Every University of New Mexico student is required to meet with an advisor at least once per semester or a hold will be placed on their account. However, advisors are able to accomplish much more than releasing holds.
UNM advisors meet with current students, assist with college recruitment and host workshops and graduation events.
University advisors are often a student’s first resource for information, whether they are looking for detailed information about degree programs or general information about campus resources.
Under the parameters of UNM’s advisement hold requirement, every student is given the opportunity to ask questions and obtain information at the start of every semester. Studies have shown that students who go to advisement more frequently tend to stay on track and graduate on time, said Angela Pacheco, Senior Academic Advisor for the College of Architecture and Planning at UNM.
Advisors spend the majority of their time in the office, but also contribute to campus events and services including: New Student Orientation, alumni outreach and student graduation.
For new students, the University Advisement Center provides general advisement to help them determine which university college will better suit their needs. Students can then seek specialized advisement from their college of interest.
Along with those duties, advisors also attend biannual advisement training institutes and monthly “Advising Matters” meetings, designed to promote cross-campus communication between departments.
Advisement at UNM is a very strong community, and each advisor has a similar mission — the drive to support students, Pacheco said.
These professional development training programs provide the University’s advisement staff with the resources they need to understand and utilize the best methods for helping their students. The new LoboAchieve website allows advisors to make active notes on a student’s account after every meeting to ensure that every advisor has access to the same information.
Come prepared. The more visits you make, the more information you have, the more questions you bring with you, the more clarity you will have when you leave the office, said Garrett Watts, Pre-pharmacy Admissions Advisor for the College of Pharmacy at UNM.
“Our job here is to make sure the student is getting what they need,” Watts said.
Many advisors go beyond their job description for the betterment of their department.
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Pacheco recently initiated the Student Ambassador Program for the School of Architecture and Planning, in which prospective students can tour the campus with a volunteer undergraduate or graduate student, giving them a truly authentic look at what their college experience might be like.
Many of the advisement offices at UNM have also implemented a student experience survey that gives their students the opportunity to provide feedback on their meetings, which gives advisors new insight to improve upon their methods. By continually updating their processes, training their staff and improving student relations, the University advisement staff is working hard to promote confidence and nurture students’ independence.
“If I’m advising well and being effective in my job, then it’s possible my students may not need to come in and see me all the time,” Pacheco said.
Kael Krepfl is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thelobokael.
