MSU advisers are doing more to accommodate and inform students and as a result, students’ perceptions have improved, a recent study said.
Lee June, vice president for Student Affairs and Services, said the 2001 Survey on Undergraduate Academic Advising, officially released about two weeks ago, is a repeat of a 1998 survey.
Results from the survey showed 81.1 percent of students rated the overall quality of MSU advising as excellent or good, up from 76.6 percent reported in the 1998 survey.
“We’re encouraged,” June said. “Our next steps are to go to colleges to talk to them specifically about their college and their results. The goal here is to try to have continuous quality improvements in the advising system.”
June said he was not surprised by the survey’s results because he has been meeting with advisers over the past three years to discuss the results of the 1998 survey and ways to improve the advising quality.
The survey was conducted through telephone interviews of 1,265 random MSU undergraduate students. The Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at MSU created the questions and carried out the interviews, which were completed in May.
Larry Hembroff, survey director of the Office for Survey Research at the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, said the higher usage of e-mail has been beneficial for students and advisers because it allows them to contact each other faster.
“MSU is very interested in trying to find out whether or not any attempts of improving the advising have been effective, and they have,” he said.
Advertising junior Lauren Kinsey said she’s had positive experiences with her adviser, who has sent e-mail about events in the department and internship opportunities.
“I found that she would give me a lot of insight on what to take next year and basically what I should expect from each course,” she said.
Sally Grady, an academic adviser in the Department of Psychology, said interaction with students is the best part of her job.
“Some positive reinforcement of any kind is always wonderful,” she said. “That puts a smile on your face.”
And Grady said advisers in her department and throughout MSU will continue to find more ways to help students.
“I think we’re trying very hard to spend some more time delving into career planning issues,” she said. “This is definitely something in this day and age that students are looking at and is an important aspect of their education.”
Staff writer Leslie Escobar contributed to this report.
