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Monday, October 24, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
Some students present problems for advising
By Grace Hobson
Korean staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Although mandatory advising is loathed by many freshmen and sophomores in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the college offers a variety of courses for undecided and pre-professional majors.
Those students present special problems for faculty advisers in the college.
Oliver Phillips, professor of classics, said that because the majority of freshmen and sophomores he advised undecided, he advised them to the University Counseling Center.
The role of advising in the college, in his opinion, is to help students with requirements and suggestions.
Joe VantZan, coordinator of the Advising support Center, said students must know how to
A major is not a life's vocation, he said.
Instructed students should focus on what they
enjoy, not on what they assume will bring them wealth and power. When students look at their majors as vocations, they limit their options.
Edwyna Gilbert, associate dean of liberal arts and sciences, emphasized looking at the human body.
Todd Reed, Wichita freshman, said he knew he wanted to be a pilot in the Air Force. He chose to major in business to have a job at a major university, although he was not sure about his choice.
"It's like a student who has terrible math scores and throws up when he sees blood and wants he to be a surgeon. At some point he feels like 'What are you good at and like?' Gilbert said."
Reed said he wished he had received more nonpartisan advising than the College departments, the advising center and the professional schools had provided.
Garrett Daharsh, Hugoton freshman
echoed Reed's complaint. Students who are undecided are randomly sent to a department, but that department does not provide advice without bias, he said.
"I got English," Daharsh said. "Where do you think they are going to push me?"
While undecided majors have trouble with unbiased advising, pre-professional students are better equipped.
pre-professionals are students in the college who plan to enter a professional school, such as a hospital or a nursing school.
Lloyd Spohnholt, director of undergraduate advising in the history department, said that many college faculty did not feel equipped to teach the requirements of the professional schools.
Brian Stern, Northbrook, Ill., junior, said,
"A big problem is that all these advisers (in
the College) don't know the requirements for
any school except the college.
"Now that I'm in the journalism school.
they know what they are talking about. The CLAS advisers don't."
VanZandt said that about 40 percent of the freshmen and sophomores he advised were pre-professional majors. But only about 20 percent of the students end up in their designated schools by the time they are juniors and seniors.
In order to keep their options open, pre-professional majors are advised to fulfill college requirements in addition to professional school requirements.
Phillips said, "Students need to be told that tour out of five students who plan to go into the business school, for example, don't end up there because a variety of reasons. I try to warn them of this."
Susan Zemebek, Dallas senior, said she was in the business school before she switched to a major in the college. She said she wished she had looked at a greater
variety of majors before making her final selection.
James Carothers, associate dean of liberal arts and sciences, said that choosing a major was a crucial task for students in the college because of the variety of courses offered.
Many faculty and administrators warn students of limiting their options too soon and urge students to experiment with the variety of courses the University offers.
Phillips said the most frustrating part of advising freshmen and sophomores occurred when the students had no idea of their interests.
"There are some lost souls who want to be told what they're interested in." Phillips said. "At that point, it is time to go to work in a hardware store or the Peace Corps."
COMPUTERS
Continued from p. 1
The program also shows students degree requirements and courses if already have taken.
Officials said they were unsure when the EAS program could be expanded.
EAS was designed to aid the technical aspect of enrollment advising, VanZandt said. By no means does the EAS allow the college's advising malalties.
"We need to divorce the idea that advising counseling goes along with enrollment advising," he said.
'F
VanZandt said that students and faculty alike thought that advising on new programs would require enrollment cards. Because of those attitudes, getting substantial support from the school was hard.
— Brook Menees student body president
Everyone recognizes there is a problem with advising, but who knows, maybe it's like parking — everyone sees the problem, but you can't really do anything about it.'
Oliver Phillips, professor of classes, said that students were often too focused on their tasks they waived until the last minute when advisers were the busiest — to sign up for an appointment. It is important, he says, to see an adviser early to assure thoroughness.
More comprehensive advising solutions being considered by the college include the use of peer advisers and professional advisers.
VanZandt urged students to see advisers during the semester besides the two weeks allotted before enrollment.
Many students think peer advisers would be more empathic to students concerns. Manju Velayatmumpillai, Coombi, Sri Lanka, junior,忍
was a peer adviser during summer orientation.
“It's extremely successful, I think,” Velayathuphalli said. “Students are more comfortable with us; we're at their level.”
Bill Sharp, acting coordinator of summer advising, agreed that peer tutoring should be closer to the curriculum, he said, because they taken the classes in high school.
Sharp said the summer peer advises were trained to handle student questions. But not all students agreed.
James Mattingly, Shawne freshman, said that the peer advisers could not answer basic questions about curriculum and the University system.
"They couldn't tell me what the difference between a B.A. and a B.S.
was." Mattinglv said.
Edwyna Gilbert, associate dean of liberal arts and sciences, said that proper training was the major problem of peer advising.
"I think peer advising is certainly a valuable training tool," Gaber said. "I think we have peer advising; it's just a question of having a uniform system of advice."
Hiring professional advisers to work in the Advising Support Center (ADS) of an institution, including with. The paid advisers would work in the center to help students with major and career choices, as well as with curriculum require-
Administrators cited funding as a major roadblock in professional advising.
"It won't sell here," Gilbert said.
"Everyone in the Advising Support Center is a graduate student. I really think that works best."
Student Senate also has proposed some solutions to advising, including advising sessions to aid freshmen and providing career with career and major choices.
In a proposal written by Menees and Pam Holley, body student vice president the Senate called for several nights of pre-advising sessions to prepare students for their advising counselors from the University Counseling Center would lead the sessions.
Menees said that Senate hoped to implement the plan in the spring.
ADVISING
Continued from p. 1
lum is another reason the mentor program is unreasonable. Not all faculty have a thorough understanding of the requirements, he said.
To the opposite extreme, some people in the University subscribe to a laissez-faire theory of advising, which they call *least advising* is the least advising, they believe.
According to the theory, college students are responsible for reading the curriculum and choosing courses accordingly. Carothers said,
"Somewhere in between (the two theories), there are a whole lot of students who need more and better care from faculty." Carothers said.
Gilbert said that because of the complexities of the requirement system, everyone needed advising.
Ottolini agreed, saying, "I took me a year to figure out the system. The catalogue does not explain the core requirements well at all."
One reason students like Otolini have problems understanding requirements, Gilbert said, is that they tend until enrollment to be advised.
"The problem is that students confuse enrollment and advising. They are two separate things," she said. "They have to decide if you advise until it's time to enroll."
Gilbert said that the lack of consolidation in the advising system is also a problem. The college Undergraduate Advisory Support Center is in Wescoe Advising Support Center is in Wescoe
'T.
The problem is that students confuse enrollment and advising. They are two separate things. Students don't think about advising until it's time to enroll.
- Edwyna Gilbert associate dean, liberal arts and sciences
Hall and the University Counseling Center is in Bailey Hall.
Jose VanZandt, coordinator of the Advising Support Center, said he often referred students to other teachers for answers to students' questions.
But not all students appreciate this approach. James Mattingly, Shawnee freshman, was frustrated by his treatment during summer orientation.
"The advisers said they'd answer all the questions," she added. "They never answered them because they kept referring me other people who had no idea what I was asking."
Gibert said that when Strong Hall was renovated in about five years, she hoped the college would condemn students to a center for all advising concerns.
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