University leaders are looking to revamp the college advising system, especially as more budget cuts loom on the horizon.

John Ambrose, interim dean of Undergraduate Academic Programs, says that advising is a major issue that requires a more centralized approach.

N.C. State is unique from peer institutions like Penn State and Cornell in that students are admitted to a program, rather than the University, Ambrose said.

“At our peer institutions, students enter as freshmen and are admitted into specific programs later. Even in Chapel Hill, you go as a freshman,” he said.

The problem becomes more pronounced when students transfer within the University.

“Advising is a major problem because of intra-campus transfers. We need a more centralized approach for the students to get rid of the stigma that they are undecided,” Ambrose said.

Explaining the current University set up, Ambrose said that the University has both professional as well as academic advisers to cater to the needs of the students. Academic advisers are faculty who double up as advisers, and are more aware of student opportunities from a graduation and employment perspective. Students who have decided on a major are assigned academic advisers who can help them towards their graduation. Professional advisers, on the other hand, advise students who wish to transfer or are in undesignated programs, such as the First Year College.

Students who come in undecided and take professional advising help transfer less than students entering in academic programs.

“Students that are admitted directly into a program often change their major 2-3 times before graduation. Students in First Year College, on the other hand, rarely change their major,” Ambrose said. “Even if they don’t have a permanent choice, they still know their options.”

The College of Management and FYC are the only two colleges on campus that have professional advisers for their students.

“We have seven advisers who are professionally trained in counseling students. They are only advisers, who are experienced in advising before they are hired, and not faculty,” Erin Dixon, director of undergraduate programs for the college of management, said. “We’ve one of the highest retention-in-graduation rates among all colleges, so I think this is proof that having a professional advising system is beneficial,” she added.

Despite the college’s success, the student-to-adviser ratio remains at roughly five times the norm of 80-100 students per adviser, as laid out by the National Association of Academic Advisors.

Student leaders worry that advising issues will worsen as the University faces budget cuts. Taylor Hiott, academics commission chair in Student Government, said advising is a prominent issue that comes up year after year.

“With budget cuts, advising is one of the first things that get affected,” Hiott said. “We will try and prevent advising from getting cut. We’re going to put full force on it.”

While different students have different issues with their advisers, Hiott said they faced three main problems. “The primary concerns of the students are with regard to the accessibility, quality and consistency of advising,” he said. “However, we have some very successful and good advisers as well. The whole issue is providing students with quality advising.”

Thomas Stafford, vice chancellor for student affairs, said that the University is looking at the issue and hopes that the Chancellor’s strategic planning committee will come up with a solution.

“At this point, there are no specific solutions in sight. Any steps we might take would come out of our strategic plan,” he said. “We don’t know how severe the budget cuts will be. It is hard to say that until the General Assembly issues the budget next year.”

Despite the problems, some students like Amy O’Bryan, freshman in political science, had a positive first experience with advising.

O’Bryan said, “I really felt like they know the ends and out of the system, and they were able to answer any questions I had no matter how particular they were. Even if you want to get an idea of some particular classes that fit your interest, it seemed like she knew every class in the book!”

Some colleges utilize other tactics to help orient students along the way. The College of Engineering, among the biggest on campus, has specific courses that help freshmen choose and decide their majors. E 101, a one-credit hour class that every freshman in engineering has to take, informs students about all the engineering disciplines and the opportunities they have to offer. The students are also required to prepare their resume and four-year degree plan as part of their coursework.

This helps students get prepared for their studies ahead, said Earl Sturdivant, a freshman in construction engineering.

“I didn’t have any issues as I already had my degree plan up until my junior year, so during the meeting with my adviser, he talked to me like a regular person. Not just about school but general things as well,” Sturdivant said.