Editorial: Give more advice for advising

As of March 9, with the deadline just two weeks away, 55 percent of the class of 2012 had not yet declared a major.

Declaring a major can be significantly stressful, even for those who already know what they plan to study. One of the most confusing aspects of declaring a major can be choosing a faculty advisor. Some students are fortunate enough to meet a compatible professor early in their college career, but not everyone can be so lucky.

There is a wealth of information available to help students select a major, but very little on how to go about selecting an advisor. The Office of Academic Advising recommends contacting the department chairman or chairwoman for guidance, which is a useful option, but students could benefit from more widely available information.

There are a lot of questions to ask when selecting an advisor, and the concerns tend to vary for each student. Do you want an advisor with a more hands-on approach who will be a constant reminder of class schedules and graduate school applications? Or do you want an advisor who will give you breathing room, and will stay out of the way unless pressed for guidance? Beyond personal compatibility, specialization is a factor, particularly for students in departments such as studio arts or biology, which ask for a specific area of concentration upon declaration. Those students may find themselves grappling with the question of whether their bond with one professor outweighs the value of another professor's expertise in a particular area of interest.

There is always the option to change advisors, or even majors, after declaring, but neither is a particularly appealing solution. With that in mind, the student body deserves more guidance for finding advisors.

The problem does not require any sort of drastic remedy; for many students the process is quick and painless, so this clearly is not an issue demanding massive overhaul. The simple solution, which could benefit everyone, not just those who think they need it, is for departments to offer a way for students to become familiar with the faculty. A meeting, once a semester perhaps, for interested students, where the various faculty members could introduce themselves, could help guide students tremendously.

Not only could it help students find appropriate advisors, but it would also be a wonderful way for others to discover who they would like to take classes with in the future. What is a better way to learn about a professor: reading poorly written reviews from unknown sources on ratemyprofessors.com, or actually meeting a professor and hearing him or her talk, even if just for a few minutes?

Obviously, no solution is perfect; professors must also use their discretion when taking on advisees, and not having had previous experience with a student makes it harder to make an informed decision. That being said, there ought to be more dialogue between departments and students, and such meetings would at least help to improve things. Advisor-student relationships should be mutually beneficial so that, in turn, the results could benefit the entire school.