advising in undergraduates for a better education report

Improving College of Arts and Sciences Lower-Division Advising Practices

Spring 2014 ReportUndergraduates for a Better Education (UBE)

Report By: Emily Ballard, Sawyer Cresap, Chris Libonati, Nedda Sarshar, Patricia Terhune

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Improving College of Arts and Sciences Lower-Division Advising PracticesSummary

In spring 2013 Undergraduates for a Better Education (UBE) conducted an undergraduate student survey on advising showing evidence of advising problems present at Syracuse University. The qualitative, open-ended responses from the data set show large differentiation between colleges and a much poorer response trend towards in regards to the College of Arts and Science advising system in particular. This report will use the existing UBE data to contribute to the conversation of improving advising in the College of Arts and Sciences. This report will separate the responses regarding advising practices responses at Syracuse University by college, and compare these colleges to the College of Arts and Sciences to determine student satisfaction with advising. The report will conclude by comparing Syracuse University advising practices to those at that of other universities, as well as giving policy recommendations for advising practices in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Three consecutive sentences start with this/the report. It didn’t sound good when I read it out loud. If you change the beginning of the second sentence then the first and third should be okay.

UBE Advising Report, Syracuse University, Spring 2014

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INTRODUCTION

Undergraduates for a Better Education (UBE) has been advocating for improvement in undergraduate education at Syracuse University since 1986. It is a student-lobbying group fighting for the interests of undergraduate students to improve the value of their education and garner student opinion.

This report provides insight into undergraduate student attitudes toward advising at Syracuse University to determine areas of improvement and success based on the ratio of positive and negative open-ended comments from students. The advising practices of peer universities are compared to Syracuse University’s to show the general trend of advising across the nation. We recognize that students are partially responsible for their advising experience and thus schools and colleges are not entirely to blame for the dysfunction in advising at Syracuse. However, in order to improve the value of undergraduate education at Syracuse University, policy changes can be made to the advising program to ensure students are meeting requirements to graduate. UBE will report recommendations for policy change based on open-ended responses showing the need for these changes as well as the practices of peer universities.

The College of Arts and Sciences was selected as the main focus of this report as most negative comments toward advising were from students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Unlike other colleges at Syracuse University, the College of Arts and Sciences advising system is not as structured due to the (because there are) many majors and courses the college offersed, unlike a colleges like Engineering and Computer Science, where students are given a set list of courses with very little variation. College of Arts and Sciences students have more freedom in how to complete his or her major and core requirements, but that freedom yields confusion since students have no structured path to obtain their degree. This makes the faculty advisor’s job impossible in the lower division, as they can’t possibly be familiar with all possible student tracks.

These findings and our position are not a condemnation of Dean Salmone and the excellent staff here at Syracuse. They do an excellent exceptional job managing their staff faculty, and working with others to achieve the best results possible. We instead see it as a flaw in the system that many other universities have already taken action to remedy.

The authors of this report were Emily Ballard, Sawyer Cresap, Chris Libonati, Nedda Sarshar and Patricia Terhune


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METHODS

This study is based on three main sources of information: the previous study conducted by UBE, the advising website of Syracuse University, and the websites of other universities. First, this report makes use of data and findings from the Undergraduates for Better Education Fall 2013 Report to show new patterns and provide evidence for heavily researched claims. The report shows data from 787 (783 or 787) undergraduate student opinions in the areas of advising, instruction, and course availability. Qualitative data from this study was grouped as positive and negative, as no comments were neutral in nature. The School of Information Management was excluded due to low response rate. All comments and groupings can be seen in the appendix. Comments from students dually-enrolled in other schools or colleges are denoted with an asterisk.

Research conducted about the College Arts and Sciences advising program was completed by consulting previously compiled UBE materials and by speaking with members of administration, peer advisors, students, faculty, and advisors themselves. The websites of the nine undergraduate colleges at SU were also used to find information on advising practices.

In order to compare Syracuse University to other schools, UBE members were given a list of schools considered peer universities to SU by the Student Affairs Department. Information taken from these websites is assumed to be accurate.

Lastly, personal experiences and anecdotal stories shared with UBE members by students at SU were used in composing this report. These personal stories were collected with permission from students, whose names will remain anonymous.

We do not claim that all our data, findings, or national college sampling is representative, however we do believe that it is valuable information and can provide insight towards the problems undergraduate students face and contribute to the ongoing effort to improve advising at Syracuse.


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Syracuse University Advising Response“The Arts and Sciences advising system is terrible. Why the school thinks that a geologist will have any idea how to help and anthropologist in their course requirements is beyond me!”-Sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences

An analysis of the 307 open ended responses from the 2013 Fall Report shows the College of Arts and Science and the Maxwell School receive the highest percent of negative comments. When While 32% percent of all open-ended responses about advising experiences were negative across all colleges, over 55% of comments from College of Arts and Sciences students were negative, and. Of those remaining positive responses, a significant amount were referring to the advising they receive from the Renee Crowne Honors Program. Upon removing the Honors comments, over 63% of student responses about the College of Arts and Sciences were negative. CAS (we need to identify earlier that we are using CAS as an abbreviation) has the lowest percent of positive comments, followed by the Newhouse School of Public Communications, L.C. Smith College of Engineering, and the David B. Falk School of Sport and Human Dynamics.

The graph below shows the breakdown of negative comments by school or college, showing School of Architecture with 0% negative, Whitman School of Management with 35%, and the College of Arts and Sciences with 63%.

Source: UBE Fall 2013 Report Data


LOWER DIVISION ADVISING PRACTICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Given Recognizing the need for improvement, we then examined the advising practices of 15 peer institution listed by the Office of Admissions. 14 of 15 peer universities assign students to professional academic advisors. The sole job of these advisors’ is to help students select their courses, ensure requirements are being met, and keep student (students) on track to graduate in four years. Professional academic advisors have specialized jobs unlike faculty advisors who must split their time between teaching, advising, and research. Some of the universities assign professional advisors to students based on their incoming major, but many students remain undecided. This “professional advising model” that has heavy reliance on the use of professional advisors is the method of advising that Whitman has implemented.

Is it necessary to say professional advising model and then a few words later say professional advising? Are you really trying to reiterate the professional advising point? If yes, good. If not, it trips up the sentence a bit.

Georgetown University has a unique advising system where each student is assigned an associate or assistant dean with whom they create a four-year plan to provide students with a flexible idea of their academic direction. Once students become juniors and seniors, they are assigned a dean based on their field of study with whom they remain with until graduation.

In addition to advising students in person, University of Central Florida (UCF) has an exemplary website. The College of Arts and Humanities as well as the College of Sciences have websites that contain information that helps students immensely and could free up counselors from dealing with unnecessary questions. The College of Arts and Humanities’ website contains forms and procedures regarding transferring into other colleges inside of UCF. Each department is listed with each major and a departmental e-mail listed with a phone number. The site is clear, concise and informative. Similarly, the College of Sciences has clear icons on their website directing students toward the services they need.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

"I am a Syracuse dual between the Whitman School of Management and the College of Arts and Sciences. When I first came to Syracuse I was solely a student in Arts and Sciences and I always had a very negative experience in terms of advising and registration. There was always a lot of run around and many phones calls were made because I was always handed off to someone else. However, now that the Whitman School of Management is my home college I have had a much better experience in terms of advising and advisers giving me a straight answer."-Junior Whitman and College of Arts and Sciences dual major

Based on this study and all previous research, UBE has four proposals for CAS. Though all four low ranking schools and colleges need improvement, CAS had the highest percent of negative responses and should act with the most urgency to change policy. The other three schools should follow suit in the future as these comments may apply to them as well.

