Students push for advising overhaul

By Kevin Cape
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

The student representation to the CSU Chancellor's office—the California State Student Association—passed a resolution in October calling for a CSU system-wide overhaul of academic advising.

According to the resolution, every CSU campus' student government agrees that CSU students are receiving too little academic advising too late.

Manolo Platin, chair of the CSSA board of directors said, "The common complaint is that students are saying they aren't getting enough, if any, advice when it comes to their degrees," a flaw that is leaving students with a bundle of useless units by the time they graduate.

These excess units (those exceeding the 120 to 140 necessary between general education and major units) are costing other students seats in classes they actually need.

"In [the state legislature's] mind, it's a waste," Platin said. "With the state's budget how it is, we need all the seats we can get."

Gov. Schwarzenegger's higher education compact and proposed budget outlined a plan to eliminate the excess units that made the CSSA board of directors "uncomfortable," spurring them to pass the resolution, Platin said.

Through Schwarzenegger's plan, students earning a total of units 10 percent or more over their necessary amount to graduate would be charged the equivalent of out-of-state tuition to compensate for the wasted seats.

The plan would have a more significant impact on lower income students, Platin said, adding that the CSU system is all about accessibility.

The resolution calls for the CSU to conduct a campus-by-campus assessment of academic advising, an initiative that Platin says will be primarily spearheaded by the Associated Students, Inc. president for each campus.

No assessment has yet been planned or executed at CSULB, though ASI President Mike Johnson said he plans to include the assessment on the next agenda for the Advisory Committee on Campus Enrollment, an Academic Senate sub-committee that handles enrollment, retention and graduation issues.

"If I think more needs to be done then I'll look into it," Johnson said. "In light of the resolution, it is something I would like to look into."

Johnson said he feels the administration here is doing well already. "We are one of the shining examples when it comes to enrollment management, and it shows in our recent jump in graduation rates," he said.

Last year's graduation rate was 46.2 percent, up from 41.6 percent the year before, according to Van Novack, CSULB's director of institutional research.

The task of academic advising at CSULB is a daunting one, shouldered by a GE advising center that, due to budget limitations, currently advises the 35,000 students on campus with a support staff of just under five full-time advisors.

"Every morning is like a military muster," said Marilee Samuelson, who heads the Academic Advising Center. "Everyone sits down and maps out what we're going to have to do for the day."

Samuelson's ideal staff would be 10 workers strong, a dynamic that she says could more than double her center's student advising turnaround—a turnaround that would be more than welcomed by students.

Jenna Keller, an interior architecture freshman, said she spent almost half an hour on hold waiting for a one-word answer.

"[The center] has been halfway between slamming the door in my face and really trying to help," she said. "They seem understaffed, and they're not very available."

Fred Axelrod, a senior marketing transfer from San Diego State University, was having trouble getting his SDSU GE units to transfer, so he tried to get five minutes with a counselor.

"They told me I had to wait two months for a five minute deal, and to show up at 7 a.m. to make an appointment," Axelrod said. "But that's just not feasible for me."
Axelrod got an appointment for the following Monday shortly after he was interviewed.

Despite being understaffed, the department is continually developing new pilot plans to test effectiveness and will eventually turn those pilots into permanent programs.

One of the center's most recent successes came last summer with a pilot called "Graduation Green Light." According to Samuelson, the project tracked down students who failed to graduate for various reasons and notified them of the final few steps necessary for them to receive their degrees.

The program graduated about 100 students last year that otherwise would still be without a degree, and will be implemented as a permanent project in April of next year.

A new pilot is currently in the works, preliminarily dubbed "Graduation Green Light ‘Lite.'"

The updated version of the program aims to improve the connection between students and faculty as a means to educate students on how to graduate before they find themselves one class short in May, Samuelson said.

According to Samuelson, the center is currently isolating the testing of the pilot within a single department that has yet to be announced. The pilot plans to stimulate student-faculty relationships by inviting students to department-sponsored events.