GRADUATE IN FOUR- CAN GAYLORD STUDENTS DO IT?
Gaylord students are finding it difficult graduate on time, especially those needing to work or those taking advantage of the study abroad program, because of flaws in the online advisement system.
“I have always wanted to study abroad but never thought my major allowed the time,” Public Relations Junior Claire West said. “When I got the advisement e-mail last semester, I just enrolled in the classes that my advisor sent me, but by doing so, my four year degree plan didn’t allow me to study in Italy like I had always dreamed."
West, like many students, does not like the e-mail advisement system because it is impersonal and does not allow a chance for human interaction. With the e-mail system, the recommendations are targeted to the specific major rather than the specific individual.
THE GAYLORD COLLEGE ADVISEMENT SYSTEM
All OU freshmen are advised through the University College for their first two semesters, University College Advisor Connie Divine said. When students leave University College and begin getting advised through Gaylord, they go through a degree orientation to get them familiar with their advisors, college, and courses, Gaylord Advertising Advisor Melanie Adams said.
During the degree orientation, sophomore students who have been accepted into Gaylord are introduced to the degree navigator tool, Adams said. Degree navigator is a great resource that allows students to check if they are on track with the requirements for their major.
“When I sit down with students and explain how the degree navigator fits with the degree check sheet, it’s like a light bulb goes off,” said Dr. Joyce Allman, the associate provost for academic advising. “However, when students try to use the tool on their own, they find it confusing and end up wasting money on courses that they have already met the requirements for. We are trying to encourage more students to use degree navigator and want to make sure students leave orientation confident that they can use the tool on their own.”
The next, and most important area of advisement is during the sophomore and junior years, when personal recommendations are most important, Adams said.
Advisors at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication switched from a personal one on one meeting to an e-mail advisement system in Spring 2008, Adams said. The e-mail advisement is a general e-mail sent to students prior to enrollment that lists the courses that the student still needs to complete in their degree plan, and which specific courses the student should take the upcoming semester.
Students then select the courses on their own without any personal interaction with the advisors, unless they have questions and choose to schedule an appointment, Gaylord Public Relations Advisor Kathy Sawyer said. With the e-mail advisement system students do not get the benefit of personal recommendations on minors, internships, or study abroad; the e-mail is mainly just used to clear all enrollment stops.
“I think we are missing a connection between the material and goal, and we need to figure out how to build a bridge to fix the gap,” Adams said.
“The middle area of the advisement process is the missing bridge, what we need to ultimately fix,” Adams said. “Once our students reach 60 hours, it is our job to hand design a career path for them. The e-mail advisement gives students the perception that we are putting them off, and this is not our intention.”
At the end of the advisement journey seniors meet one-on-one with their advisor for a graduation check, Adams said. This is an easy process that runs efficiently without student complaints. The advisor looks at the student’s hours, GPA, and makes sure their grades are in.
OU STUDENTS STAY LONGER THAN 4 YEARS
In 1990, the 4-year graduation rate was 16.3%, 5-year was 37.2%, and 6-year was 44%, according to a Report on Findings about Undergraduate Student Graduation and Retention.
As a comparison, in 2002, the 4-year graduation rate was 27.7%, 5-year was 54.5%, and 6-year was 61.7%, according to the University of Oklahoma 2009 Factbook.
The statistics show that the University of Oklahoma is improving its graduation rates. Even though Gaylord College has the highest graduation rate compared to other colleges on campus, there are still improvements that can be made, Adams said.
In 2007, the 4-year graduation rate at the University of Oklahoma was 24.7% compared to higher rates at similar public universities, according to the Education Trust Graduation Rates.
The 4-year graduation rate at Florida State University was 47.6%, Colorado State University 34.9%, and University of Arizona 32.7%, according to the Education Trust Graduation Rates.
Florida State University has an excellent graduation rate, and the OU academic advising board is looking into what makes their rate higher than OU, Dr. Allman said. One thing Florida State has is threshold courses. If a student is not getting the grades that they need in order to excel in their major, they need someone that they can come and talk to about switching majors, rather than just giving up.
Students who do not meet the requirements, 24 semester credit hours with a 2.75 retention grade point, and are not accepted into the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication need someone to talk to about other options, Dr. Allman said.
