not focused on a few majors, they are each spanning across all majors. I think if they worked similar to the career center, where each of them have a focus on specific majors or tracks, it would function better.”
From an anonymous Stern student: “The registrar messed up my Honors status and I couldn’t register for a class that I needed for my major. By the time it was fixed, the class had filled. Thank goodness I got off the waitlist, but if I hadn’t then it would have been a disaster.”
It is integral as a student, who is already in a confusing path of figuring oneself out, to be able to lean on the support of their administration. I am asking you to share this article and these stories. Keep this conversation alive until it needs not to live on anymore.