Advising at Brown is much more laid-back than I had initially expected it to be. Students are rarely required to meet with their advisors and don't have to get involved with advising unless they choose to do so. Adam Davis '13, believes that "the advising experience at Brown is largely student-initiated," and that "unless you really have the drive to go out and initiate a conversation with an advisor, then you really aren't going to have much experience with advising."
While Davis has met several times with his advisor to discuss concentration-related issues, he recalls minimal interaction with his Meiklejohn. He stated, "I think the Meiklejohn program could potentially use some revamping. There needs to be some kind of uniform standard for how often Meiklejohns meet with their advisees."
While I had a positive experience with my Meiklejohn, several of my peers often complained that theirs either never contacted them or had minimal interaction with them. Especially for new freshmen just entering college, multiple interactions with upperclassmen should be highly encouraged; in this way, incoming freshmen would benefit much more if the Meiklejohn program were slightly more structured.
Despite the University's minimal advising interactions with the students, however, some new programs are being established that have the potential to change the advising system for the better. Starting last year, new tools and systems have been created to make students' lives much easier, such as MAPS and Focal Point.
MAPS, the Matched Advising Program for Sophomores, is a system that could prove to be extremely beneficial to sophomores that are still undecided on which concentration to choose. This program involves matching up sophomores with seniors and having them meet regularly to discuss academic options and concentration choices. MAPS also sets up panels for students that discuss topics like study abroad, leave of absence, summer research opportunities and more. Additionally, it organizes focus groups among the students to talk to each other about class-related issues.
Madeline Sall '13 joined MAPS in order to gain new perspectives from people outside of her concentration department and gave highly positive feedback. "I'm excited because it gives the structured advising that I feel like I missed last year," she said. As a freshman, Sall felt overwhelmed by the wide variety of advising systems present at Brown and was consequently reluctant to use them; with all the different academic deans, Randall advisors and Faculty Advising Fellows, she was often faced with indecision about which advisor with whom she should talk. With respect to advising office hours, she said, "I know it exists, but I just don't know why I would go there over seeing someone else." I have to agree with this statement; with the large amount of resources available, it's sometimes hard to find out which ones to use for specific advising needs.
A recently created tool called Focal Point is another example of how Brown is adding to its already numerous advising resources. This search tool allows students to learn about the many concentrations the University has to offer. It lets them select their academic preferences and displays information about possible concentrations of interest as well as potential careers. Focal Point seems like it would be most beneficial to freshmen; Davis, a potential Modern Culture and Media concentrator, said, "it helps you determine generalized fields but so many of these have people from all different concentrations that it didn't help me pinpoint what MCM concentrators were doing." Overall, this tool is helpful to those still choosing a major, which applies to a fair amount of Brown underclassmen, given Brown's freedom with requirements and concentrations.
Another advising instrument with which some students may be unfamiliar is ASK, the Advising Sidekick. This tool organizes students' advising information by displaying the different events going on around the University as well as providing links to helpful websites.
Advising at Brown is preferable in that it allows students to have as much involvement as they want with the advising system. It's not too pushy, but at the same time, it's not too laid-back. It lets the students take the initiative (should they choose to do so), and requires at least some involvement in freshman and sophomore years. While it requires overall minimal student interaction with professors and deans, the information is still out there if the students want it. Especially after the addition of the latest advising programs and instruments, there are copious amounts of faculty and office hours that are at your disposal.
Deniz Ilgen '13 is a civil engineering
concentrator from Los Gatos, California.
She can be reached at
deniz_ilgen (at) brown.edu.