Advisers provide student support

By Matt Holsapple
Summer Reporter

When new students arrive at Purdue, most of them will already have met with an academic adviser to schedule classes. What they may not know is that these advisers do a lot more than schedule classes.

Academic advisers can be seen as a new student's starting point with almost any problem that they have in they have in their time at Purdue.

"Advisers can be thought of as ground zero for any problem that a student might have," said Chris Ferrer, director of counseling for the School of Liberal Arts.

These problems can extent from any number of things, she said, ranging from roommate trouble and homesickness to difficulty with professors and uncertainty about extracurricular activities.

"A lot of times freshmen get overwhelmed," said Erik Props, coordinator of advising in the School of Management. "We are a great source of information."

Props also said that even if an adviser does not know the answer to a question, she or he would try to find the information or at least direct the student to someone who can help them.

More specifically, academic advisers are a resource for information about academic programs.

According to Ferrer, many advisers have worked in the fields that they advise and have a good understanding of the industries that students are preparing for.

She said that they can provide information about career options, graduate schools, industry trends and internships among other things.

According to Gayle Hartleroad, academic adviser in the Schools of Engineering, advisers can also help students who are unsure about major choices. She said that advisers can not only provide a lot of specific information about particular programs, they can also refer them to career tests, faculty members or to other departments.

"We are truly a University-wide resource," Hartleroad said.

Props stressed that, although advisers are a willing resource, new students should also try to learn how to find that information on their own.

A lot of this information can come from Student Services Information (SSINFO) and from course information in different departments.

"We want to help all of our students, but they also need to learn how to find some of the information themselves. We (academic advisers) can find the information, but we can not be up on everything. If our students can find some things on their own, we can help them better," Props said.