Student advisers a plus: New peer advising program is a great idea, should help students navigate the University

With the addition of peer advisers, students will now have an opportunity to receive academic mentoring from their fellow students.

The Academic Advising Program is still in place to help students with some of the more administrative problems they may face, but the peer advising program gives students something they have never had before — an adviser their age, with similar interests and ambitions, who has useful knowledge to share.

These new student advisers will be experienced upperclassmen with an established knowledge of classes and professors, as well as the notable policies and quirks of their respective departments.

The program currently covers only eight departments, all of which are in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Nevertheless, this is great for its first year.

And as more people hear about this program and more volunteers are approved, more departments should be included.

The program will be set up very informally, allowing students to take as much as possible from meetings.

Students can ask frank questions which employees in Academic Advising may not be able or willing to answer, but which their peers can.

This information and openness would improve any student’s college experience.

A student could use the program to determine which classes and professors to seek out, which to avoid or even to make a decision on a major or minor.

This is a great way for inexperienced students to get free, candid advice, and the informal setting has the added possibility of creating friendships that might never have occurred otherwise.

Student government is working on creating a similar program to assist students in preparing for study abroad programs, which would be equally helpful.

Everyone wins with programs like these, and with future success they should expand their coverage to include more students by incorporating more departments and colleges.