WHAT TO KNOW
KANSAN.COM
Illustration by Jake Kaufmann
What your advisors want you to know
The University of Kansas can sometimes be difficult to navigate, and it's not just because of the hills. At an institution as big as the University, creating and following through with an academic plan can be daunting, especially for first year students.
► LARA KORTE
@lara_korte
But whether you're still deciding on a major or just need a shoulder to cry on, there are people on campus to answer your questions and guide you to success: advisors.
Samantha Raines is a 2005 University graduate and now works as Coordinator of Student Services, Academic Advising and Admissions, and Course Scheduling Officer in the Design Department. Raines has worked in various departments at the University for 11 years and said she sees how easy it is for students to get overwhelmed at such a large institution.
"I think what first-year students really have a culture shock with is the size of the University. I think that really, that concerns
them at first," Raines said. "They go into their bigger classes like psychology that are in the huge lecture hall in Budig, some math classes are taught like that, and it's just a little intimidating for them."
"What I try and stress with the group is that you're at a relatively large University, but your group, your cohort that you're going to move through with, that's going to be your group moving through for the whole four years, give or take, and that is kind of a nice thing to hold on for them," Raines said. "Yes, you're going to have those big, scary lecture halls and you may feel like a number, but you're not a number to us and you're not a number to your peers."
Raines said the solution she stresses to students is to find a group that you can stick to and call your own throughout your time on campus.
Valerie Kutchko is a fifth-year senior at the University who has had experience transferring to the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Johnson Community College and back to
the University. She is now a peer advisor at the Undergraduate Advising Center. Kutchko said in addition to making connections for personal comfort, students should try to take advantage of networking while they're in college.
Raines said regardless of a student's major, making professional connections are a huge benefit.
"I think that one of the best things for students to do is to get in touch with people in their classes, their professors, their TAs, everybody," Kutchko said. "As much as networking sucks, if you make a good contact with someone else, I can almost guarantee that they have someone else they can connect you to that can help you in another area."
"What I think design and art and architecture and theatre and film and the business world, even, have in common is that it's all about networking," she said. "You can get lucky, but it's also who you know."
When it comes to planning a class schedule, Kutchko said she often sees students coming in unprepared, which can mean it takes a little bit longer to get the ball rolling in an advising appointment.
What she recommends is that students take the initiative to do a bit of research on their own part, so the advisor isn't spending the first half of the appointment updating someone on their own information.
"Actually a little bit of prep on the students' part is going to get them a long way in terms of feeling out their idea a bit more and having that advisor as a sounding board or someone who can connect them to other resources," Kutchko said.
Raines said that she wants students to know it's okay not to know everything, but that if they want to succeed, they need to ask questions and be persistent in getting the right answer.
"I always tell students I don't have mind-reading capabilities, that's not been bestowed upon me, so if you don't tell me what's going on with you, I can't help you, I can't fix something or guide you in the right direction if I don't know you need that assistance,"
Raines said.
Raines said one thing she always tells her students is that they should "know their rights."
"If you don't know what is available to you, you can't get the most out of your experience and your time," Raines said.
Some of the the services student might not realize are available to them are the options to take a class as Credit/No Credit or the repeat option.
Taking a class Credit/No Credit means a student will receive credit for a class as long as they receive a C or higher. This prevents a low grade from damaging a student's GPA. The repeat option allows students to retake a class in which they received a D or F and replace that score with a better grade in their GPA.
Raines said these options are a great resource for students.
"I know it's more money, but in the long haul, this is the time to correct that. And they're not thinking about grad school, they're not thinking about the next step, but it could really affect it," Raines said.
Although it's important to plan proactively for the future, Kutchko said she wants students to know that it's very rare to have it all figured out, especially in their first year.
"It's okay, most of us are always going to be deciding," Kutchko said. "I think people that come into college and know what they want to do already are extremely fortunate, but most of us don't fall into that group so it's okay to dabble a bit and change your plans, it's okay to change your plans when you're in your third or fourth year of college."
Raines said whether it's problems with school or problems elsewhere, advisors are there to help students through the trials and tribulations of the college experience.
"I always make a joke that this box of Kleenexes is always here," Raines said. "No matter what it is, if you're roommate is driving you crazy, if you're dead tired and exhausted and need to just cry it out before you go to studio, it's okay."
Common legal problems — and how the University can help
CONNER MITCHELL
@connermitchellO
The University offers advising services for students on nearly all legal matters, ranging from taxes, landlord-tenant conflict resolution and drug and alcohol offenses. The services are housed in room 212 of Green Hall, the University School of Law.
Taxes
Bill Larzalere, chief litigation attorney for the Legal Services Office, breaks down the issues the office advises on frequently.
Services are funded through required campus fees, which are set by Student Senate and approved by Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little each spring. For the 2016-17 school year, $16 of the fee will be dedicated towards funding the services, which advise students on nearly any legal issue.
Larzalere said one of the bigger services the office advises students on is filing taxes. He said the issue is seasonal, and the office often provides assistance to international students.
"There are more and
more international students on campus, so we set up workshops in Budig Hall to help them, and we have appointments come here. There are over 2,000 international students on campus, and even if they're not working, there are certain forms they have to file, so we do that a lot for them," he said.
Landlord-Tenant Issues
The top "everyday" issue the office advises students on, Larzalere said, is disputes between students and their landlords. He said the office sees hundreds of cases every year, which mainly focus on the return of security deposits.
"Any time you move into an apartment, if they don't ask for a deposit, I walk away from the place," he said. "That would be my advice. They're very likely going to, at the end of your lease, still charge you for something. But you don't have a deposit down at that point, so you really don't have a lot of leverage, so they send a bill to you, your cosigners or your guarantors."
He said at that point,
students are required to pay the extra charges, or face a negative credit report from the landlord, which can cause problems for students in the future in terms of purchasing cars or houses, or applying for loans.
"Most of the large complexes in town do not take students to court when they don't pay their bills at the end of the lease. Instead, they send them a letter saying, 'Hey, we're going to turn you over to a collection agency and there's going to be a negative credit report,'" he said.
Alcohol related incidents
Larzalere said issues of minors being charged with possession of alcohol often coincide with fake IDs. However, the process for students is different, depending on whether the violation occurred on or off campus.
"If you get charged with a criminal charge on campus, you will also face a conduct hearing. Even a minor in possession charge, if that's on campus or in the dorm, you will also have a conduct hearing that will be held with conduct officers
Legal Services for Students can advise and provide representation students on nearly any legal issue, Larzalere said, except for issues involving two University students or issues involving a student and University officials.
"When it's a KU problem, we can give advice, but we can't represent them,"
"Not a smart thing to do, because the desk person feels they're obligated, because of their job, to call the KU police if they don't believe it is a real ID," he said. "Then the KU police
He said issues with fake IDs also arise for students who visit a friend at the dorms and accidentally hand desk assistants a fake ID.
come, they see there is a fake ID, then they go knock on the dorm and the person is charged with a fake ID."
Advising Services
in Strong Hall," he said. "They can take additional action, including canceling your contract if you're in the dorms."
If a student needs a mediator between the University and themselves, Larzalere said they can utilize the University Ombuds Office. The office serves as an impartial party and works with the student and University officials to find amicable solutions.
he said. "If it's a problem outside of KU, we can go to court and can represent. If it involves KU, I can give advice that is confidential, but I can't go to a conduct hearing with that person."
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A student recieves advice from Legal Services for Students.
File Photo/KANSAN
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