1. We propose the implementation of professional advising for underclassmen CAS students. This is based on the negative feedback as well as the practices of other institutions what other institutions are doing. Professional advisors will be able to better direct students through the large variety of courses and majors in CAS, without the current confusion some of faculty advisors currently face when they do not have enough lacking enough information to help students make informed decisions.

2. Increase the number of liberal arts core advisors and make it mandatory that all underclassmen visit with these advisors during their first two years. While the professional advising in Hall of Languages is used by students, wait times can be long, and not all students are well informed when they first come to Syracuse about the advising process. (Students can use professional advising in the Hall of Languages, however wait times can be long, and not all students are well informed about the advising process when they first come to Syracuse.)

3. We request that the Dean of Advising hold two open office hours each week for any student having advising problems. This allows the dean to keep close watch on the quality of advisors and allows students to feel like their concerns are being heard without the barrier of being required to set up a formal meeting.

4. The CAS Dean’s office should conduct short surveys with advisees on the quality of advising each year to monitor the success of the program and locate areas for improvement. Currently, there is no straightforward outlet for advisees to give feedback on the program, which may result in frustration for students experiencing problems with their advisor.

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5. A new advising website should be developed with student input to better share advising information and procedures with students, including how to navigate dual-college requirements and how to seek a new advisor. This website would should also combine information on individual major and department advising pages so students have access to it in one central location. This would include liberal arts core information (and) requirements, major and minor requirements for all departments, and intra-university transfer instructions, and contact information.

Five students looked at a variety of websites from peer universities and concluded that all websites were clearer than that of CAS. Further formal study of these sites could be beneficial to determine if this is true and to find ideas. Our reviewers also looked at SU websites and recommend that Newhouse, be used as a model due to their clear outlines of requirements and easy access to information. Delete the comma after Newhouse


APPENDICES (Make it Times New Roman)

Table of Contents

Appendix I Advising Practices at other UniversitiesAppendix II Qualitative Responses from 2013 Survey

Appendix I-1 Advising Practices at Other Universities (make it Times New

Roman)· We need to keep indents consistent among the reviews of

the colleges because they aren’t. Either they all need to be indented or they should all be left aligned.

· Spacing between the college name and the undergraduate enrollment should be consistent. Either they should all have a space or none should have a space.

American University College of Arts & SciencesUndergraduate Enrollment: 7,299Tuition/Total Fees: $40,6492012 Endowment: $466,000,000Professional

In American University’s College of Arts & Sciences each student is assigned one of eight academic counselors, with undecided students being assigned by last name. After declaring a major, an additional faculty advisor will be assigned from the major department. Peer advisors are available all year and hold walk-in and appointment hours every weekday. There are career advisors available by appointment, with one hour each weekday of open time for drop-in visits. Additionally, specific advisors for international students and students applying for merit scholarships are available by appointment. Specific advisors can be consulted by appointment and are available for international students and those applying for merit scholarships.

Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences AdvisingUndergraduate Enrollment: 15, 834Tuition/Total Fees: $58,530 2012 Endowment: $1.191 Billion

In Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences, every undeclared full-time student is assigned an academic advisor who they must meet at least once before registration and are encouraged to meet with throughout the semester. Every student also gets to choose an academic advisor as well. Freshman and sophomore students that lack a major receive special assistance in registering and choosing a major. Undeclared students are expected to meet with a faculty advisor at least once in addition to pre-registration advising. Once a student declares their major, they must talk with the department of the major for academic advising. Pre-

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professional students have separate advisors that offer help with curriculum planning, professional school admission requirements, internship opportunities, and student networking opportunities.

Cut the highlighted sentence and paste it after the first sentence.

Duke University Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,655Tuition/Total Fees: $45,4762012 Endowment: $5,555,196,000

In Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, every undeclared student is assigned an academic advisor that he or she must meet with every semester until they declare a major. Once a student declares a major, he or she will be in contact with the Director of Undergraduate Studies of his or her individual major. The Director will make sure the student is given a faculty advisor from the major. Academic Deans are easily accessible, with each having a major or grouping of majors that they are in charge of specifically. Deans will contact students for meetings periodically throughout the four years. Preprofessional (Pre-professional) advising is available for those intending to attend medical school, law school, or business careers. Pre-Health advising is available for freshmen and sophomores, along with more in-depth advising available for juniors, seniors and alumni. In addition to academic advising, engagement advising is available for extracurricular and volunteer work.

Georgetown University’s Advising

Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,552Tuition/Total Fees: $62,5702012 Endowment: $1.140 Billion


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Freshman and Sophomore AdvisingIn a student’s first two years at Georgetown, they must meet with the dean that is assigned to them. In this meeting, they create a four-year plan that is non-binding, but sets up a potential path for the student. Peer advisors are assigned to students during the summer before the students’ arrival to Georgetown. Their job is to help with a student’s transition to college. Faculty Advisors are assigned once a student’s major is declared and faculty advisors assist in guiding students through their degree.

Junior and Senior AdvisingStudents are encouraged to meet with a dean, but it is no longer a requirement for a student to meet with the dean. There is little required other than mandatory meetings with a faculty advisor in the last two years of a student’s time at Georgetown.

University of Michigan: Literature, Science and Arts Undergraduate Enrollment: 28,283Tuition/Total Fees: Varies by College2013 Endowment: $8.4 Billion

The department is called the ‘Newnan Advising Center’ and it focuses on the LSA (Literature, Science and Arts) in the University. The Academic Advising website also comes with a syllabus that contains a ‘four year plan’ for students—including main goals or responsibilities that should be considered in the student’s time at U of M. The College also employs professional advisors whose job titles are ‘Academic Advisors’ as opposed to the faculty advisors employed by Syracuse University. There is also a separate list of advisors that specialize in the pre-med and pre-law track. The Newnan Advising Center also funds for a ‘Strategies of Success’ website which offers advise on obtaining good grades in college and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Newnan also has a unique program, collaborated with University Housing, called Peer Academic Success Specialist (PASS). A PASS member lives in the residential community and puts an emphasis on ‘linking residents to educational resources in the residential community and on campus for academic success’. PASS offers a broad range of workshops addressing different academic interests throughout the year in residential halls.

New York University’s College of Arts and Science Advising

Undergraduate Enrollment: 22,498


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Tuition/Total Fees: $64,0472012 Endowment: $2.800 Billion

At New York University’s College of Arts and Sciences, students are assigned a professional academic advisor who helps students in their first and second years (first two years) at NYU. If those students declare a major in those two years, then they are given a departmental advisor who then can clear pre-registration holds. Students are allowed to use the professional advisors all through their four years, however.

Northeastern University College of Social Sciences & Humanities

Undergraduate Enrollment:13,107Tuition/Total Fees: $41,6862012 Endowment: $578,340,000

In Northeastern’s College of Science and College of Social Sciences & Humanities each student is assigned by major to a professional academic advisor, a faculty advisor, and a co-op advisor. All faculty advisors have drop-in hours each week. Appointments can be made online with both academic advisors and co-op advisors. Students in the one-year Program for Undeclared Students are assigned to only a program advisor, with whom appointments can be scheduled. In the College of Social Sciences & Humanities there are specific advisors for students who are prelaw, prehealth/premedical/predental (pre-health/pre-medical/pre-dental), or in teacher preparation.

Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences


At Northwestern, freshmen are assigned a freshman seminar instructor who advises them for the fall quarter. In the winter quarter, freshmen are assigned a Weinberg College Adviser who is a faculty member that sets aside weekly hours to advise students. Once a student declares their major, he or she is assigned an advisor within that major’s department. First year students that already have their


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major decided have a specified first year focus advisor in their major’s department.

