Sean McMinn
smcminn@mustangdaily.net
Though the Student Success Fee-funded Academic Success Center is still in progress, some advisers on campus are already concerned about how a centralized center could impact individual colleges.
Under the current system, each college is responsible for providing academic advising to its own students. But with the new Academic Success Center, discussions are leaning toward at least some advising being offered in a central location — most likely at the Science building, in the heart of campus — in addition to tutoring and other services.
Initial reports on the center’s progress indicate it would serve mostly as a resource for freshmen and sophomores, while upper-division advising would still be at the college level.
Some advisers say it is concerning that students could receive a one-size-fits-all approach to their advising needs, instead of going directly to college and faculty advisers who understand the nuances in different departments.
“The role of faculty can’t change,” Cynthia Moyer said, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences advising director. “There’s a point in students’ career where they’re trying to move forward, and faculty play a very valuable role in making career decisions.”
The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences was the last to establish a full-time advising center three years ago, and still heavily relies on faculty working with students to meet their advising needs. On the spectrum of different advising models, it falls furthest toward a reliance on faculty. The Orfalea College of Business, in contrast, has the least faculty involvement in advising. It instead relies on peer mentoring.
This variation between different colleges’ advising is an old tradition at Cal Poly, said Shannon Stephens, who will manage the Academic Success Center. Most colleges use a blend between faculty and full-time advisers, while some such as the Orfalea College of Business have an advising center mostly staffed by students.
Four of the six college advising directors said they use their approach because they believe it works best for their college. They said they want to keep their approach at the college level, regardless of how the Academic Success Center centralizes some academic resources.
Directors in the College of Engineering and College of Science and Math declined to be interviewed.
But the Academic Success Center won’t touch curriculum advising, said Stephens, Cal Poly’s current assistant athletic director for academics. Stephens, who will move offices into the center and serve as its coordinator once it opens, said his staff would refer students who need help with class selection to their college advisers.
“In order for us to be successful, I have to have a lot of connections with people across campus,” Stephens said. “I don’t know every single person on campus, but I know how to get the info to get the student there in a timely fashion.”
Along with curriculum nuances, some advisers are concerned that between faculty and college advising, the addition of the Academic Success Center would confuse students more than it would help them.
Associated Students, Inc. President Katie Morrow dismissed this criticism, calling the Academic Success Center a “common foundation” from which students could begin to find an adviser. She said she has spoken to several students who had never used advising services at Cal Poly because they didn’t know where to start.
“I think it enhances (current advising); anyone can still, if they choose, go to the faculty adviser,” Morrow said. “It’s really just giving everyone a common foundation from where to start their advising.”
Stephens echoed Morrow, saying the center will be a starting point for students who need help “navigating” the university. But College of Science and Math advising director Kristi Weddige wrote in an email that she thinks the center could limit the interaction students have with their college advisers, since they will be more reliant on the Academic Success Center during their first two years at Cal Poly.
“Honestly, I do have some initial concerns about transparency for students,” Weddige wrote. “My hope is that freshmen and sophomores who first see someone in the Academic Success Center will be directed to make a meaningful connection early on with college and faculty advisors (sic) so that we can meet with them regarding their educational plan and discuss with them how to best maximize their educational experience all four years.
“There is some fear for me that some students will not come to see us until their junior years and this could be detrimental to their college success.”
College of Liberal Arts Associate Dean Penny Bennett developed a proposal of how a student could move through the different stages of advising during their time at Cal Poly. Many services needed by a freshman or sophomore — orientation, PolyLearn and academic probation, for example — would fall under the Academic Success Center in Bennett’s plan. Colleges would manage more specific programs, such as PASS parties in the residence halls or curriculum advising.
“At some point, the Academic Success Center could hand off students to college advising centers,” Bennett said. “But nobody knows where that’s going to be. That’s the gray area.”
Each of the colleges’ advising directors serve on an executive committee to plan and implement advising initiatives across the university, including the Academic Success Center.
The committee lacked a leader since former Associate Vice Provost for Advising Carter Hammett-McGarry left one year ago.
The vacancy challenged the group this past year, Bennett said, but it was able to develop a mission statement for the center and list of services it will provide. The center received $220,000 in Student Success Fee money during that time, according to the budget for this year’s fee.
The center will receive $539,220 in additional Student Success Fee money this upcoming academic year.
Cal Poly recently hired a new associate vice provost to begin in June, which Orfalea College of Business advising director Amy Carter said would help the group move forward.
“It will be amazing to have someone look at the big picture, look at the data,” Carter said.
Stephens said he is “optimistic” the center will open in Winter 2014, but noted it will depend how long it takes to renovate the Science building after current faculty move into the nearly completed Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics.
Editor’s Note: A correction was made to clarify comments from College of Liberal Arts Associate Dean Penny Bennett. She did not say there has been little progress made on the center, but instead said it has been more difficult to meet without an associate vice provost for advising. She also did not say the center received $220,000 in Student Success Fee money this past year. We apologize for any confusion, and encourage readers to contact md@mustangdaily.net if they have further concerns.