New program to improve academic advising

The heavy load of freshmen on academic advisers in the University College is growing. The number of freshmen enrolled in 2008 increased by more than half in the past 10 years, according to the VCU Center for Institutional Effectiveness.

“They can have anywhere from 300 to 400 people to advise in a semester,” said Stephanie Lynch, the Student Government Association’s chair of academic affairs. “That’s just crazy.”

To alleviate some of the burden on academic advisers, the SGA and University College designed the Student Peer Mentor program to be enacted for the spring and fall 2009 semesters.

The program mentors freshmen enrolled in UNIV 102, a course designed for first-year students on academic probation. Twenty-five upperclassmen will be enrolled in UNIV 391, a course designed for the mentors, where they will undergo extensive training before they begin their advising work with the freshmen.

“The mentors not only give them advice on their curriculum, they also act as a mentor for good study skills, resources around the campus, and a variety of different things that a typical advisor doesn’t really do,” Lynch said.

The idea for the program began two years ago, Lynch says, because of widespread student complaint that the University College advising for freshmen was inadequate.

“(The advising) didn’t seem very one-on-one,” said Tiffany Cardoza, an undeclared freshman. “It seemed like he memorized my facts for like two minutes and then just didn’t care about me anymore.”

Students not only complain about the lack of intimacy or involvement with their advisers, many also report long waits and delays.

“Once, I had an (advising) appointment as a freshman and they were really busy,” said Christian Halley, a junior majoring in political science. “We were all waiting a really long time, so (my adviser) had a group advising session with me and two other people at the same time.”

The Student Peer Mentor Program only targets first-year students on academic probation, so the degree and scope of improvement will be limited.

“You have to start small,” Lynch said. “We figured that this was a population that needed the most help immediately.”

Though the mentor program will not change the academic advising system for the large majority of students, Lynch said she hoped the program would be a catalyst for more far-reaching improvements.

“Maybe if we can get this peer mentoring program in place, something similar to it for upper level classmen can be in place,” Lynch said. “I think it’s extremely valuable if you can get with another student who fulfills that other role of advising, not just the clerical stuff.”