University of Rochester’s College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering


All students are assigned a 2-year, professional pre-major advisor that helps make class selections as well as other academic choices. Engineers, however, tend to work with their advisor for all four years at the University of Rochester. Freshman and sophomores also have the opportunity to have an advising session with their dean. Once a student is accepted into a major or declares their major, they are assigned a departmental advisor.

University of Southern California’s Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Undergraduate Enrollment: 18,316Tuition/Total Fees: $62,245Endowment: $3.489 Billion

At the University of Southern California, each student is assigned a professional academic advisor based on the student’s major. In the case that a student has multiple minors or majors, that student will also have multiple advisors. If a student is undecided, he or she will be assigned an advisor that specifically works with undecided majors to help them find a major.

Tulane UniversityUndergraduate Enrollment: 8,352Tuition/Total Fees: Varies by College2013 Endowment: $1047.8 Million

Tulane University uses professional advisors for undeclared students who first enter the University. Although, each of the professional advisors have an area of specialty such as Architecture or Liberal Arts they are not Professors or teachers (professors shouldn’t be capitalized) whose part time job is to be an advisor on the side. Students with a declared major are assigned a faculty


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advisor for their particular major. All appointments with advisors are made through the Academic Advising Center and take place there.

Vanderbilt University’s College of Arts and Science


At Vanderbilt, advising is split between pre-major advising and major advising. During the pre-major phase of advising, a student receives a pre-major advisor that is a faculty member in the College of Arts and Science who helps to create a schedule for a student’s first semester. This advisor remains with the student through approximately their sophomore year. Once a student selects their major, they also get to choose their major advisor. This advisor will stick with the student through graduation and make sure that the student completes their major.

University of Washington Undergraduate Enrollment: 28,754Tuition/Total Fees: $12,397 Residents/ $31,971 Nonresidents2013 Endowment: $2.3 Billion

Students that enter the University of Washington are not assigned to a particular advisor. Rather, there is a group of ‘general advisors’, not faculty advisors, who provide basic services to all students until a major is declared. Once a major is declared, the students are assigned to a faculty advisor within their department and remain with them until the end of four years. The Washington University Advising Center is a location-based system in which general-advisors reside in one building – the Center for Undergraduate Student Advising, Diversity, & Student Success. Students can stop by the Center Monday-Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm to have quick questions answered.


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Appendix II-1Qualitative Responses from 2013 Survey

College of Arts and SciencesPositive Comments: 62Negative Comments: 80Total Comments: 142

(Honors advising remaining in positive section)

College of Arts and Sciences Negative Comments

1. Some advisors are amazing with personal interactions others tell you to come back in 2 months...2. They can be contacted but it is not the easiest and quickest process that I'd expect.3. faculty advising assigned freshman year was awful. He would literally ignore my emails and avoid me. My major advisers are wonderful4. My advisor knows what she's talking about but I don't really get a word in because she likes to talk. She also told me that because my area concentration is Europe for my international relations major I wasn't going to get a job which for freshman me was really scary. I now know that was unnecessary and there are opportunities for people who study europe5. My faculty advisor has not made time for an event, answered any emails or checked in on the organization. As an organization leader I am learning everything as I go.6. Initially, the advisor given to me as a Freshman was not knowledgeable about much of the requirements at Syracuse University. After I decided my major, I got a great advisor who knew about the fields I was interested in and was available anytime I needed him.7. I have had two advisors while at Syracuse University, both were knowledgable of the core requirements but they did not really help in recommending what type of classes to take outside of your major.8. Until I declared my major, I didn't have a clear advisor through Arts and Sciences. I found one myself who was sweet and thoughtful, but wasn't knowledgable of the areas I was interested in.9. I have two advisors and one isn't very responsive since she is the advisor for the whole department. It's sort of like being on my own.10. My advisor did not help me very much at all and didn't seem to take as much of an interest in my academic goals as I would have expected.


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11. I have two advisers. One of them is very knowledgeable and has gotten to know me very well. My other adviser tries hard, but it is clear that she does not know the requirements as she simply pulls out a guidebook and looks through it to answer my questions. I believe this is analogous to how the SU advisers are in general. Some dedicate time to help their students while others do not put forth much effort.12. Most of the time, I knew more than my advisor. There were several times that I was told incorrect information and had to run around just to find out I had it right the first time around.13. My advisor didn't know what classes would be good for me to take and I ended up taking two semesters of French when I didn't need to.14. horrible advising experience, my freshman advisor was very helpful for a year. then my major advisor met with me once for 6 minutes went on leave and now i have an advisor that has no idea who i am and never responds to my emails and is never in his office15. usually the advisor doesn't know anything when i go to meet with them16. I've had little adivising experience. I felt that my advisor wasn't too serious, and felt that she wasn't so available; although i didn't really make an effort to seek her out.17. I came in as a biology major and was given an adviser that teaches math and was incapable of giving me any solid advice whenever I asked a question. He also appeared to be fairly new to the university.18. My adviser seems fairly well-informed about the core requirements of my college, but not so informed about my major requirements. Also, whenever I have a question he just directs me somewhere else instead of actually helping.19. My advisor seemed to not have the right solutions for my problems and often was not helpful20. My advisor is not a very open and helpful person, which makes meetings very awkward. He gives off the message that he does not not want me in his office or department. He does not challenge me to do more than required and if anything, pressures me to only do the bare minimum requirements. When asked about a potential double major, he was not able to give any more information nor did he give me an additional person to contact. I am very dissatisfied with my current advisor and wish for someone better.21. It has been satisfactory. I was once told I was able to take a class and, upon registration, was told I did not have the prerequisite for it.22. I'm displeased with the advising service at SU. It is confusing and rather unhelpful.23. I was fortunate enough to be in the Falk college, where advisors truly seem to care about their students. However, my advising experience for my other major, Psychology, was far less impressive. In Arts & Sciences, it seems as if


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every student is just a number and you have to really try to get individual attention or guidance.24. The advisor I was given had no clue what he was doing and basically just looked at the classes I wanted to take the next semester and was like "k, cool, go for it." Wasn't helpful at all, especially since I ended up taking a bunch of courses I didn't even need.25. always lead you to someone else in the end no one knows or can help you26. Some TAs have flat out told me that they don't do the reading One TA thinks she is the teacher as far as power over her students yet can be just as informed as us students27. I have had generally okay interactions with my advisor. Helpful, but not extremely relevant to my interests all of the time.28. My major advisor has been very helpful in terms of letting me know about major requirements and guiding me through grad school decisions. Career advice- not so much. Advisors in my college (mandatory for freshman) are AWFUL!!! They have no knowledge about core requirements and are really unhelpful.29. It took a year and a half until I found the right advisor for me that supported topics that I was interested in. My only regret is that I spent a year and a half with advisors that I was assigned to that did not have any background information in my interests.30. I find better advising with advisors and professors other than my personally assigned advisee.31. pointless to my education experience. My advisor has actually been a hindrance to my progress at the university.32. There hasn't been many opportunities available unless I make the effort. Sometimes I get a little caught up in school and forget about advising and find I am behind because advisors aren't necessarily as proactive as I wish they were in helping me figure out my future. In other words, they are doing their job but at a minimum.33. They don't seem to offer a lot of advise, rather just a "yeah you're on the right path"34. One time I asked one of my adviser for a major selection problem, he told me I can get in that dual major although another major is not in A&S. and he asked me to wait for his reply. So I wait for 2 months. During that time, I sent several email to him and he was never replied my email. After this thing, I changed a advisor. I think it is manner that reply others email and keep promises.35. It's been okay. I feel like I've done mostly everything and to get their okay I basically have to find out everything else on my own. It didn't make returning from my medical leave all too easy. Luckily I'm capable, but I feel bad for incoming transfers and freshman.


