The College and the Student Assembly revamped their advising systems this year to better connect with members of the Class of 2009 who are exploring academics at Dartmouth for the first time this fall.
Both students and faculty had criticized the College's old faculty advising system. In response, Cecilia Gaposchkin, assistant dean of the faculty for pre-major advising, led an effort to revise the system in hopes of better communication between faculty and students this year.
Gaposchkin broke down this year's pre-advising information sessions into small groups of 14 to 35 students, which were held in residence halls, she said. These sessions were previously held in groups of approximately 100 students in Dartmouth Hall. This new system incorporated more faculty members and included undergraduate advisors.
This change, Gaposchkin said, was not only aimed to spread basic information about course requirements and credits but also to allow faculty members to really talk to students.
"I wanted them to share that passion for the life of the academic enterprise that we, the faculty, all share," Gaposchkin said.
Students, however, had mixed feelings about the sessions. Shruthi Rereddy '09 said she found the session useful.
"They gave us a lot of information about the way the school worked in terms of schedules and how to read the ORC," Rereddy said.
Others disagreed.
"I think most of the things we went over had already been answered," Liz Doolittle '09.
When revising the advising program, administrators worked to improve the relationship between advisors and advisees, Gaposchkin said.
"One of the things faculty have said in the past to me is that they would meet with students, and they couldn't get a conversation going," she said. "Advisors would have SAT scores but not a sense of who the person is."
Gaposchkin said the advising changes have received positive feedback.
Before meeting with their advisors, students now fill out web-based questionnaires designed to get them thinking about course selection for their entire Dartmouth careers. Students also answer questions about their free time so that the advisor can get to know them better.
"We're paying attention to advising. The College, from very high up downwards, is very interested in doing what we can to get the system to work and be effective," Gaposchkin said.
The Student Assembly also made changes to its new Peer Academic Link program, now in its second year. Instead of one mandatory meeting, the program now holds three optional sessions per advising group. Under the new system, only about five first-year students meet with their peer advisors during any given session and assignments are random.
"I feel like the freshman were more receptive to it because it was more relaxed," peer advisor Liz Dietz '08 said.
Peer advisors also said the intimacy of the groups facilitated productivity.
"It was more tailored to the individual," Susan Matesanz '08 said. "Last year I felt like they kind of talked at you."
Still, some freshmen did not find their advising experiences to be gratifying.
"I just didn't click with my advisors," Winnie Lewis '09. "It could have been useful, but for me, it was kind of pointless."
