Academic advising adds walk-in hours to schedule

In an attempt to streamline its operations, the academic advising department expanded its walk-in hours.

The move Tuesday, which allows students to speak with an adviser without an appointment from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., marked a new emphasis on walk-in meetings that are better-suited for urgent or smaller concerns, officials said.

Lee May, the associate dean and director of academic advising, said the new hours will free more space for time-consuming, complex issues that require the longer appointments.

She said it will allow the department to better address what are considered minor student concerns, such as adding or dropping a class or declaring a course pass/D /D/fail.

“An adviser can now see six students for a quick advising question in the time he would normally allocate for two appointments,” she said.

Although many students need help with these issues, the problems don’t always require a full appointment time slot, May said.

Students who walk in will be able to speak with any adviser about smaller issues that don’t require major­­­-specific advice.

“Before, every curriculum division had different walk-in hours at different times,” said May, who has sought to implement a better policy since taking over as leader of the department on Nov. 15.

“Now, it is the same across the board.”

But she said students will not lose appointment opportunities to the new policy.

She said students are still welcome to make appointments, but should use the expanded walk-in access for matters that don’t require longer conversations.

May said the new program is a reallocation of time and resources that will not incur increased costs.

Holly Boardman, student body vice president, said the decision is particularly important now, with the March 14 deadline to drop classes approaching.

May said the policy is not set in stone. It will be in place for the remainder of the semester and then reassessed in the summer based on student and faculty feedback.

But Dennis Soberl, an academic adviser who works for the department of social and behavioral sciences, said he thinks the program will succeed in making advisers more accessible.

“It essentially doubles the time available for walk-in issues and gives students the opportunity for access, rather than being turned away,” he said.

He said students currently face overcrowding at academic advising and are too often unable to meet with an adviser.

With the new program, students will not have to wait more than two hours to see someone, May said. She said spare advisers from across departments will help to manage crowds of waiting students to cut down on waiting time.

“We want to enhance the student experience by creating a consistent setup that eliminates confusion,” May said.

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