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36. There is no advising at SU. It is essentially nonexistent. I am enrolled in two colleges here with two majors and neither of my advisors know my name.37. My advisor is literally the worst. He doesn't help me with anything. All he does is sign off and I do my own thing.38. My advisor was mildly helpful but I found extreme success in seeking advisement from academic support just using drop in office hours.39. I am a dually enrolled student in Newhouse and the College of Arts and Sciences. I find it difficult to relay information between both schools and both advisors. It feels as if there is no one who has the knowledge to help students enrolled within two different skills. I am out on my own in terms of planning my education. I suggest the creation of a specialized advisor system that caters specifically towards dual programs in multiple schools.40. It has not been personal, just a really inexperienced advisor41. I am a Syracuse Dual between the Whitman School of Management and the College of Arts and Sciences. When I first came to Syracuse I was solely a student in Arts and Sciences and I always had a very negative experience in terms of advising and registration. There was always alot of run around and many phones calls were made because I was always handed off to someone else. However, now that the Whitman School of Management is my home college I have had a much better experience in terms of advising and advisers giving me a straight answer.42. The honors program advisors are exceptional. Those in each of the departments are perfectly satisfactory, but there is a serious problem when it comes to communication in between different schools. Advisors in one department are generally woefully unaware of the requirements and general program structures in other departments, and for students switching between schools (i.e. Architecture, A&S, Newhouse, LCSmith, etc.), or adding or dropping double majors or dual-enrollments, this lack of knowledge on the part of the advisors can pose a serious problem. When trying to switch from being enrolled in both LCSmith and A&S to just being enrolled in the latter, the A&S advisor I spoke with repeated several times that she didn't think A&S 'partnered' with LCSmith, and that I would have to apply to the entire college afresh in order to complete my request. As it happens, I had been enrolled in both colleges from the start, and simply had to fill out a form in an LCSmith office to declare that I wanted to discontinue my enrollment in this college. It would be very helpful to students such as myself if the academic advisors were aware of the different possible combinations of majors and schools, so as to more easily facilitate switching, adding, or dropping - often the times when students need the help of an advisor the most.43. Advisors knew the course requirements of the overall major, but not the specifics for individuals wanting to pursue particular areas of interest


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44. My experiences with my ETS and EDU advisors have been fantastic, but my experience with the PSY department has been less than ideal. They are unorganized and generally unwelcoming.45. My advisor is only on her 2nd year, so I understand that she isn't as knowledgeable as people who have been working here for years.46. When I was in a+s I was very dissatisfied with advising I would just go to the drop in hours and talk to a random advisor. However in the iSchool they have two advisors who really know what they are doing and I like that they have group advising meeting with a large time frame so you can go at your convenience. However I saw that under myslice I was assigned a teacher to be my academic advisor since transferring to the iSchool I don't even know what he looks like it would have been nice to at least get an email from him saying "hey welcome I’m here for you" idk what the point of having faculty academic advisors are if most people just end up going to drop in hours at their home college47. My advisors were merely appointed to me and did not share any of my interests within both of my majors. As a result, I never had any courses with either of my advisors. Although I have liked and found my interactions with my advisors useful, the interactions have been limited and I could not rely on them to write a letter of recommendation if needed. An advisor should be a guaranteed reference who knows you personally as well as academically.48. The Arts and Sciences advising system is terrible. Why the school thinks that a geologist will have any idea how to help and anthropologist in their course requirements is beyond me!49. Only talk with advisors when it's time to make schedule. my advisor has changed every semester since I got here which makes it difficult to get to know them.50. Last year, I was not satisfied with my advisor. She would take a very long amount of time to email me back about scheduling an appointment, and would not answer her phone. I have since switched majors, and I have only exchanged a few emails about scheduling an appointment with her, so I cannot comment on my experience with her.51. I have had 3 advisers so far the first one I received as a freshman had no idea what my major was or why I was taking classes, I had to tell her what I had to take to meet requirements . My second one was in my field and had the same problem she had little to no knowledge of the classes I needed to take, and told me I could graduate early when I was actually behind on credits; very incompetent. The one I have now got me back on track and seems well versed.52. Freshman initial advisors were bad. Once I declared my major, those advisors were good.


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53. I only get advising through the department chair of my major and not through Arts and Sciences. My experiences within my major have been great but my experiences with Arts and Sciences have been awful.54. It's difficult to get in contact with pre med department55. I haven't felt that I have been able to relate to my advisor and whenever I schedule appointments with my advisor I usually become nervous and anxious.56. I have found advising at my school was worse than it was in my high school. Here its not personable, I just feel like another number.57. I have met with my advisor for no more than 10 minutes all year. I go in and he says okay, everything looks good and then I leave. He is no help at all.58. Advisors for students who are undeclared seem weak. I have experienced a dreadful situation as a freshman with an advisor that advised me to take his classes. Once I declared a major, my advisor switched and is now very good.59. Marie Sarno in the school of Education is one of SU's greatest assets. All other advisers fall short to her. And the school of Ed. knows CAS requirements but I have yet to meet a single person in CAS who knows anything about the school of Education60. My advisor is very unhelpful and is not knowledgeable of his job.61. My first year I had a physics advisor that did not knew anything about political sciences and he went out of town. Then my Economic advisor never reply my emails and when he does he takes a month to do so or more.62. Hardly ever saw them. Didn't know who my advisor was when I came in to Arts and Sciences as a transfer student.63. I am a dual major and one of my advisors is great & knowledgeable while my other advisor does not know much about requirements64. switched advisors many times and was advising meetings were extremely unproductive65. Knew I was a transfer student, did not know I possessed a 2 yr degree. Completed over a semester and a half of core requirements I did not need. I don't have the resources/time to pursue any action towards them66. My advisor isn't even knowledgeable about what I plan to major in so I have to meet with her to lift the hold and then meet with other professors to actually figure out what classes to take.67. I have two advisers being a duel major. My Whitman advisor is fantastic but my Economics advisor is absolutely terrible.68. I largely have to show up with everything planned and have my advisor sign off on it. She is rather useless as far as actually advising me on what to take goes.69. i have received none70. I'm a dual major. Between the two colleges neither can tell me exactly what I need so I always wind up having to attend multiple advising sessions.


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71. The University has given advising positions to professors who are new to SU and don't know anything more than just the basic requirements for a student to fulfill. That is not helpful and has led to a lot of confusion.72. My advisor isn't helpful for much.73. My advisor left after my freshman year and I had to email staff all summer to be assigned a new one. I've since been assigned to the chair advisor who has never met with me...74. My advisers through my two majors, Political Science and Policy Studies, are phenomenal. However, the advising staff I have met with from the College of Arts and Sciences are, in some cases, seemingly incompetent. These advisers don't have some of the answer that they should, and have, in my case, made too many mistakes. To make matters worse, I have had to correct these mistakes by myself -- or with generous faculty members who shouldn't have had to make up for advising's mistakes.75. My advisor told me to take an extra class to fulfill my core requirements and I ended up going to other advisors who told me she was wrong. She also expected me to already choose my classes strategically as a freshman when I truly needed help to do that and she had such a short time that she didn’t want to help me.76. I've gone through 3 different advisers. The first advisor told me that I was a grown up and should know what I want. Then the second advisor was really good, but I was his only undergraduate advisee and he didn't really know what to do with me but he tried, and my third advisor has been good.77. Not very good! Did not guide me towards the path I wanted to take.78. The advisors aren't helpful and the staff that work here on campus are rude. I feel like they don't enjoy their job at all and are taking out their anger on students who need help.79. My advisor in the history department is very unresponsive and unavailable for office hours.80. My major advisors are great; however, 329 Hall of Languages staff give off a negative and often times rude aura. If I can avoid that office, I do.81. My advisor did not know the existence of my major and tried to convince me out of it before I researched it for her on her computer. I have completely designed my whole schedule on my own with computer resources and my advisor is less knowledgeable on my majors and classes than I am