Counseling must be offered for students who fail their classes and are told by their college that they can no longer enroll in that major, according to a Report on Findings about Undergraduate Student Graduation and Retention.
“Now, when a student is told he [or] she can no longer enroll in a certain major, there is currently no adviser who will give that student help in finding another major,” according to a Report on Findings about Undergraduate Student Graduation and Retention. As a result, the student must come up with a new major and career plan on his or her own, which contributes to the low graduation rate of OU students.
Dr. Allman wants students to come to her if they are struggling or don’t like their major, but don’t know who to talk to about switching to another major. “I am thinking about inviting myself to sit at student tables in the Union and ask students what can be done to improve advising, because I need to find out what students want,” Dr. Allman said. “I would even set up an Ask Allman booth in the Union because I am determined to help students succeed at OU.”
WHY STUDENTS STAY LONGER
At University College advisors understand that most students, even the ones who come to college with a specific major in mind, change majors three or more times, Divine said. If a student comes with an undecided major, advisors recommend the Gateway course, which gives students a career assessment test, and freshman seminars to help students choose a major quicker.
University College advisors recommend that students have chosen a major after their first two semesters, so they still have time to take all of their courses within the four year mark, Divine said. There are certain circumstances where students could be held back from graduating in four years. If a student chooses a major that has rigid degree requirements with little room for elective courses, taking electives as a freshman could hold the student back from graduating on time.
The advisors at Gaylord College understand that some students still won’t know their major when they first visit Gaylord as sophomores, Sawyer said. “But it is difficult for us when students come in without taking JMC 1013 or 2033 and we have to backpedal to see what we can do with what they have taken,” Sawyer said.
The Gaylord advisors are asking University College advisors to push students interested in Gaylord majors to take JMC 1013 and 2033 in their first two semesters at OU. Also, instead of allowing students to take random electives, students need to be pushed to find a passion and take related classes like different intro courses, Sawyer said. That way, students can figure out what they are interested in without losing credits.
The more journalism credits a student has when they enter Gaylord, the more opportunity they will have for study abroad and internships, because they will be ahead of schedule on their degree plan, Adams said.
The economy is also a large factor in why students are staying longer at OU to earn their degrees, Dr. Allman said.
With parents losing jobs or refusing to accept financial aid, it is harder for students to afford school, and many students take a semester off to work full time, Dr. Allman said. The Gaylord advisors try to help students with financial problems by encouraging them to take full advantage of scholarships and courses that can be taken at home at a community college, said Sawyer.
Gaylord advisors are constantly looking for opportunities that help students pay for college, one example being the OU Food Services opportunity, Sawyer said. Housing and food have created great opportunities for students. If students work 18 hours in OU Food Services each week, they will be offered free housing at either the standard dormitories or OU apartments, Traditions East and West.
Academic advisors encourage students who have to work to take advantage of on-campus job opportunities because those jobs are designed to accommodate students, Dr. Allman said. On-campus jobs are flexible and bosses understand if a student has a test or scholastic commitment.
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
“We are looking for student input on ways to improve the advisement system,” Adams said.
Gaylord College changed to the e-mail advisement system because when advisors assessed how students like to get their information, they took into consideration the popularity of Facebook and the Internet, Sawyer said. From this data, the advisors decided that the e-mail system would be easiest for both students and advisors.
However, there has been a lot of negative feedback about the e-mail system because even though some students like the freedom, others need individual guidance, Sawyer said.
“Some of my students come in and want me to hold their hand and say take class A, B, C, and D, and even want me to pick out their electives,” Sawyer said.
The system needs to have a balance where students receive personal guidance and are exposed to opportunities, but still have the ability to select classes on their own, Adams said.
“My suggestion is to have a PR class create a kit to find out what students like and dislike about the current advisement system,” Sawyer said. “The students will be put into a focus group where they will answer specific questions about what they like and dislike about advisement in the Gaylord College, giving more feedback than just saying I don’t like it, or she’s never in her office.”
Students are the ones who have the power to change the system, Adams said. With feedback from the study body, Gaylord advisors are working to change the advisement process from an e-mail system to a system that caters to the needs of students.
“I am looking forward to finally meeting face to face with my advisor,” West said. “If she gets to know about me personally, maybe she can work with me and suggest some options that will allow me to study abroad in Italy and still graduate on time.”
Check out what a face-to-face advisement appointment would look like:
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