Are Students from Different Majors Getting the Same Information?

By Government and International Politics major Krista Muise

As a student senator and chair of the Government and Academic Affairs Committee, I am in a unique position that allows me to see that the major academic concern students report is with academic advising. As a junior with the majority of my college years behind me, I am also in the all-too-common position of having personally experienced faults with advising. Due to the decentralized nature of the advising system at George Mason University—meaning that each department has their own operating procedures—the burden of academic advising falls on the shoulders of the individual student. The numerous graduation and degree requirements are difficult for anyone to keep track of—and that’s not even taking into account the extra requirements and concerns that come with adding a minor or second major, transferring credits and the limitations of course offerings and scheduling—so it’s no surprise that many students feel overwhelmed. This difficulty that students bear is the result of the confusing and compartmentalized advising system and ever-changing degree requirements.

The many complicated needs of individual students represents both the large diversity of interests of the student body as well as the offerings from the university itself. So it is understandable that the university may occasionally struggle with advising in light of these innovations, but accountability must begin somewhere. The main failure of the advising system is not in the decentralized nature or the plethora of options available to students, but in the accessibility and availability of both advisors and degree guidelines. Many students misinterpret or misunderstand their catalog year degree requirements, don’t know whom their advisor is in order to get help and information from or encounter major scheduling conflicts when trying to meet with an advisor. Regardless of the reason, a lack of accessibility to advising and information should not be a factor in preventing a student from graduating on time.

As students, it is our responsibility to take the initiative in contacting an advisor and using that resource to our advantage. As an advisor, it is your job to be accessible, to give relevant and correct information that will help the student prepare for graduation. As an administrator, it is your job to consistently analyze the advising policy and standards to make sure the needs of students and the interests of the advisors are being met effectively. As a Student Government member, it is my job to bring these three distinct groups together or to find ways to advocate for students when their voices are being lost or underrepresented.

With these concerns and students’ interests in mind, Student Government, in collaboration with the Academic Advising Center, Office of the Provost, Department of Economics, School of Management and Distance Education are offering an Academic Advising Expo on April 2 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Dewberry Hall. With all colleges and over 30 departments and academic offices participating, it will be a comprehensive and universal opportunity to meet with whomever a student needs in order to be prepared academically.

By creating easily accessible opportunities for all students to receive general advising and academic information, it is our hope that the floodgates will be opened to increased accessibility with the benefits it could have on academic success, graduation rates and overall institutional happiness. This event is open to all and with fall registration fast approaching (the week of April 13), students should take this opportunity to meet with their college or department in order to make sure they’re on track to graduate and get advice on classes.

The Expo is by no means a solution to the advising problem but is a first step to bringing about a larger conversation between students, advisors and administration that will lead to lasting change. As students, we should not forget our own role in our academic success but advisors and administration should recognize that we cannot do it alone, and University policy and procedure should be fashioned to foster our success, not work against it.