Positive Comments

1. My advisor is really helpful and she provides useful information.2. I'm a dual major in NH and A&S - my advising for general NH seems to be stronger than A&S. Advising specifically for my A&S major (IR) is good too


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3. The honors advisers try their hardest to know what we need to accomplish, but I can't say the same thing for the other advisers.4. They are extremely helpful, all of the staff. I have a very positive experience every time i require advising.5. Awesome. The advising department are god sent!6. My advisor when I was undecided was not very helpful at all so I went to the Arts and Sciences advising office a lot. When I finally declared a major, my advisor is much better7. Good. Could be better. Sometimes advisors swing their own personal bias on you and do not hear you out.8. It's alright.9. I was educated on what classes I should take and what would be best for my majors/minors.10. Sometimes I wish that they could give more info on careers.11. The Music History advisors make it mandatory to meet individually once every semester, I really like that. The Music Ed. advisors meet with all of the music ed students at once, there isn't enough time to talk to them individually.12. Does not seem to have advice. Or suggestion about how to reach a goals or suggestions for the future. Nor does he inform me if I am on track to graduate.13. My advisor in the sociology department is likeable, informative, caring and knowledgeable.14. Not bad15. Tess Slater is very encouraging, and her genuine character is positively influential!16. He is very nice and willing to help me. I am really glad of that.17. just okay18. I have been to the academic advisor, a academic warning advisor and a counseling advisor, all are very friendly and helpful19. Overall I have been very pleased with the academic advising here. They are willing to help me and give me advice as needed.20. It really depends on your program (i.e. major) and the status of your advisor. If they are only an adjunct or temporary professor, they are not as available or knowledgeable in some ways as the tenured professors or those who have been at the university for many years.21. Helpful when I needed guidance.22. I got very great advice for my classes.23. My advisor helped me get on the right track to where I needed to be. Also, the advisors in the Arts and Sciences department were always friendly and helpful.24. It was fine25. My adviser was very helpful and friendly.


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26. Coplin is great!27. She is a great advisor.28. My advisers are all very friendly and helpful. Except an A&S advising lady in Hall of Language named Rachel.29. My advisor in SSS is more approachable than the other advisors.30. Though I had 2 good advisers last semester, I just was told I have a new one in one major. In my other major, I'm not even sure who mine is exactly. perhaps this is partially my fault for not taking more initiative in contacting them more often, but at this point I'm not even quite sure who my advisers are even though the ones I get tend to be very helpful.31. It has always been very accessible and enjoyable.32. All of my experiences were satisfactory with the exception of my first advising session freshman year. I ended up taking courses that I didn't need to and feel like I wasted a lot of time.34. Faculty advisors are generally brilliant, the normal academic advisor the departments have a terrible though.35. Three advisors and they were all good.36. I don't have an official advisor anymore and I would like to have one again. My previous advisor had to move therefore leaving the university and this advisor was extremely helpful to me during the first half of my first year here.37. Honors advisors were great physics advisor does not have much experience with advising39. Eileen Butler is fantastic. She works with my hectic schedule, and allows me to communicate online, rather than in person, if necessary. She is diligent and timely in her responses, always effectively relaying information.40. I have a good relationship with m advisor and she is ver helpful but it would b nice if she spent a little more time working with each student.41. I like my advisor, however she is abroad this semester so Its hard to interact personally with her.42. I have experienced advisors who genuinely love what they do and guide me to making correct choices. Then there are others whom somewhat help just to get through their day and do their "job". All are polite.43. My assigned counselor was nice and generally knowledgeable but lacked information regarding my area of study. I reached out to another counselor who better met my needs and received all the help and information I wanted!44. My advisor was always very informative and helpful overall except though he was in my department, he was in a different career that i was not interested in so it was harder to talk to him about my future. He also wasn't the best at helping me set up my schedule.45. Advisors are really great! They are so knowledgeable about what courses we need to or should take!


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46. Never anything negative, does what she can to help me47. I have had wonderful advising experiences within the College of Arts & Sciences and within my major department (Psychology). Everyone I have interacted with has gone out of their way to help me find answers to any questions I have had.48. Very good and simple. However coplin is my advisor so it doesn't really count.49. I've had a great experience with my advisor. She has made good recommendations and she is experienced in the field of music.50. My advisor emails back within a day, and answers every question I ask. She's great!51. Rachel Vines in the premedical advising office is awesome!52. I'm lucky to be a part of the honors program at the university, which I think has enhanced my advisee experience, but I think my friends outside of the honors program have had a lot of trouble contacting advisors.53. My Advisor is stupendous in every way possible, a real asset. However, I am a rarity because my major is tiny (German), and therefore I can be afforded such attention. In my other major, History, it's nigh on impossible to get help.54. My advisor has been great55. My Honors advisor is pretty decent, I've never heard from my arts and sciences advisor and my LCS advisor is terrible, she didn’t give a hoot about what I was doing with school56. My adviser is Tess Slater and I could not ask for anyone better, she knows what the core requirements are and she knows how to help me57. I never went to visit my actual advisor. not sure why. i guess i should have. i usually went to the drop in sessions at hall of languages and found those to be useful58. Initial advising was very poor. I had a normal professor who didn’t speak English well. My advisor mis-informed me that my high school ap-world history would count towards humanities. My second semester when I came in for a visit she exclaimed that I needed to take a humanities class to catch up (after the transcript showed no completed humanities). I explained to her that she had told me that my AP-World would count towards humanities and that's why I hadn't taken one. Thus, I am behind on humanities compared to other liberal arts core requirements.... Thankfully, once I declared my Political Science major Mrs. Slater has been the best advisor I could ever ask for. She engages with me on a much higher level then just advisor-student relations working together to fill req's.59. These answers refer to my time in the College of Arts and Sciences, where I am presently enrolled. As a Freshman, I was in Newhouse, where the advising was significantly less satisfactory, especially in terms of my advisor's availability and knowledge of the core.


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60. Tess Slater is my advisor for Political Science and she is absolutely wonderful. College of Arts & Sciences is also very good. Advising is a major strength for the University.61. My advisor is very available and very friendly. she is knowledgeable about a variety of things and I appreciate that a lot.62. They both know what they're doing.63. So far, I have had one advisor...he is very approachable and very easy to work with.

Maxwell School of CitizenshipNegative:19Positive:12Total: 31

Maxwell: Positive

1. Tess Slater is my advisor for Political Science and she is absolutely wonderful. College of Arts & Sciences is also very good. Advising is a major strength for the University.

2. Some advisors are amazing with personal interactions and others tell you to come back in 2 months.

3. They are extremely helpful, all of the staff. I have a very positive experience every time I require advising.

4. It was fine.5. My advisor in SSS is more approachable than the other advisors.6. Though I had 2 good advisers last semester, I just was told I have a new

one in one major. In my other major, I'm not even sure who mine is exactly. Perhaps this is partially my fault for not taking more initiative in contacting them more often, but at this point I'm not even quite sure who my advisers are even though the ones I get tend to be very helpful.*

7. My advisor is great. I can literally walk into her office and have an impromptu advising session. She's always available to answer my questions and assist me with anything.

