The Developmental Advising Task Force asked SGA for input regarding its draft of a proposed model of advisement. This draft will be submitted to College President R. Barbara Gitenstein as a representation of the students' wishes and suggestions.
Lauren LeBano, senator of education and student representative of the Developmental Advisement Council, heard opinions from SGA members regarding the taskforce's draft.
LeBano will take those remarks back to the council where any appropriate modifications will be made to the draft.
Tracy Lomax, senior class treasurer, was concerned with a potential lack of communication between advisers.
Under the proposed model there would be a team of three advisers for each student: a peer adviser, a faculty adviser and an academic services adviser.
Lomax's concern was that the advisers would offer conflicting advice. LeBano said she would bring this issue to the Task Force, and also suggest that maybe the model also propose some form of mandatory meetings between the three advisers.
Another aspect would mandate that every student see his or her adviser before registering. Holds would be placed in the registration system that could only be removed by the department after a student saw his or her adviser.
After the document is modified it will be submitted to the president. After that, the proposal will be sent to the Steering Committee for final revising and then implementation.
The First Year Experience also approached the SGA for input on their new proposals for the program.
The proposal, presented by Thea Schoenberg, senator at large, includes changes to programs like orientation and welcome week.
The proposal also includes the recommendation that students do not declare majors as incoming freshman, and instead declare an area of interest. Students felt freshmen in many departments would fall behind in the course study if they didn't start from the first semester.
SGA members also questioned the Task Force's recommendation for freshman students to live in floors with other students from their specific topic class.
With this arrangement, Special Interest Housing (SI), such as the wellness or all-female floors, would not be factored in.
LeBano said the Task Force understands that living situations are an important concern to freshman, and that the SI situation would probably remain.
