Incoming freshmen are required to go to mandatory advising in their first semester. This program was set up by the Academic Advising Center to help freshmen students transition from high school to college.
"Our probation rates have quite significantly gone done," Marilee Samuelson, director of Academic Advising Center, said. "It helps them understand the system."
Freshmen students often make the mistake of taking to many units the first semester, Samuelson said. The required advising in their first semester allows them a better feel of the college and receives advice from those that understand the bureaucracy.
The Academic Advising Center, which also handles advising for the general population, explains the academic process to the new students such as general education requirements and goes over the checklist for graduation, Samuelson said.
"We don't want the students to waste their time here," Samuelson said.
"If the student's degree is 124 units, we want them to receive 124 units and graduate," Samuelson said. "Many students who don't get advising, later, end up with a lot more than 124 units."
Of course, since it is a mandatory program, students, who do not go to advising in their first semester, will have a hold placed on their registration for the following semester until they have it lifted by the Academic Advising Center, according to Samuelson.
This system seems to be working. Last year, the department saw approximately 1500 freshmen students come in for advising, Samuelson added.
This increase in students has created the center as one of the busiest on campus, Samuelson said.
"We have 36,000 student contacts here in this office in a year," says Samuelson.
To handle these numbers, last year, the department started taking appointments.
"Before, we would have so many students come in and wait to see an advisor and sometimes, we never got to see them," continued Samuelson.
"Now, we take appointments two weeks in advance, and we are always booked up for the two weeks," she said.
And for the mandatory freshmen advising, the center has set up workshops in the month of October and November. The workshops are held several times a day and are set up in the center and residence halls. Those students are required to call the center and sign up.