When entering college, not everyone knows what major they want. Many students end up transferring to a different major or pursuing a new minor.
However, it is difficult to navigate the process of transferring to a different major or program on your own.
Often, students can only get appointments with their “home” advising office. Unfortunately, these advising offices usually do not have expertise about degrees or transfer processes in other departments.
Advising offices need to support students who seek to transfer into other majors, minors or programs by allowing students to meet with advisers in any college, not just their own. Students should receive resources from advisers that can help them succeed in the program they are working to be in, not only the one they are currently in.
Fortunately, some colleges currently allow potential internal transfer students to get access to the advisers they need rather easily.
According to their respective advising websites, several colleges including the Moody College of Communication and College of Education allow students to meet with an adviser after they attend an internal transfer information session.
These advisers have the most expertise and knowledge of their transfer process and degree, so students can be confident in their actions going forward. Students are not limited to meeting only with their current adviser but are given the autonomy to do what is best for their circumstance.
However, not all colleges within UT allow for potential internal transfer students to meet with their advisers. The College of Natural Sciences and the McCombs School of Business have more restrictive advising policies in regards to applying students.
The College of Natural Sciences is one of the least accessible colleges in terms of advising. Advisers give optional informational sessions to students but are “unable to support meetings with prospective internal transfer students.” Additionally, their Center for First-Year Advising “does not meet individually with non-CNS students.”
With UT’s lack of available advising resources, many students feel unprepared and alone when internally transferring. They have to rely on their adviser for their current major, who often does not know about the intricacies of a specific transfer process.
Accounting senior Kenneth Fernandes transferred into McCombs from the Butler School of Music in 2018. He felt like his then adviser did not prepare him for the internal transfer process.
“Having a (McCombs) adviser explain that process to me would've been great,” Fernandes said.
According to Lovelys Powell, the director of advising in the BBA Program Office, students looking to transfer or minor in McCombs can get assistance through the BBA Outreach and Recruitment Team and the Texas Business Options team. Non-McCombs students do not get access to a McCombs academic adviser.
“(Students) wouldn't work with one of my team members until they're actually in the program, and a lot of that is because of time availability,” Powell said.
The time availability of advisers is a genuine issue, but it can be combated by hiring more advisers, having potential students attend advising in group sessions and grant them shorter appointments to accommodate a larger number of people.
Advisers traditionally have the most knowledge about their own college or major program, not others, and they should serve students who truly benefit from their expertise.
Providing potential internal transfer students with the best information, resources and expertise possible will give them the best chance at acceptance and success in whatever path they choose.
Give students the best advising experience possible, not the most convenient.
Cardone is a government and social work sophomore from San Antonio, Texas.
