The new scheduling system, which is focused on prompting students to meet with both an academic counselor and a faculty advisor, has created confusion and mixed feelings from students and staff about its efficacy.

As part of the 20/20 Initiative started last semester, the scheduling process has changed for the current freshman class. Before, students met with an assigned faculty advisor who then either approved or denied the student’s schedule and general plan for the next semester. Now, this is split into two steps, with both a faculty advisor as well as an academic counselor. 

“We want to make sure we’re constantly monitoring to see that [students] are on track to graduating in four years,” said Interim Director of Student Success Molly McClelland. 

Academic counselors focus on the “procedural” and “technical” aspects of the scheduling process, including course sequences and possible changes in major, according to McClelland. 

On the other hand, faculty advisors are meant to act as a sort of “mentor” for students based on their specific major of choice, according to McClelland. 

 “I think it will be beneficial to students because it breaks down all of the developmental steps that they need to hit,” said United Student Government (USG) President and senior biology major, Julian Singleton. 

This shows whenever students come to their academic counselors to discuss their schedules, according to McClelland.

“I send students out with a lot less anxiety than they came in with,” McClelland said. 

Some found themselves confused by the new scheduling process, not quite understanding that students have to meet with more than just one faculty member. 

“Some [freshman students] said they didn’t even have to meet with their advisor,” said freshman political science major Davion Heron.

Individual departments decide how the faculty advisors are informed of this new two-step system, according to McClelland. 

The University informed students of this new scheduling system through guest speakers in University 101 classes as well as through summer orientation, according to McClelland.

Cinema students received more guest speakers in their cinema classes as well as multiple email reminders from professors, according to freshman cinema production major Zachary Brown.   

The online scheduling tool was meant to become live at 7:30 a.m., Nov. 7, on PointWeb, but students accessing this website at this time found it to be unresponsive. 

“I wanted to be first in line to get the courses I wanted… I even set my alarm for 6:40 [a.m. specifically] to make sure I was there in time,” Brown said. 

The staff in charge of scheduling acknowledged this problem and was pleased by the determination of students who found these issues so early in the morning, according to McClelland. 

“We feel good about that level of initiative,” McClelland said, referring to the large amount of traffic she feels contributed to the technical problems.

In about an hour, these technical difficulties were ironed out, and students could schedule at their leisure. 

In the end, Brown got exactly the classes he wanted, he said.

As is common with change, not everyone is in favor of the new process. 

“Getting everyone on the same page is the challenge with something new,” McClelland said.