The time for scheduling spring semester classes is looming, and students are arranging meetings with academic advisers by the dozens.

Each of NIU’s six colleges has its own advising process. A student either can be advised by the department in which he or she is pursuing a major or by the college in which one is enrolled. Undecided majors receive advisement through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Advisers help students choose classes and deal with other academic matters, such as class withdrawal and academic probation.

“We see ourselves as facilitators for students,” said Norman Engstrom, a pre-professional adviser in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Sometimes, students think this is a scary place because we’re involved in the academic dismissal process, but we want students to be more aware of the positive actions of our office.”

Students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences often have more leeway in course selection than those in the College of Engineering and Technology, for example, Engstrom said.

About half of LA&S’s programs allow students the option of pursuing either a Bachelor of Art or Bachelor of Science degree, he said.

Advisers can refer students to various services on campus, as well as help with course planning, Engstrom said. They also can educate students about various academic policies.

Meeting times fill up quickly as the spring semester nears. An adviser may counsel 12 to 14 students in one day, but spaces are limited because advisers can spend up to a half an hour with a student.

Efe Amu, a senior accountancy major, said she tries to schedule an advising session five weeks into a semester to beat the rush.

“The advising has been pretty helpful,” she said. “When I transferred here my junior year, I was given a list of all the classes I would need to graduate.”

Some advisers push classes on students, Amu said. In the accountancy program, for example, not all the students want to take the Certified Public Accountant exam, so they don’t need certain classes. However, advisers encourage students to take them, she said.

Rosaland Russell, a freshman history major, thinks most people are happy with the advising process, but she doesn’t rely on it to decide what classes to take.

“I decided everything on my own from reading the catalogue,” she said. “I don’t know if I’ll see an adviser this year, but probably not.”

According to Engstrom, a significant portion of students receive advising.

“Some see an adviser only at orientation and that’s it; others come in a half-dozen times a year,” he said. “I do think we provide a valuable service that students could benefit from.” Star Poll