By Eric Poe/sports editor
Many students see their academic advisors only when they schedule classes. If they schedule online, they may not see an advisor at all.
Randy Saleh, a NE advisor, knows this.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “Students just don’t come in enough.”
And some students recognize this lack of attention to advisement as a problem.
“I know for a fact that I don’t see an advisor enough as I should,” said TR student Phillip Anderson. “I don’t know much about the academic aspect of school besides going to class, so I could probably use their help.”
Advisors are experienced and equipped to help students academically.
“I went in to the advisement office this last spring semester,” said NW student Matt Johnson.
“They helped me a lot with my degree plan since I didn’t really know what I was doing.”
Many students also wait too long to see an advisor.
“It’s frustrating when a student comes in looking to transfer after being at TCC for four or five semesters and have taken only classes they wanted to take,” Saleh said. “Then we take a look at their degree plan, and they have overloaded on electives and haven’t taken any classes that deal with their major.”
This is counterproductive to students’ needs on a few levels, he said.
“For example, a student comes in and wants to be an engineering major. We look at the classes they have taken, and they haven’t taken a single math or science,” Saleh said. “Then students will be stuck with a math- and science-heavy workload the next semester.”
Students also could be charged more per course if they take too many credit hours to complete their degrees.
The state government has a 30-hour rule. If students go 30 hours over their allotted 126 hours to get a bachelor’s degree, then the state stops paying for schooling.
After students go over 156 hours, they can then be charged out-of-state tuition at their schools.
“This rule includes withdrawals and failures as well,” Saleh said. “This rule is a reason why students need to visit with their advisors because they could save a lot of money.”
D.E. Staats, NW academic advisor, explained the things he and his fellow staff members do to reach out to students.
“We have a test called MyPlan that gives students ideas about careers that they maybe haven’t thought of,” he said. “After the test, the students can sit with advisors and see what it takes to make it in the profession they like because everybody wants to do a job they like.”
For students with learning disabilities, Staats said he implores them to get involved with the campus’ disability support services.
“We have the students take their developmental classes as they are not optional,” he said. “We then help those students with changing the way they take tests, and we look into having their notes taken for them.”
NW and other campuses also have workshops all semester long for all students, which some teachers incorporate into their classes as extra credit opportunities, Staats said.
“The main thing that we do is impress upon the students the importance of getting a degree as more and more jobs require them,” he said. “Many students don’t want to be in school, but a major role of counseling is convincing and showing them that it can be done.”
Each campus has an advisement office available from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday.
Advisement is available by appointment or on a walk-in basis.
