Weekly Advising Block Approved, StuCo Hesitant

After weeks of discussion, 112 faculty members voted Monday to approve a proposal for a weekly Wednesday advising block, a 30-minute required appointment for advisors and advisees to meet. Twenty-three faculty members voted to oppose the proposal. The revised Wednesday schedule, which will include the new advising block, will likely take effect at the beginning of winter term.The Advising Committee, composed of eight faculty members and chaired by religion instructor Russell Weatherspoon, drafted the proposal after considering student and faculty opinions. Student Council had previously voted on the issue and was in support of a biweekly meeting. The committee discussed Student Council’s vote as well as the students’ explanation of why a weekly meeting was unnecessary, but eventually decided to support the weekly meeting.“The Student Council[’s] considerations were folded into our general discussion,” Weatherspoon said. “Two colleagues called their suggestions ‘wise.’”“Advising has always been a central part of our support system for students, but it can be challenging to find time to connect students and advisers,” Principal Tom Hassan said. “During the discussions over the past weeks, faculty and students alike reference the importance of more time together and the need to schedule that into the calendar to ensure it is a top priority.”Some faculty cited regularity as an important benefit of the weekly meeting and as a reason that the committee’s proposal was different from Student Council’s.History instructor Kent McConnell was puzzled by the disconnect between the faculty decision and the Student Council statement.“That’s why I voted against this initial proposal, because I took very seriously the Student Council representatives’ request to meet every other week,” McConnell said. “Frankly, I think you see your advisor often enough in the dorm, and often those times are better for bonding than meeting on a weekly basis.”Faculty are still discussing the particular structure of the new Wednesday schedule and will vote at Monday’s meeting to finalize it. There are two options on the table for the schedule, the first placing the half-hour advising block before Meditation, the second placing it after the long-standing school gathering. Both options will extend the school day from 12:30 to 12:50 p.m.The members of the Advising Committee believe that this new block will emphasize the importance of the advising system and the advisor/advisee relationship.“I feel that as a school we must have a dedicated time for something as important as getting to know our students and advising them on academic and other matters,” Viviana Santos, modern language instructor and committee member, said. “I feel that without a time for advising in our schedule, we send the message that this is not an important part of our job, of our responsibility to students.”Principal Tom Hassan mentioned the significance of the advising system and how it is often underutilized because of scheduling difficulties.Many think that this block will help ease the difficulties of scheduling meetings between advisors and advisees.“Dedicating a time for advising will provide me with a time when I know I can connect with my advisees,” AJ Cosgrove, dean of residential life and committee member, said. “Currently, because I have five Wentworth advisees and five day student advisees, it is very difficult to connect with all of them on a weekly basis.”Weatherspoon said that this logistical benefit may have been the reason that the proposal was overwhelmingly supported.“I can only guess, but I suppose [faculty] may have wanted to stop trying to match their schedules with their advisees,” Weatherspoon said.As reflected in the Student Council vote, some students are opposed to the weekly advising block. The preference that some had, like Student Council, was a biweekly meeting, while others, like senior Vahid Fazel-Rezai, said that making the block optional would make it more helpful for students.“My opinion is that such a block, if implemented, should be optional because it is only beneficial for some people’s situations,” Fazel-Rezai said. “I think faculty disagree with students because faculty focus on its benefits, while students think about how that time commitment will make their schedules more difficult.”Lower Joe Bartkovich thinks that in light of the student/faculty disconnect, more thought could be put into the nature of the advisor/advisee relationship.“It certainly says something that the advisers want to meet with their students more, but the students feel differently about it,” Bartkovich said. “I think there's a fatal flaw somewhere in there, and we may want to re-examine the advisor/advisee relationship.”