Students in the College of Communication are not satisfied with academic advising. Although the college is looking toward advising models on campus, administrators say there are no easy answers.The College of Communication ranks lowest among the colleges for students’ satisfaction with advising. And within the college itself, the Schieffer School of Journalism is rated the worst.

Sixty-eight percent of Neeley School students who took the 2006-2007 Graduating Senior Survey said the Neeley School’s academic advising was “good” or “very good.” And, an almost equal sample, 65 percent, of Schieffer School students said the Schieffer School’s advising was fair at best, according to a study by the Office of Institutional Research.

Dean William Slater of the College of Communication, which includes the Schieffer School, said the survey showed advising in the journalism school is more of a problem than the other units in the College of Communication.

“I was disappointed,” he said. “It certainly did give an indication of the severity of the problem. I knew we had a problem. I didn’t know it was as severe as it is.”

Tommy Thomason, director of the Schieffer School, said the senior survey did not provide details on why students were not satisfied, so the Schieffer School is planning an extensive survey this semester to assess students’ perceptions of advising.

Dean William Slater of the College of Communication said the school’s enrollment has grown significantly over the last seven years. Though the number of faculty has increased as well, there are still not enough faculty members to accommodate all of the new students, he said.

“So, consequently, we have faculty members who are teaching a full-time load and are trying to advise 45, 50 and 60 students,” he said. “That’s just too many.”

Thomason said part of the issue is related to the high number of adjunct professors. Currently, the Schieffer School has 13 full-time faculty and more than 30 adjuncts – about 25 teaching each semester.

“The number of adjuncts is a weakness because the adjuncts don’t advise,” he said. “When it comes to advising, all of our almost 600 students funnel back into those 13 advisers.”

And of the 13 advisers in the Schieffer School, one is an administrator with a limited advising load, one is on sabbatical and one is on medical leave, Thomason said, which leaves 10 advisers with about 55 advisees each.

Because adjunct professors are not paid to advise students, academic advising falls on full-time professors, Thomason said, which could also contribute to the problem.

Thomason said an overworked adviser may be more likely to make a mistake or not spend enough time with a student to fully understand the student’s needs.

However, Thomason said, advising incorporates more than just choosing courses. Advising includes mentoring, career advising and personal and academic needs, he said, and adjunct professors advise students on career aspirations.

Lynn Cole, assistant dean of the Neeley School, said the business school’s 1,765 students are advised by four advisers. The school’s advising goes through the Neeley Student Resource Center of four full-time advisers with backgrounds in higher education or counseling services, Cole said.

Slater said he proposed a similar advising center for the College of Communication five years ago and again six weeks ago to the provost.

Provost Nowell Donovan said he evaluates budget requests, like Slater’s proposal, and submits a proposal to the chancellor according to priority.

“Advising is a priority,” he said. “It has always been a priority. It’s actually consistently one of the great problems.”

Donovan said after Slater’s request is reviewed within the next month, he will compile a budget proposal that will be presented to the cabinet by the end of November.

Who’s to blame?

Slater said one reason academic advising is suffering is because some students don’t take responsibility for their academic career.

“Students seem to have the attitude that they have little responsibility for their own academic progress and place all of the responsibility on an adviser,” he said. “So that means that some faculty member or someone in the dean’s office has to perform that function for them. There’s only so much we can do when we have a large enrollment and insufficient faculty to do the advising.”

Slater said students who complain about academic advising say their advisers mislead them or aren’t available, but he tells them to go back and talk to their advisers.

Dean Dan Short of the Neeley School said all advisers in the Neeley School are required to write a contract and have the student and adviser sign it. Later, if a student complains about an issue with academic advising, the adviser pulls the record and reads the contract, he said. If the problem is on the student’s end, it’s the student’s loss, Short said. However, if the adviser gives a student inaccurate information, he will get an exception from the university and the student will not be at risk, he said.

Ultimately, Slater said, it is the student’s responsibility to keep track of his or her course requirements.

“The adviser is there to help but not to plan your entire life, including your curriculum, for you,” he said. “When a student comes in to see an adviser, the ideal situation is that he or she will have read the catalog … and will come in with a sample. But because that doesn’t happen, we have to assume another role. And therein lies a part of the problem.”

Zach Petty, a senior accounting and finance major, said his adviser told him he had not met a requirement to graduate in December and he had to point out the advising error.

Petty said the Neeley School advisers essentially direct students concerning business classes. He said he has never showed up to an advising appointment with a schedule or list of classes.

“I’ve always done individual advising,” Petty said. “I go to advising just so I know in my mind what I have to take.”

Thomason said the advising problems are not so much related to faculty members’ knowledge of course requirements. Frequently, students need more than the allotted advising time because of special circumstances such as transferring credits, which puts advisers behind schedule, he said.

Steve Levering, instructor in journalism, said each adviser in journalism, including him, advise about 50 students. And if his advisees aren’t prepared for advising, he said, he sends them away and has them schedule another appointment.

An advising solution

Cole said the faculty advising model was traditional for most colleges and universities in the past; however, they are moving toward the professional advising system.

“I think it would be interesting for us as a campus to take a look at alternative models,” she said.

Short said it can be difficult for faculty members to keep up with degree requirements.

“We have found that professional advisers have become absolute experts in every facet of degree requirements,” he said. “They sit there eight hours a day advising students. They have seen every problem, every issue and developed an expertise of familiarity where when they say something, it’s a contract.”

Thomason said there are no easy answers to the advising issue.

“There’s no simple answer when you have X amount of time and X amount of students and you’ve got to fit them into that time,” he said. “There’s no way around it, I think, other than to involve more people in advising. And one of the answers would be a group of professional advisers similar to what the school of business has.”

Thomason said because the Schieffer School has so many students, a combination of faculty and professional staff would be the most feasible model for academic advising.

Donovan said he would discuss the issue with the College of Communication’s faculty and chairs in all three departments before using professional advisers.

“I would like the College of Communication to look at the business school plan and see which elements of it fit and come to me with a plan that reflects all those successful parameters the business school has used,” he said.