The Other Side of the Coin

Every year, the Office of Academic Advising distributes surveys to each student who enters our office. The purpose of these surveys is simple: ensure that we are providing our students with accurate information and that they are being well served by their advisors.

My bosses use a marketing centered approach to all of this stuff (surveys to judge student reactions, focus groups to gage response to new programs, numbers driven incentives) because we are, for all intents and purposes, in a service industry. As an advisor, I provide a service to my students. I wouldn't do this job if I didn't clearly understand that fact and if I didn't enjoy providing that service.

Unfortunately, that is not the prevailing attitude in my department (or in all of the departments across the university). I could very easily point a finger (likely the middle one) at several departments with sticks permanently planted in orifices where they were never intended to go, but we need to address the bigger problem. We are currently residing in a consumer driven environment. You, as students, are paying for your education, so you are entitled to the best service possible. Yes, there are times when your parents (who are probably paying for a portion of the aforementioned education) will step forward and demand that service on your behalf. But ask yourself who benefits?

Your parents have already completed their educations. You are the one who will be earning this degree, you are the one who sits in the classes and earns the grades. It is absolutely vital that you take ownership of your education NOW.

The first step is filling out surveys like the one my office distributes. If you don't tell us how we're doing, we can't make improvements. I know that filling out surveys is a giant pain in the ass. I usually fill out surveys in only two circumstances: 1) if I received great service or, 2) the worst service known to mankind. Use things like surveys to make yourself heard...don't just assume that someone else is going to do it!

The next step is, well, raising hell. If you're told something that doesn't seem right or you feel as if you're being disrespected, tell someone! Go to that person's supervisor and explain what happened. Be polite as possible but make sure that you make yourself heard. You all know that I am a huge fan of "covering one's ass". Well, this is a perfect example. If you have documentation or, better yet, witnesses, bring them to your meeting. No one should be allowed to get away with treating you badly! Most departments will make adjustments to keep you happy (my office will switch your advisor if you are seriously dissatisfied).

When you do find someone who knows what they're talking about, don't let go! I have a select few people that I constantly call when I need help, because I know that they're going to go out of their way to assist my students (one of whom has moved to our remote campus--he STILL answers all of my students questions whenever I ask!)

While all of the above is completely true, you still need to be reasonable. We all have bad days and sometimes allowances have to be made. Every department here at VCU is required to have training in customer service (important tenents include: not ignoring students while making personal phone calls, answering phones clearly and with a smile, asking if you can put someone on hold, returning e-mails and phone calls promptly, etc.) If these things don't get done, try politeness first. If that doesn't work, then you're clear to get cranky. I find it absolutely unacceptable for people to ignore students while they hold personal conversations, but that's one of my pet peeves. A lot of the other things are basic manners and I try to remember that not everyone was raised the same way I was and cut them some slack.

Sometimes there are good reasons for the things we do...here are some examples of survey responses:
1). "My advisor had so many students under her that despite all the times she told us she knew our names, she called me by a completely different name than mine every time she spoke with me." Ok, I hope it helps this student to know that the advisor in question still hasn't managed to learn my name after knowing me for four years. We do have a lot of students (150-200 students per advisor) but that doesn't mean we shouldn't make an effort to know you. What helps is if we actually SEE you on a regular basis!

2). "My current advisor is amazing and extremely helpful. During Summer orientation, however, the advisor told me that UNIV 101 was required and that's definitely not true. I ended up taking it and didn't benefit much from it." I am really glad that this student likes their current advisor, but clearly we're all worried about that second sentence. Students are being randomly assigned into classes...being lied to by advisors? No. Some students were required to take the UNIV 101 class (which, if this student is listening, was just as much of a pain to teach as it was to sit in). The problem is that this requirement was apparently not communicated clearly to the student. Summer Orientation is, for lack of a better phrase, a giant clusterfuck. New students and shuffled from location to location and are given so much new information that it is virtually impossible for them to remember everything. Some advisors rushed through the explanation process. On behalf of all of us...our bad.

3). "The classes I was told to take at the beginning of the fall semester were incorrect." Ahh. This is the kind of comment that my boss absolutely hates reading. It means that we're giving students incorrect information...and incorrect information is the mortal enemy (the Darth Vader, if you will) of the academic advisor. Here's the thing. We try really hard to stay on top of all of the curriculum changes (and there are a LOT), but we're going to make mistakes. A good advisor will admit to making a mistake and will do what they can to correct it, not leave the student to bear all of the responsibility alone.

4). "Not helpful at all. Does not respond to e-mails even when it is labeled as urgent." Oh dear. I don't want to discriminate here, but this one can be tied directly to the age of the advisor. Some of our "older" advisors are not as comfortable with the advances in technology as they probably should be (my office has just started an initiative to get all of our advisors on Facebook...the howls of terror that could be heard from some of the advisors were rather humorous). So, to be fair, most of these advisors wouldn't even recognize that you've flagged an e-mail as "urgent."