Student-to-adviser ratio will be addressed when budget improves

It’s common knowledge among UNC students that a trip to Steele Building can come with a wait.

But not only students have noticed.

As administrators attempt to allocate scarce funds to areas that need it most, the advising department stands out as an area in need of attention.

UNC’s student-to-adviser ratio is twice that of its peer institutions. Karen Gil, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the disparity is the result of lack of funding.

“All of our academic programs have endured significant budget cuts since 2008 due to the economic recession, and this includes the academic advising program,” she said.

She added that the University plans to address the ratio when the budget outlook improves.

The University of Virginia has only 25 students per adviser, while the ratio at John Hopkins University is 138-to-1.

Lee May, associate dean and director of academic advising, said the disparity is due to the structure of UNC’s advising.

Other universities have a decentralized system, while UNC’s academic advising is coordinated through one program, she said.

Peer institutions, such as Northwestern University and the University of California at Berkeley, have an academic advising department for each of their undergraduate colleges. The number of students per adviser within each school varies because of the different sizes of each college.

Freshman Averett Mehrbakhsh, a business administration major, said he is frustrated with the lack of accessibility.

“It’s kind of hard to get an appointment because you have to book it so far in advance,” he said.

Bobbi Owen, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said she recognizes the need for more advisers but is happy with the performance by current advisers.

“I wish we had more advisers so that we would be able to spend more time going over (students’) academic plans,” she said.

In the meantime, the advising program has been working to keep itself accessible.

Gary Miller, a new senior assistant dean in academic advising, said the University is implementing new programs this year such as “drop express” in residence halls.

Rather than meeting in Steele Building, through the service students were able to meet with advisers to drop a class in Morrison and Connor Residence Halls Oct. 9 and 10.

Academic advising is also looking to hire a senior adviser for transfer students and has updated its website to be more user-friendly, Owen said.

Senior Audra Reiter said she has benefited from multiple advisers.

“I think it’s helpful to get multiple opinions and perspectives,” she said.

“I can always get an appointment when I need one.”

Maggie Conner and Marisa DiNovis contributed reporting.

Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com.