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Session 3213

A Department-Wide Distributed Advising System

Susan Montgomery University of Michigan

ABSTRACT

In the spring of 1997 the department of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan decided to implement a distributed advising system, wherein the responsibility for advising our undergraduate students would be distributed among the faculty. This paper describes the components of the advising system, training and informational materials developed, and reports on the first semester’s implementation.

INTRODUCTION

The department of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan is composed of approximately 450 undergraduate students and 22 faculty members. Prior to the development of the distributed advising system all undergraduate students were advised by a single faculty member. Unfortunately, this system did not allow the faculty member to provide personalized attention to our students, and only the mechanics of course planning could take place. Students were very interested in a system that would allow them to spend more time with their advisor. At the same time, a number of the faculty, who teach undergraduate classes of 150-180 students, were interested in getting to know and mentor a smaller subset of students. It was decided that a distributed advising system which included a large number of faculty members, would best serve the needs of both students and faculty. Some faculty expressed concern, though, as to their lack of familiarity with college rules and the curriculum, which might result in misinformation.

INFORMATION ON UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING 1 2-4 5-6 Certain books , World Wide Web sites , and articles provided much useful background information about advising in general. In addition I made some inquiries as to how other departments within our college, as well as other chemical engineering departments with large undergraduate populations, managed their undergraduate advising. The college’s Advising Center had a faculty advising handbook and a first year student handbook that also provided much valuable information.

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Montgomery, S. (1998, June), A Department Wide Distributed Advising System Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--7014