Frosh Advice

To the Editors of the Crimson:

I am responding to Daniel R. Melamed's letter (3/19/84) criticizing the Undergraduate Council's efforts to Improve Freshman Academic Advising. The Academics Committee agrees with Mr. Melamed that the advising system should enable freshmen to make their own informed decisions about course selection and we certainly agree that the current "advising system here is less than perfect," however, what Mr. Melamed fails to realize is that freshmen need more specific information than is currently given and that the main thrust of the thrust of the Council's proposals is to supplement rather than displace the appropriate role of the proctor.

One of the key mistakes freshmen make is course selection is not taking prerequisites for potential concentrations. The problems is that proctors, the average freshman's only direct advising source, often lack a working familiarity with the courses and requirements of each department. It is very difficult for those proctors who did not graduate from Harvard Radcliffe to offer anything more than general advice on course selection. In addition, many proctors who did graduate from Harvard Radcliffe are only familiar with their own concentrations. Mr. Melamed explains that "for concentration advising, students are referred to individual departments to consult experts in their subject. "However, whether it is because freshmen are not actually told of these advising resources or because they are too timid to search out the departments very few actually talk to these advisors who can give more helpful information than the proctor.

To alleviate these problems, the Undergraduate Council has initiated a three-part program designed to place freshmen in direct contact with advisors who have deeper, more accurate understandings of academic departments than one can expect of proctors.

1. At the beginning of this term every academic department had meetings at the Freshman Union or else held special office hours during which freshmen could receive advice specifically about course selection and the concentration. The Academics Committee will seek to make this a permanent program given at the beginning of each term if freshmen found it useful.

2. The Academics Committee is trying to set up a system in which upperclassmen would attend all doom proctor meetings on academic advising to answer freshmen's questions. As Mr. Melamed agrees, upperclassmen would offer a valuable yet different perspective from proctors. In particular, upper-class advisors would be able to describe current courses and trends within many academic departments and could direct freshmen to other students who have knowledge of departments and could direct freshmen to other students who have knowledge of departments the advisors do not know well. It is a needless waste of a resource not to employ the advising talents of qualified upperclassmen.

3. The Academics Committee is attempting to have more junior faculty members and fewer dorm proctors serve as academic advisors.

All of these suggestions (departmental advising sessions, upper-class advising, junior faculty advising) place freshmen in contact with people who have more detailed and/or current views of Harvard's academics. Undoubtedly, some proctors are highly capable advisors and many can give valid general advice about course selection, but a lot of the questions freshmen need to have answered demand that the advisor have a thorough familiarity with Harvard's courses and concentration requirements.

It is the freshman who seeks advice from many different sources who is most likely to make correct academic choices. The proctor should always be available for general academic advice, and implementation of the Undergraduate Council's proposals would make it easier for freshmen to contact three groups who can give more specific information. Then freshmen could make truly informed decisions.

To input yours ideas on this issue, contact any of the following Academics Committee members.

Departmental Advising Paul Bokota '87   Vanessa Davila '84   Jessica Levin '87   Brian Offutt '87   Julie Scrager '87

Upperclass advising   Alison Harrington '86   Trevor Sutton '86

The complete Undergraduate Council report on Freshman Academic Advising is available from your representative or the Council Office in Canaday C.   Marshall H. Chin '85   Chairperson, HRUC Academics Committee