A new committee, at the request of Dean of the Faculty Ed Berger and Dean of the College James Larimore, has been formed to review the current systems of first-year and pre-major advising and the accessibility of research opportunities for undergraduates.
Religion Professor Susan Ackerman '80 will chair the new committee and Dean of First Year Students Gail Zimmerman will serve as vice-chair. Five students will also serve on the committee.
In interviews with The Dartmouth, Ackerman and Zimmerman said that the committee was formed because students, as well as faculty and administration, have expressed dissatisfaction with the current system for advising freshmen.
The Student Assembly Committee on Academic Advising issued a report in the fall of 1999 that stated that many students were unhappy with the advising they received early in their Dartmouth careers.
Many students told the Assembly Committee that they were initially assigned to advisers who did not share their academic interests and who knew little about courses outside of their own departments.
Sixty-one percent of the 245 students surveyed by Assembly said that they did not receive adequate advice before making their initial course selections as freshmen.
Ackerman said that the committee is prepared to examine how advisers are chosen and paired with students, the role of peer advisers and administrators within the advising system, and how technology can be used to facilitate advising.
The committee plans to release its report next September, according to Ackerman and Zimmerman.
Administrators will then review the committee's findings and decide how to implement proposed changes.
While Zimmerman said that the committee does not plan to survey students systematically regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the current system, both she and Ackerman said that input from students not serving on the committee will be welcomed.
Ackerman said that students are welcome to share their opinions on the advising system with her via BlitzMail.
