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The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

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October 4, 2022
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Students complain of registration season bringing advising frustrations

Advising0423_ChanningMiller_advising
Channing Miller

While some students leave advising appointments feeling satisfied, others have complained of feeling lost and confused.

In the hectic few weeks leading up to registration, complaints about academic advising departments have popped up around campus and on social media.

Last semester, geophysics sophomore Jayce Testut said he was upset after his advisor told him he should not go abroad.


“I didn’t feel like she was working with me to accomplish what I wanted, that instead she was trying to get me to follow the cookie cutter schedule,” Testut said. “I felt discouraged and belittled, and immediately scheduled an appointment with another advisor … he was much more supportive.”

Many students are required to visit their advisor prior to registering, which fills up time slots. Mark Bernstein, associate dean of the Moody College of Communications, said he recognizes the challenges of the registration season.

“The period prior to registration is when most students need to have some time with their advisor, so many of our advisors manage on a walk-in only basis,” Bernstein
said. “We heavily promote the idea that students should visit with advisors often … This will allow students and their advisors time to have those ‘big picture’ conversations.”
Journalism freshman Alex Legamaro met with her advisor recently and said he helped her decide which classes to register for next semester.

“I was very happy with the meeting,” Legamaro said. “Jeff always gives great advice and I felt much more confident with my schedule coming out of the meeting than going in.”

With a large amount of students to accommodate, problems can occur. Nutrition senior Ayaz Ali said he was frustrated after trying to transfer into the College of Natural Sciences his sophomore year. Ali said his advisor said his GPA was not high enough and told him to look into other programs.

“I feel like the advisors mainly just try to let people in,” Ali said. “They don’t seem to help or actually ‘advise,’ rather just kind of tell you very broadly what you should do.”
Bernstein said students who are unsatisfied with their advising situation have other options.

“If something is not working we want to help solve the issue, but we first need to know about it,” Bernstein said. “We want students to have a positive and
successful experience.”

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Students complain of registration season bringing advising frustrations