Academic advising essential to meet educational goals
By Ted Fuller
Of the Kmerald
Greeted hv bulletin boards
filled with flyers and
bookshelves crammed with
pamphlets and booklets,
students can’t help but feel
they've found the place with an
answer for every question when
they walk into the Office of
Academic Advising and Stu
dent Services in 104 Oregon
Mall.
With a staff of 35 counselors,
graduate fellows, paraprofes
sionals and peer advisers, the
office is ready to tackle any pro
blems new or returning
students might face.
Open for appointments and
drop-in visits Monday through
Friday from 10 a m. to 5 p.m.,
the office advertises it can help
students decipher general
University requirements, select
a major, file scholastic review
petitions, or even contact
students in case of emergency.
The office s main goal is to
help students complete their
University education “That's
what it’s all about,” said loe
Wade, director of Academic Ad
vising and Student Services.
“Much of what we do is
focused on retaining students in
the University," Wade said. "In
the process we help them clarify
their academic interests."
To this end, Wade said the of
fice will coordinate 15 freshman
interest groups (FIGS) made up
of 20 to 25 first-year students
The groups are set up on the
basis of academic and major in
terests. with students in each
group taking at least three
selected courses together dur
mg tall term
Wade said FIGS serve two
purposes in that they help
freshmen select interesting
courses that fulfill requirements
and help the students make
friends during their first term at
the University.
"FIGS are for students who
want to study in a community
type situation," Wade said
Besides taking classes together,
students are invited to
workshops to improve their
study habits and are encouraged
to study and socialize together.
lack Bennett, who coor
dinates the FIGS program, said
most of the groups filled up dur
ing the Early Orientation pro
grams in late July. That's part of
the reason he wants to increase
the number of groups in the
future.
"FIGS work very nicely as a
model in freshman education."
Bennett said. The University of
Washington and Eastern
Washington University are in
the process of starting similar
programs based on the Oregon
model, he said.
In its fifth year, the program
offers 15 study groups that
focus on topics ranging from
pre-health sciences and prelaw
to business, journalism and
general liberal arts studies
The program started in 1982
as an experiment with students
who had not declared majors,
and Bennett is hoping to have
:t0 to 50 FIGS during fall term of
1988. He also hopes to add a
one-credit seminar course to the
program that would introduce
students to the University and
include workshops on study
techniques and using resources
available at the University.
"The syllabus is written for
the seminar," Bennett said.
"All we need is the funding."
Bennett said the FIGS help
keep students enrolled in the
University. "There's a signifi
cant improvement in retention"
of students who participate in
FIGS, he said. He added
freshmen who join FIGS are
usually more anxious about
coming to the University and
are worried about how they'll fit
in.
Students involved in FIGS
take at least one small class
together so they can get to know
each other. Bonnet said. In ad
dition. the groups meet every
two weeks for study sessions
and workshops.
The small classes are usually
writing courses. Bennett said,
and offer an additional advan
tage to the program. He said
some freshman composition
teachers get together with
teachers in the large lecture-hall
classes and make writing
assignments that tie-in with the
other classes an interest group
is enrolled in.
While the Office of Academic
Advising is interested in help
ing freshmen make a strong
start at the University. Wade
also had advice for returning
students. "It’s very important
for students to take advantage of
advising,” Wade said. He en
couraged returning students to
pick up individual progress
reports and unofficial
transcripts from their major
departments and make advising
appointments with their faculty
advisers.
Students who haven't
declared a major can go to the
Office of Academic Advising for
help. Some 35 faculty members
from the College of Arts and
Sciences am also available to
help undeclared students.
Wade said help is also
available from the 2J depart
ments and schools on campus
that offer peer advising, with
specially trained students
available to answer questions
about specific courses and re
quirements within the depart
ment as well as general Univer
sity requirements.
Despite all the help available.
Wade said it's still up to
students to take charge of their
education “Students are
basically responsible for the re
quirements as they existed upon
their entrance to the Universi
ty." he said. Consulting with
advisers to go over progress
reports and course plans is a
good way to stay on the right
track, he said.
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