8. Very good and simple. However, Coplin is my advisor so it doesn't really count.

9. Solid.10. My advisor has been great.11. These answers refer to my time in the College of Arts and Sciences, where

I am presently enrolled. As a freshman, I was in Newhouse, where the advising was significantly less satisfactory, especially in terms of my advisor's availability and knowledge of the core.*


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12. I am in Whitman, and our academic advisors are very good.*

Maxwell: Negative

1. I have two advisors and one isn't very responsive since she is the advisor for the whole department. It's sort of like being on my own.

2. Horrible advising experience, my freshman advisor was very helpful for a year. Then my major advisor met with me once for 6 minutes went on leave and now I have an advisor that has no idea who I am and never responds to my emails and is never in his office.

3. My advisor did not know the existence of my major and tried to convince me out of it before I researched it for her on her computer. I have completely designed my whole schedule on my own with computer resources and my advisor is less knowledgeable on my majors and classes than I am.

4. I am a dually enrolled student in Newhouse and the College of Arts and Sciences. I find it difficult to relay information between both schools and both advisors. It feels as if there is no one who has the knowledge to help students enrolled within two different skills. I am out on my own in terms of planning my education. I suggest the creation of a specialized advisor system that caters specifically towards dual programs in multiple schools.*

5. I am a Syracuse Dual between the Whitman School of Management and the College of Arts and Sciences. When I first came to Syracuse I was solely a student in Arts and Sciences and I always had a very negative experience in terms of advising and registration. There was always a lot of run around and many phones calls were made because I was always handed off to someone else. However, now that the Whitman School of Management is my home college I have had a much better experience in terms of advising and advisers giving me a straight answer.*

6. Advisors knew the course requirements of the overall major, but not the specifics for individuals wanting to pursue particular areas of interest.

7. My advisors were merely appointed to me and did not share any of my interests within both of my majors. As a result, I never had any courses with either of my advisors. Although I have liked and found my interactions with my advisors useful, the interactions have been limited and I could not rely on them to write a letter of recommendation if needed. An advisor should be a guaranteed reference whom knows you personally as well as academically.

8. The Arts and Sciences advising system is terrible. Why the school thinks that a geologist will have any idea how to help and anthropologist in their course requirements is beyond me!


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9. Freshman initial advisors were bad. Once I declared my major, those advisors were good.

10. Advisers don't know what is required, especially when dualing.*11. My first year I had a physics advisor that did not know anything

about political sciences and he went out of town. Then my Economic advisor never replied my emails and when he does he takes a month to do so or more.

12. I always have to reach out to my advisor and it is frustrating that she knows so little about requirements. I am going to double major and neither department can figure out how the double major is going to work, and how I'm going to make any credits double count. I had to figure all of it out with no help from anyone.

13. Switched advisors many times and was advising meetings were extremely unproductive

14. Advisors come off as standoffish. We are looked at as SUID numbers, not students. 15 minutes is not enough! They are more in a rush to move on to the next person than they are in helping the students solve their problems. This is very frustrating especially for a first-year student like myself.

15. I was advised to take both a language and a math when I only needed to take one or the other.

16. Advisors should be more knowledgeable of specific majors.17. I've gone through 3 different advisers. The first advisor told me

that I was a grown up and should know what I want. Then the second advisor was really good, but I was his only undergraduate advisee and he didn't really know what to do with me but he tried, and my third advisor has been good.

18. Freshman year I had a pretty bad advisor who didn't acknowledge me this year, so I switched to someone who I had emailed before and she is the best!

19. Advisor not even there for most meetings- often off campus. Don't even use advisor anymore because it just makes things more complicated and I can find out more myself.

Newhouse School of Public Communications Negative: 27Positive: 18Total: 47

Newhouse- Negative Comments1. Always feel like I'm being pushed out the door.


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2. My advisor is an awesome guy, but has no knowledge of my major so I have to find a new advisor, which is a little annoying.

3. My freshman/sophomore advisor didn’t know the requirements, couldn't remember my name, and kept trying to convince me to change my major to something I didn’t have an interest in. My current advisor is not very helpful in terms of internship search.

4. My advisor that was given to me at the beginning of the year was rarely at our meetings. He left his TA to do all of the work.

5. My advisor is rarely present or available. Newhouse's policy on switching advisors is that you must switch during sophomore year to an advisor in your major, but it's hard to know who you want to be your advisor when you haven't taken more than a couple major courses by that time. It would be nice if I were just given an advisor in my major form the start.

6. The advisers in Newhouse are often not very knowledgeable about anything outside of Newhouse courses, and are not very helpful for students looking to pursue more challenging course loads or more intense programs of study, such as a dual major.

7. Advisor does not always seem in touch with the curriculum.8. I feel that advisors are only available during office hours or by

appointment only as well as that advisors are not always in the field of the student.

9. One time I asked one of my advisers about a major selection problem. He told me that I could get in that dual major although another major is not in A&S. He asked me to wait for his reply. So I waited for 2 months. During that time, I sent several emails to him and he never replied to my emails. After this, I changed advisors. I think it is good manners that you reply to others emails and keep promises.

10. There is no advising at SU. It is essentially nonexistent. I am enrolled in two colleges here with two majors and neither of my advisors know my name.*

11. I am a dually enrolled student in Newhouse and the College of Arts and Sciences. I find it difficult to relay information between both schools and both advisors. It feels as if there is no one who has the knowledge to help students enrolled within two different skills. I am out on my own in terms of planning my education. I suggest the creation of a specialized advisor system that caters specifically towards dual programs in multiple schools.*

12. Advisers were often unavailable or not knowledgeable on requirements for certain majors.

13. He focused on my personal appearance a little bit too much.14. I feel as if I don't really have an advisor. I was assigned one at the

beginning of the school year and have only met like one time. When I


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request to meet it takes a long time if they ever respond. I need an advisor that is available to help me and truly cares to help me.

15. No dual advisors.*16. Advisers don't know what is required, especially when dualing.*17. I can usually get advising in the student affairs office but I do not have

much contact with my assigned advisor.18. I am a dual major and my advisor in my home school and my advisor in

my secondary school never really seem to have a grasp as to what is really going on or how to proceed next. Both amazing people and great professors, just not great advisors.*

19. The advisor that I am so dissatisfied with is my peer advisor. The only time she has EVER contacted me or the other freshmen in my group has been to invite us to a party, and even once titled a Facebook group "Get Shwasty with your peer advisors". I have zero respect for her and I think that peer advisors should be screened better in their interviews.

20. My Newhouse adviser freshman year was a broadcast professor who offered no advice about my major at the time (Magazine journalism). When I switched to public relations, I was given an adviser who was never available to meet with me. The advisor then left for another university. My advisor after that was never in contact with me. I have received no guidance from them. Instead, I have sought out people in academic offices who could provide insight and direction. I wish that advisers were assigned for academic advisement. Not based solely on majors. It would have been great to have an adviser who could help me pick classes freshman and sophomore year. I think it is important to have someone at the University to encourage students to push themselves. For example, I look back and wish I had double majored but at the time there was no one to tell me I could do it or explain the process to me.

21. I largely have to show up with everything planned and have my advisor sign off on it. She is rather useless as far as actually advising me on what to take goes.

22. I'm a dual major. Between the two colleges neither can tell me exactly what I need so I always wind up having to attend multiple advising sessions.*

23. In Newhouse, particularly the PR department, there has been such a high turnover rate of professors that I have gone through three advisors.

24. My advisor knows what a typical sophomore, freshman etc should take, but isn't good at suggesting alternatives if you already have credit for one.

