‘Stretched Thin’: Harvard Proctors, PAFs Express Mixed Feelings on College’s New Freshman Advising Model

Harvard College’s newly redesigned freshman advising system drew mixed reactions from freshman proctors and undergraduate advising fellows. While some acknowledged the convenience of the changes, others raised concerns about the additional workload.

The College and Advising Programs Office implemented significant changes to the College’s advising network last July, according to APO Director Aliya S. Bhimani. Most notably, the APO replaced first-year and sophomore academic advisers with a single pre-concentration adviser who will be assigned to students for their first three semesters at the College.

Some proctors embraced the changes, pointing to the additional stability they offer freshmen navigating the College’s academic landscape.

Abishek Raman, a proctor in Lionel Hall and Harvard Divinity School graduate, said he felt the changes “make a lot of sense” because they ensure continuity in an advising relationship until the student declares a concentration.

Raman said he believes the pre-concentration advising does not fundamentally change the kind of advising proctors provide.

“I think one thing to remember is when questions come up about, ‘Does this increase workload,’ what has not changed is that proctors are still part of a network of advisors,” he said. “Proctors are not the only advisor that a student has available at Harvard.”

“My job — and a proctor’s job, essentially — is to be the connector of sorts between the student and the various resources that are available at Harvard,” Raman added.

But other freshman advisors said the introduction of pre-concentration advising on top of helping students navigate prior-term course enrollment for the first time — a change that went into effect in the 2023-24 academic year — has made their roles more difficult to balance.

Hasani J. Gunn, a proctor in Straus Hall and a student at the Harvard Kennedy School, wrote in an emailed statement last week that though the changes may mark just one phase in a larger plan for academic advising, “the reality is that this introduction doubles Proctors’ advising responsibilities while we are already juggling multiple roles.”

Bhimani wrote in an emailed statement last week that though there will be a three month overlap in advising cohorts with the Class of 2028, the APO staff “anticipate the advising load will be greatly spread out and therefore manageable.”

“We are committed to ensuring this overlap does not cause undue stress or capacity strain on our advisors and will continue to work closely with our advising network to evaluate, assess, and obtain ongoing feedback to make iterative and productive changes as needed,” Bhimani added.

Despite mixed feelings from proctors about the added workload of pre-concentration advising, some undergraduate advising fellows expressed hope that the new changes will make their roles more manageable.

Queen M. Balina ’26, a Greenough Hall PAF, said she hopes the introduction of pre-concentration advising will alleviate some of the responsibilities of PAFs.

“I am personally looking forward to the idea of pre-concentration advising because it does mean students have another resource in their overall network, and that hopefully means that even though we will help them with their courses, they’ll have other places to turn to beyond just upperclassmen,” she said.

While Peer Advising Fellows — upperclassmen assigned to freshmen as a part of their advising network — are not designated pre-concentration advisors, some PAFs have felt the additional pressure to guide freshmen anxious about concentrations — despite the official declaration deadline falling during sophomore fall.

David J. Aboge ’25, a PAF in Stoughton Hall, wrote in a Wednesday email that he was “shocked” that he would be advising freshmen on sophomore course selection.

Uzma A. Issa ’25, a PAF in Wigglesworth Hall, said while PAFs traditionally help freshmen with course selection, it felt “nerve-racking” because “it feels like this could get into more concentration advising instead of just generally selecting courses and exploring.”

“I think it can be a little difficult to advise freshmen on more specific concentrations, especially if it’s not a concentration you’re as familiar with,” Issa said.

Balina said while the APO has provided guidance for PAFs on advising freshmen on concentrations, “overall, lots of PAFs are struggling to figure out what the different requirements for various concentrations are.”

Some PAFs also noted the logistical challenges ahead as proctors and PAFs navigate the inaugural year of these advising changes.

“While the changes make sense logistically, it will take quite a while for students to fully get used to this new system especially if they had been used to the former system,” Aboge said. “The same goes for PAFs and proctors.”

Greenough PAF David C. Brown ’25 wrote in an emailed statement that many advisers are “stretched thin” and that the added responsibility increased concerns regarding changes in advising.

Brown added that though he is optimistic about the structural change, he thinks more time must be spent on logistics around the number and the quality of advisers.

Other PAFs acknowledged the changes to their responsibilities but said they did not feel overburdened.

Canaday Hall PAF Zoë C. Cooper ’25 said the implementation of prior-term course enrollment has “definitely taken some getting used to” in terms of balancing her role as a PAF.

“I think it does put more on us,” Cooper said, “especially in terms of timing.”

Still, Cooper said that while the changes “made the job a little harder,” she didn’t feel “a ton of frustration about it.”

Trevor R. Lange ’26, a PAF in Matthews Hall, said while he was surprised to first hear of the changes, he didn’t “feel overwhelmed.”

“With the additional advising for the sophomore semester, there is an obvious extra workload that you have to take on,” he said. “But I think it’s been fairly manageable to take on this semester.”

Matthews PAF Zachary J. Lech ’24, a Crimson Arts editor, said while the increased workload “can be a source of stress, especially in the middle of the semester,” overall he felt the changes were “not something that is a huge burden” for him as a PAF.

PAFs said they had known about the changes since last spring, and many felt prepared to advise students with resources and training from the APO.

Last week, the APO held a series of PAF trainings in preparation for fall term course registration and created online training modules.

“Recognizing that our PAFs are also now tasked with supporting students in their sophomore course selection in April, we wanted to ensure they were armed with specific content from divisions as well,” Bhimani wrote in an email.

But Gunn wrote that communication with the APO has been “a game of telephone” rather than an “actual dialogue.”

While proctors are fortunate to have caring Resident Deans in the First Year Experience Office, Gunn wrote, “that doesn’t tamper the clear disconnect between the decision-makers at the APO and those of us who are actually on the ground implementing and facilitating these processes.”

“Academic advising can be a beast, and we’re about to wrangle a whole new monster,” Gunn wrote.

—Staff writer Michelle N. Amponsah can be reached at michelle.amponsah@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @mnamponsah.

—Staff writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at joyce.kim@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.