Advising by Consent

Faculty advisers for freshmen have been an institution here for years, but they have been notoriously difficult to recruit. Although we wondered why we weren't assigned someone from, say, the English Department, our freshman adviser, a first- year professor at Tuck School, was conscientious and friendly. He took us on the traditional picnic and drive through the countryside during the first week of school, invited us to his apartment for dinner half- way through the year, and whenever we went to his office for the required signature on some official form, he never failed to ask the right leading questions about how we were adjusting to college life. The relationship seemed awkward, however, maintained more out of duty than because of any affinity we had for each other. We never asked him for advice — although we could have benefited from some — while he had more in common with his graduate students in finance and was as new to Dartmouth as we were. He was probably relieved to see us enter the sophomore class.

The faculty has repeatedly affirmed the need for a freshman advising program, and has declared that academic advising is a faculty responsibility, but according to the report of a special committee last spring, "When it comes time for the faculty to volunteer its services ... it votes with its feet the other way." The report claimed that "the view of the average faculty member is that freshman advising ought to be done by members of the faculty other than himself."

We asked the freshman dean, Karen Blank, why her office has so much difficulty obtaining enough volunteers to achieve the desired one-to-eight ratio between advisers and students. There is no problem getting administrators to volunteer, she said, because many of them appreciate the opportunity for contact with undergraduates, while those officers who work in student services see advising as an extension of their jobs. She suggested, however, that many professors are reluctant because, in light of all the other demands on them, particularly expectations for committee work and publishing by junior faculty, freshman advising isn't perceived to be an activity that is rewarded. "It takes time," she added, "and frankly, some professors just don't find freshmen very interesting."

Last spring, after the faculty voted down a recommendation that would have made its participation in the program obligatory, the committee on advising revised the existing system in hopes of making it more attractive to volunteers. This year's program pairs 81 faculty and 60 administration advisers with undergraduate assistants, and takes into consideration requests for groups of freshmen with academic interests similar to those of an adviser. (Students in a group usually live in the same dorm, but the freshman office also tries to take other common ties into account.) All student meetings with advisers are voluntary (no signatures are required on course cards), and the social aspect of advising, although still encouraged, has been de-emphasized. An attempt has been made to reduce the tedium of advising on general college requirements and procedures by holding large informational meetings during freshman week, and faculty participation in freshman orientation has been pushed back to the end of the week.

The main duty of an adviser is academic counseling — helping a student plan a course of study that fits in with his or her needs, abilities, and interests, as well as with the College's requirements. Because it has been claimed that an organized advising system is unnecessary, we asked Dean Blank why she thinks the program is worthwhile. "It's important just pragmatically," she said. "With only three deans in this office, there's no way we can have much personal contact with each of over a thousand freshmen, and I think there's a need for a support system. Having a freshman office indicates the College's perception that freshmen do have some special problems and needs, but not every student feels comfortable coming in here. It's important to have knowledgeable, interested people to whom freshmen can turn. The whole idea of having or not having freshman advisers raises questions about what kind of community there is on campus, about what kind of place Dartmouth wants to be."