EDITORIAL: Academic advising not sufficient
CMU's student-to-advisor ratio remains nearly twice the national average, slows student graduation
In Spring 2013, the ratio of students to academic advisors at Central Michigan University was 1,200 to one.
While the university added five advising positions in Fall 2013 to make the ratio 600-700 to one, it is still nearly twice the national average reported by the National Academic Advising Association.
With the timely graduation of its students in the balance, it is up to CMU to provide an appropriate number of advisors to guide them through their chosen programs.
According to a 2011 survey completed by the National Academic Advising Association, the average case load for one advisor at a medium university – one boasting a population between 6,000 and 23,999 – is 333 students. CMU's ratio is improving, but it still has some way to go before students can expect a comfortable number of advisors.
In addition to having a high advisor-to-student ratio, the current 4-year graduation rate at CMU is 21 percent according to U.S. News.
It is no coincidence that fewer advisors to keep students on track correlates with a low number of students graduating on schedule. Hanover Research, a global information services firm, reported that increasing the number of academic advisors is a practice that has the second-highest mean contribution to student retention.
Thorough academic advising is an important factor that helps students graduate on time, whether they are enrolled in a 4-year program or one that requires greater time investment. Advisors are able to explain University Program and degree requirements, give career advice and make sure students are taking the classes they need to keep them on track for graduation.
Graduating on time is beneficial to students for several reasons. Some, like saving time and money for tuition, are obvious. Others are less obvious but just as important for student success.
A student graduating with a degree in education, for example, will benefit more from graduating in May when schools are more likely to be hiring teachers. Delaying graduation by a semester could be harmful to that student's chances of finding a job.
While CMU is working on improving its advisor-to-student ratio, students can help themselves by taking a more active role in their own advising experience. The university made an online class-tracking tool called Advising Workbench available to students in 2012.
Students who enrolled at CMU after the 2011-2012 academic year have access to Advising Workbench, which allows them to monitor their course progress and keep track of which ones satisfy their various program, degree and other requirements. Taking advantage of this online feature can serve as a supplement to in-person advising.
Students should be wary, however, that Advising Workbench does not include all information for major, minor and degree requirements yet. Student-specific information is being added as it becomes available, and the program may not be complete until 2017.
Students can use the online tool as a supplement, but should still seek in-person advising for their major scheduling questions.
While CMU is certainly on the right track of improving its advisor-to-student ratio, there is room for growth. Additional advisors to handle students' needs and active participation on the part of students themselves ought to be considered the most immediate and effective solutions.
We are worth the investment.
