Advisers need to be more helpful with student planning
COMMENTARY
Laura McFarland

It’s that time of the semester again: advising time.

The time when students all over campus are encouraged (or in the case of many students — forced) to go see their advisers.

I remember my first advising.

I was really excited because I am a double major, and I was looking forward to taking my first classes. So I went to an adviser in my first major, news-editorial journalism.

I walked out more confused than when I first went in.

First, the adviser was a professor in the journalism department, but not in my specific major. So I learned a little about the department but couldn’t get any specifics about most of the classes I would have to take over the course of the next four years.

Secondly, the adviser could not answer any of my questions about my other major, English, or the UCR credits I would have to take. Basically, I couldn’t get advice on any professor or class not directly related to my professor’s realm of expertise.

TCU prides itself on giving students a well-rounded education. As such, we have to take classes on subjects that have absolutely nothing to do with our major.

It’s a wonderful idea. It helps create more unity on campus. It helps students who already know what they want to do because they won’t be ignorant of everything in the world outside their field of study. And it gives students who have no idea what they want to do a look at a number of different options.

But if students are supposed to have this well-rounded education, they need more guidance. Before professors advise students about their futures at TCU, they need to have a better understanding of the rest of the campus.

It doesn’t make sense to ask students to be able to just figure it out because many of them have no knowledge of the university, the professors or the way classes are structured.

I don’t think advising is a process that needs to be done away with. That would be absolutely ridiculous. It must be recognized that advising is an important process, and I am sure some students have found it helpful.

However, there are still people struggling with their schedules. I’ve heard many students complain about being overworked, not just because a class asks too much of them, but because they needed advice on the realistic expectations of a class and what other classes they should take at the same time.

Some students aren’t even aware there is a problem with being on time to graduate until they get their degree plan and have to rush to make up for lost time.

There are a lot of people on campus who are full of information that could help students make the right decisions about their schedules, but students don’t know where to look.

To help students, the university could compile a list of faculty from each department that could answer questions about specific classes. Have an advising fair where professors or students are available to answer questions about classes.

There are several options that would help the situation, but no matter what the administration chooses, it just needs make sure students are not making the same mistakes about classes, schedules and degree plans that we are making now.

Laura McFarland is a news-editorial journalism and English major from Houston.