According to fall 1997 statistics, students who met with advisors performed better academically than those who did not work with advising staff. On the percentages, the students who worked with our advisors stayed in school. So it does have an impact. With advisors in both the student affairs office and in each department, students can get answers to specific questions regarding their major as well as more general information about their degree plans. Departmental advisors can provide students with more specialized information about their majors.
Somebody is there who is specifically trained for that major.
In addition to hiring more advisors, the College of Communication has also changed advising procedures for freshman students during orientation. Instead of meeting with peer advisors, students now work with full-time advisors. With a full-time advisor, there are longer sessions. The idea was, hopefully, to start establishing long-term relationships. Along those same lines, the student affairs office now makes appointments for individuals who wish to meet with an advisor.