25. My advisor is never on campus and does not express interest in meeting with his undergraduate students.


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26. I have had an awful experience with Arts and Sciences advising. My major advisor (Tess Slater) has been wonderful and extremely helpful, but my advising experience with A&S has been not only difficult, but also failed to communicate my requirements to me in an easy-to-comprehend manner. Because I am a dual major with Newhouse and a minor in Whitman, it was not made clear to me by my A&S advisor that I still must complete 90 A&S credits on top of my Whitman requirements. Because of this, I found out a month after officially graduating in December 2012 that I had 19 unfulfilled credits. As a result, I either had to turn my (perceived) political science major into a minor, or stay for an additional semester to complete the credits. I strongly encourage A&S to develop a clearer method of communicating requirements to students, as MANY of my fellow dual majors have encountered this issue.*

27. I wish I had more routine interactions with my advisor because most of the time, I only see him for registration.

Newhouse- Positive1. I'm a dual major in NH and A&S - my advising for general NH seems to

be stronger than A&S. Advising specifically for my A&S major (IR) is good too

2. Good. Could be better. Sometimes advisors swing their own personal bias on you and do not hear you out.

3. usually the advisor doesn't know anything when i go to meet with them4. Very good. I love my advisor and I can see that he definitely wants me to

succeed here and once I step into the real world.5. My adviser was very sweet and helpful with advice about life and career.

Truly a nice woman. However, like is the situation with most other advisers I have spoken to, very few of them actually know anything about the curriculum and what classes I should be taking. In fact, they usually just say they have no idea, and sometimes screw you over with your classes.

6. I went to the College of Arts and Sciences when I was aiming to transfer out of Newhouse, and a woman there discussed with me thoroughly new major choices and what I needed to complete for my core requirements in my new school.

7. Very helpful when needed8. In Newhouse, the advising system is amazing. From peer advisers to

faculty advisers, everyone is knowledgeable and helpful. However, I have friends in other colleges who say their advising is sub par.


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9. I've mostly decided things myself, and then gone to my advisor and he just reassures me I've made good choices of what to take and when.

10. My advisor in Newhouse has been amazingly helpful.11. My advisor had a good knowledge of requirements.12. It really depends on your program (i.e. major) and the status of your

advisor. If they are only an adjunct or temporary professor, they are not as available or knowledgeable in some ways as the tenured professors or those who have been at the university for many years.

13. Very minimal so far but I'm only a freshman.14. My advisor in the sociology department is likeable, informative, caring

and knowledgeable.*15. My advisor helped me get on the right track to where I needed to be. Also,

the advisors in the Arts and Sciences department were always friendly and helpful.*

16. Rachel Vines in the premedical advising office is awesome!*17. They can be contacted but it is not the easiest and quickest process that I'd

expect.18. My first adviser was great but then he stopped working here. I was

assigned the assistant dean of Newhouse as my new adviser and now I need to speak with her secretary just to reach her. It was difficult to make an appointment with her and felt very impersonal so I do not go to see her unless it is mandatory. I think you should assign kids advisors that are in their field of study.

School of Information StudiesNegative: 4Positive: 3Total:: 7

School of Information Studies- Negative

1. I only met with my advisor during my first semester of freshman year. I don't really remember his name, nor his contact information so I rely on other faculty members

2. I don’t know my adviser on a personal level and every time I go there she acts like she’s never seen me before, I understand because she sees thousands of students but it just discourages me from going to her to talk about things.

3. My adviser was always in a hurry to get me out of the office. It was difficult to get an appointment and it took a long time to get forms signed and returned.


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4. The advisers in Newhouse are often not very knowledgeable about anything outside of Newhouse courses, and are not very helpful for students looking to pursue more challenging course loads or more intense programs of study, such as a dual major.*

School of Information Studies- Positive

1. My advising experience at SU has been positive.2. I have always been given good advice.3. Advisor is always readily available. Has open door policy.

School of ArchitectureNegative: 0Positive: 5 Total: 5 Positive Architecture1) succinct2) Professor Moran (from the School of Architecture) is extremely helpful in

advising. His experience and insight cannot be compared to any other and wants nothing but the best for his students.

3) Good contact with advisor. Very knowledgeable and helpful about the in and outs of the school.

4) In Architecture...It seems a little different than other schools here.5) Advising was there if you wanted it

David B. Falk School of Sport and Human DynamicsNegative: 16Positive: 15Total: 31

Negative Falk1) My particular advisor doesn't know much about how credits count towards

abroad and isn't good about recommending humanities or electives that might benefit me in the major that I am in.

2) My advisors lack of proper 'advisement' has set me back an entire semester because...essentially she can't add credits properly. i was to be enrolled in a course only offered fall semester. She taught the class and knowingly failed to tell me I was supposed to be enrolled in.

3) Haven't been able to be in contact with my advisors. It's like I’m always doing them a favor.


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4) Very brief and not a lot of options were explored for minors and double majors. She was very knowledgeable though.

5) In the school of arts and science my experiences have been horrible. Everyone seems to be a number and no one seems to be knowledgeable. Once my majors were decided on, things improved.

6) Office at Drumlins is too much of a hassle to get to.7) My advisor was not very optimistic or supportive. I didn’t feel connected

to her. I received more assistance from my professors that are also advisors8) My Advisor should care more. I know she deals with a lot of students, but

I pay a lot of money, for her to help me, so I can get everything done, she needs to be caring a thoughtful, I am not just a number

9) My Advisor knows nothing about the core requirements or credits.10) Not very aware of what courses are realistic to get into and what is

necessary11) I have had to switch advisers each year and none of them can ever answer

the questions I have12) Advising has Been fairly hard at times cause they make the times and u

can't email then a time to meet13) When your undecided, your advisor is practically non existent and if

anything those students need advising the most14) Since transferring from the School of Education into the Falk school of

Sport and Human Dynamic my advising experience has subpar. My advisor has little no knowledge on my major requirements, of which he is a professor of, let alone core requirements. I have at times felt lost and unaware of requirements I need to fill. Also apparently switching advisors is not an option in my major.

15) * I always have to reach out to my advisor and it is frustrating that she knows so little about requirements. I am going to double major and neither department can figure out how the double major is going to work, and how I'm going to make any credits double count. I had to figure all of this out with no help from anyone.

16) Sometimes my advisor can't answer my questions * The University has given advising positions to professors who are new to SU and don't know anything more than just the basic requirements for a student to fulfill. That is not helpful and has led to a lot of confusion.

Positive Falk1) My advisor always answers if I call or calls me back before the days out2) Overall I would say that I am pleased with the advisement I received.3) Brooke T in David B. Falk school has been amazing with helping me

figure out everything that comes with advising. She has helped me out by


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sitting down with me and listening to what I want and helped me figure out a schedule.

4) My experience here at Syracuse University had lead to me discover my passion which is to become a doctor. With the advising at this wonderful University, I have the strength and support to pursue my passion with constant help and encouragement from my advisors.

5) * I am a dual major with Sport Management and Finance and had two separate advisors: one for Sport Management and one for Whitman. They were both terrific in helping me coordinate completion of my two majors.

6) * I was fortunate enough to be in the Falk College, where advisors truly seem to care about their students. However, my advising experience for my other major, Psychology, was far less impressive. In Arts & Sciences, it seems as if every student is just a number and you have to really try to get individual attention or guidance.

