#academicadvisingproblems

[pinesandpaloverdes]

I think the most frustrating thing about advising online students is their expectation that you are always at their beck n call. I have had several students in the past days, email me at 9am then 10am , then 11am. Then they leave a VM during my lunch hour asking why I have not responded yet. Then why I respond, they take two days to respond... Seriously?

[pinesandpaloverdes]

When a Student sends you this crazy, complex excel sheet with all of their degree requirements. “It’s easier to read than my Degree Audit Report,” they’ll say. I am not reviewing your excel to make sure its accurate. 

[pinesandpaloverdes]

I have Zero emails and Zero appointments today. This is the summer slow down that I missed. Time to do projects!

[pinesandpaloverdes]

I am not sure what I should do. The Office Specialist Sr. who is in charge of the advising call center which schedules our appointments, sent me a fairly passive aggressive email yesterday. The advisors are very frustrated with Admin because of the amount of appointment scheduling mistakes (incorrect IDs, phone numbers, new students being scheduled for only 30 minutes, etc). Our feedback has basically gone on deaf ears as she refuses to change, but if something does not work for her, we immediately must jump and change to fit her needs.

On Friday, my last appointment’s number did not work.I looked the student’s account to verify the number, I saw that they were the same. Occasionally, I have had numbers where student’s line was disconnected the previous day, so I really didn’t think too much of it. I updated my appointment title to “Phone Number not Working- Unable to leave message.” We are required to update the titles because it informs the advising call center (things like No Shows, or Canceled) in case the Student calls them; they know why we have not called them.

On Tuesday, the Office Specialist Sr. emails me asking (and cc’ing my boss) what my policy on incorrect numbers were. She said that if I had just looked the student up, I would have seen that the area code was off by one number... I was flabbergasted, because of course I did that. But then I looked the number up... The area code they gave me was 724 and the one listed in her account was 734. I totally read the 3 as a 2 when I went to check on Friday.

Now what makes me frustrated are two things:

1) She forwarded me an email from the student where the student where the student said this: “Hello,I never received a call from my advisor on this date at all. I was placed on hold when I called myself after the time she was supposed to call, but never got to speak with her as she was unavailable. What should I do?” I was never notified from the Call Center that she had called in. They are supposed to transfer these calls to me or at least IM me. She was my last appointment, I could have made an adjustment to my work schedule so she and I could have spoken. It was not her fault after, the number I was given was incorrect. So why didn’t the call center do their job?

2) The Office Specialist Sr. said this in her email: “I know this was our fault, but I just wondered if you ever check the phone number in PS when you try one that doesn’t work.  By doing so, it is clear that the area code is off by one number for the student below.  Please let me know what your policy is.  Thanks!"

It actually is not clear... I have a mild case of Dyslexia ever since I was little. It affects mostly number, but I have a particularly hard time with 2, 3, 6, and 9. Because I had read 724 in the appointment title, I “saw” 724 in her account... So I am annoyed at the office specialist sr. because I feel like she is accusing me of being lazy while trying to pass off the blame to this mishandling of the student. She did not even bother to address why I was not notified of the student phoning in.

So I am wondering if I should email my supervisor (who is very understanding) of my frustrations and explain my side. Remember my boss was cc’d on this. Or if I email the bitch office specialist sr and let her know that while this error was clear to her, its not always to other and mention that I do have Dyslexia. I also want to bring attention that the student said she called in on Friday and I was never notified of this.

So help? What should I do?

[pinesandpaloverdes]

Flight, Hotel, and Registration have all been booked for the Annual NACADA Conference in Atlanta! Can’t wait. Thanks ASU. 

[pinesandpaloverdes]

Here come the late nights.

[pinesandpaloverdes]

So I am averaging 8 in person appointments now... Which may not sound like a lot, but I have walk-ins from 1pm to 3pm every Monday through Thursday. I usually see about 6 students during that time. Between 8am and 5pm I have literally no time to work on my projects (I have an hour prep in the morning, which to do for 8 appointments is not enough time. Then an hour wrap up at the end which is usually dedicated to finishing up any student issues that came up in the appointments and walk-ins) , much less my emails. Then if I block out time during my appointments times for emails/project I say I am not serving the students. If I try to catch up during lunch instead of meeting with my co-workers I am accused of not being personable. Then when I stay after 5, I am called a work-alcoholic and they have concerns for my health. I have major projects that I need to prepare and work on for Spring Enrollment. If my only job duty was “advising” I would be ok, but I have to manage our override form and prepare for a 300+ course pre-requisite checks. And the my course matrix is allllllllllllll messed up (time conflicts everywhere!) Multiple curriculum changes that my opinion and solutions are needed for. 

But then my supervisor will reprimand me for not keeping a 24 hour response on emails  and that I am behind in my projects....

So I canceled my walk-ins  today because I CAN’T KEEP UP! I HAVE 500 ADVISEES, 43 FACULTY MEMBERS AND 2 DEPARTMENT CHAIRS WHO ALL NEED SOMETHING WITHIN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS. Now I am being told asked to take on a presentation for perspective transfers on Friday.

But I’ll probably still do walk-ins.... cause its my babies students.