Saint Louis University’s undergraduate academic advising system is set for a major overhaul this summer. Spurred by student dissatisfaction with the current system, University administrators have made plans to reorganize advising and hire new staff members. The changes will go into effect on Aug. 1, in time for the fall semester.
The new system will integrate a staff of advisers into each undergraduate college of the University; they will work with students from the time they declare a major until graduation. Students will also be assigned a “faculty mentor.”
“The basic feel is that you’re going to have a faculty mentor to look at big picture stuff. They’ll know how your college experience will lead to your larger goals for graduate school or a career. Staff advisers, on the other hand, will take care of course requirements and direct student toward other resources. It will be a balance of support from two people,” said Leanna Fenneberg, assistant vice president for undergraduate initiatives.
Fenneberg said that staff advisers’ offices will be located in convenient locations for the students they serve. Parks College will house its advising staff in McDonnell Douglas Hall, for instance, and the Doisy College of Health Sciences’ advisers will operate from the School of Nursing.
Fenneberg said that administrators have still not determined where to headquarter advisers for the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest academic division.
Special advising staffs will continue to serve honors, pre-law and pre-health professions students. The new system will also create a special advising staff for undecided students, probably to be located new the offices Career Services.
Administrators began plans to revamp advising after a spring 2006 survey found that students were dissatisfied with the current system. They developed a proposal for changes, which Provost Joe Weixlmann approved in the fall.
Advising was also a key issue in the 2006 Student Government Association elections. Academic Vice President Gene Diamond said that many students had objections to the way advising functioned at the University.
“Students yearned for an advising system that was accurate, convenient and efficient. Many students felt that when they met with their advisers, they received inaccurate and outdated information,” Diamond said.
Diamond said that the new advising system has “a number of strengths,” but he has doubts about some aspect of the plan.
“The Academic Affairs Committee, senators and I did express reservations that students will now have to report to at least two advisers. While it lessens the burden on faculty members, students will now have to find time to meet with two separate advisers during the semester,” Diamond said.