7) Whenever I need help or a question answered, I am always comfortable e-mailing my advisor and she helps me in a way that I am able to easily understand

8) I have been to the academic advisor, a academic warning advisor and a counseling advisor, all are very friendly and helpful

9) My advisor has been incredibly helpful during my time at SU!10) It's been fine, I choose what courses I want. She approves or doesn't and

recommends other courses.11) My adviser is easy to contact and often responds to my emails

immediately or within a few hours.12) I've met with many different advisors and they all have been extremely

knowledgeable and friendly.13) I've had great experiences with Dr. Kirkhart and Adrienne Renfroe14) I actually work on research with my advisor so we are pretty close. Even

before working on research with her she always took an interest of what I was doing outside of school and would take note of it to make sure that I had enough volunteer and work experience for my career

15) My advisor has been so helpful in everything that I’ve ever asked of her

School of EducationNegative: 7Positive: 8Total: 15Negative School of Ed1) My advisor was hardly ever available to meet, even when we were

required to. The last time I met with her, she had the wrong person's folder


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out, and then proceeded to try and talk me out of taking the courses I was already in.. basically she had my year wrong and no understanding that despite taking 18 credits, the courses I was taking were required to be taken together..

2) * Most of the time, I knew more than my advisor. There were several times that I was told incorrect information and had to run around just to find out I had it right the first time around.

3) There have been a few advisors that have been amazing. These include many of those in the School of Education. However there are some advisors, mainly in Arts and Sciences that are a complete hassle to have answer an email let alone meet with. Eric Strickland is one of these people, he rarely if ever answers emails and is very difficult to meet with.

4) My advisor has made mistakes by having me sign up for classes that I should not be taking for my major. She also knew very little about applying to graduate school, which is the main path that students take in my major.

5) I think there should be less students per advisor6) My advisor left at the end of last semester and i still have not been

contacted by my new one7) * The advisors aren't helpful and the staff that work here on campus are

rude. I feel like they don't enjoy their job at all and are taking out their anger on students who need help.

Positive School of Education1) * The Music History advisors make it mandatory to meet individually

once every semester, I really like that. The Music Ed. advisors meet with all of the music ed students at once, there isn't enough time to talk to them individually.

2) My advisor has been great. Melissa Tobin HES in SOE3) I have had to deal with my advisors on several occasions, they are alright.

Melissa Tobin is great!4) * My experiences with my ETS and EDU advisors have been fantastic, but

my experience with the PSY department has been less than ideal. They are unorganized and generally unwelcoming.

5) My Advisor truly helped me adjusting my first semester. Her encouragement and suggestions, openness, availability and willingness to listen and simply help salvaged the beginning of my academic career.

6) * Marie Sarno in the school of Education is one of SU's greatest assets. All other advisers fall short to her. And the school of Ed. knows CAS requirements but I have yet to meet a single person in CAS who knows anything about the school of Education

7) I am very pleased!!


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8) Very easy to talk to, but sometimes won't give me the answer I need. Kind of talks around the topic sometimes.

Whitman School of ManagementNegative: 10Positive: 12Total: 23

Negative Comments for Whitman1.I'm displeased with the advising service at SU. It is confusing and rather unhelpful.2. Made me feel like I was going to fail and have to re-take a class because I was failing mid-semester. She didn't offer and support or options to help me out.3.Very minimal so far but I'm only a 64. Haven't utilized the general advisors much5. My adviser knows what he is talking about, but is often busy and has little availability.6. Advisers were often unavailable or not knowledgeable on requirements for certain majors.7. My adviser didn’t know anything about any of the other schools, so for my minor he was of no help. He also was confusing how he explained graduating credits and the hours I needed. 8. No dual advisers9. My advisor knows what a typical 7, 6 etc should take, but isn't good at suggesting alternatives if you already have credit for one.10. It is frustrating when advisors do not give you all of the information you need to know when approached. For example,I asked my advisor if I should attempt to get into a class even though it was "full" and she said that it wasn't possible. I went to the professor and talked to him, he ended up letting me in the class. I would have been less angry if my advisor said it was highly unlikely instead of not possible because other students could be at a disadvantage by not knowing the information that I knew.

Positive Comments for Whitman1. At Whitman, you have a advisor whose job it is to advise rather than a professor who also advises. I liked this because they knew the requirements in and out and were great about helping me figure out when I would take which classes. You receive an academic advisor once you declare a major2. In my experience, advisers are willing to help students and are a good source of information concerning class options.


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3. Luckily my advisor is very approachable and easy to talk to. She's very active which may result in rescheduled appointments but when we do meet its very productive.4. I am a dual major and my advisor in my home school and my advisor in my secondary school never really seem to have a grasp as to what is really going on or how to proceed next. Both amazing people and great professors, just not great advisors5. Very helpful when needed6. I am in Whitman, and our academic advisors are very good.7. My advisor is excellent but she takes a while to respond to my emails8. I am a dual major with Sport Management with Finance and had two separate advisors: one for Sport Management and one for Whitman. They are both terrific in helping me coordinate completion of my two majors. 9. Good10. My advisor is very knowledgeable about what i need to do11. They really helped when going abroad12. I’ve only met with my adviser once, and he seemed to know what he was doing and steered me in the right direction.

LC Smith College of Engineering and Computer ScienceNegative:13Positive: 9Total: 24

LC Smith Negative Comments

1. I need more advising on internships.2. Faculty advising assigned 6 year was awful. He would literally ignore my

emails.3. The advisers are not the most talkative people, they just want to schedule

your class and move on.4. Very minimum and not useful. The advisor is very knowledgeable

academic wise, but not when it comes to advising. 5. One Advisor, Kishan in the EECS department of engineering made me

feel terrible (as if I wasn't going to ever amount to anything) about my grades even though I was on the deans list. Other students know have switched advisors once they met with him. Even though my voice is being "heard" I know that his tenure out weighs my opinion so for what it's worth that's my comment.

6. I originally had Dr. Costello Staniec as an advisor, but then when she was promoted, she was removed as my advisor without my knowing at the


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beginning of my 8 year. I was not able to have influence on who my new advisor was and I was stuck with an advisor who I don't really like. However, I can't change it because it's my 8 year and it would be too much switch.

7. horrible advising experience, my 6 advisor was very helpful for a year. then my major advisor met with me once for 6 minutes went on leave and now i have an advisor that has no idea who i am and never responds to my emails and is never in his office

8. Completely Bureaucratic, no concern for my academic well-being.9. Advisors ought to be chosen by students.10. In the school of arts and science my experiences have been horrible.

Everyone seems to be a number and no one seems to be knowledgeable. Once my majors were decided on, things improved.

11. Student in LC Smith Engineering The advisors provided for 6 year were absolutely worthless and immensely aggravating. First off there was absolutely no actual helpful advising concerning engineering since non of the advisors have any background in engineering. I am paying to attend this school for engineering so I would of liked to of talked to someone who knows something about engineering and could recommend future courses for my individual interests. The most my "advisor" ever did was sign my advising form, I looked up and found classes on my own. It really would of helped me to take the right classes for my minor right of the bat, not having to wait till 7 year before I was actually advised by an true engineering professor.

12. Isn’t truly helpful13. I feel like I was talking to a computer, no feelings, no advice, no sight on

my future. Completely un-impressed and dissatisfied. I even tried switching my adviser but to no avail.

LC Smith Positive Comments1. It’s like being assisted by someone who has faith that I can be all I can

be.2. 6 year I had a pretty bad advisor who didn't acknowledge me this year,

so I switched to someone who I had emailed before and she is the best!3. Carranti is a fabulous advisor.4. Well in my first couple years it was great but now that I’m in a

different school my advisor is great.5. Within the electrical engineering department, the advisors are very

knowledgeable about what we need to do in order to be successful in our desired engineering field. The only fault of this is that some have


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a tendency to tell you what to do instead of listening to your specific wants as far as your future career.

6. My advisor is very knowledgeable about what i need to do7. Scott Freeney was amazing in my 6 year. Still waiting for my new

adviser.8. I can only speak for the Civic Engineering Department, but it is gret! 9. Solid


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