It’s the beginning of November. Time to start picking out classes for next semester.

Everyone at Quinnipiac is required to make an appointment with their designated advisor. Quite possibly, this could be the first time you catch a glimpse of your advisor all year.

I have seen my advisor a total of three times since stepping foot onto campus my freshman year. I am only a sophomore, but in my eyes, an advisor should be someone who is available if you have any questions.

The advisor isn’t the only one at fault. I have not exactly been seeking out my advisor to go and chat. I think if the advisor-student relationship was a stronger one, many students would feel much more comfortable asking them questions.

What can an advisor do to make the experience better? They should be in contact with their students. I also think they should be educated on all of the courses that Quinnipiac has to offer and what they entail. However, I am not that naive.

I understand it is near impossible for a person to know all of the material about every course on campus. I think it is the advisor’s job to help a student seek out the information they need to know. If you can’t ask them what a class is like, who are you supposed to ask? I think that it should be their job to get in contact with people that would be able to help a student in a particular area.

Shouldn’t the people that we label at this school as being an “advisor” be more knowledgeable in course selection than we are? If I were an advisor, I think I would feel responsible for my students and what classes they were taking.

I am not trying to preach negligence on the behalf of advisors everywhere. Some take the time to sit down with students and get to know them. Some even go above and beyond and talk to them about other problems, unrelated to course selection. I think the most efficient way for an advisor to stay connected with students is to try to get to know them on a more personal basis.

I understand that many of the professors who are advisors did not become professors so that they could advise students. By the same token, I think they should make an effort to make their advisees feel as comfortable as possible when picking courses. Sometimes I think they underestimate how important their job is.

We have these meetings with our advisors to talk about our futures. I think that it should be the goal of every advisor to take into consideration that they are helping a student develop their future by earning a degree that will in turn get them a job one day.

I do know once we are at college, we are adults. I do understand it is ultimately my responsibility for choosing courses and making decisions about my future. Sometimes it’s just nice to be advised.