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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1997)
...I knraZi ; The East Campus • ; Health Clinic • * is now open from J J noon to 3 p.m. • • Mondays and Thursdays! # * Counseling appointments • • available Tuesdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. I ! e Rtn. SIC, 472*5000 • IspringbreakI I # SUPER SALE!. # 1 IBAYFRONT eBD ,eoQ I A. 6.8 OR 10 PERSONS QW 538 ONLY 5 LEFT! M CALXMwSo£FACH *629** 5™£NT g 2 OR 3 PERSONS JUST $719 mcN ^ pSEESSiElS] *# 1 DAYS INN 13 DELUXE BEACHVIEW *409 I __mHr IS BUS ONLY S99 AIR ONLY S299 ^s'™,S5S?BSS5SroNcuBoooSS5S5?5S5EA5Ro5i55S««YS3Br3r™,“ l51_ggjggw±WgDg!gg!>gjw«*^Bwcrv>^Dvw»H>wyo»**ROffBLOfFEWE»wE«ianwy. „ Clerics check criteria LJ , > from page 1 Travis Eide, a senior business major, delayed his graduation to have time to address anything on his senior check. “It’s ridiculous,” Eide said. “I applied in July and they said they won’t even get to it until December” Because seniors graduating in May must register for their last semester in die middle of October, the senior check helps litde, Eide said. “As seniors we have to register right away to get the classes we need,” Eide said. “If we find out later that we need something else we’re out of luck.” To check a student’s records, clerics go through records by hand to find out whether all the requirements for grad uation have been met, Pence said. However, a few complications can delay senior checks. There are five checkers for all the students in the university’s nine under graduate colleges. More than 2,500 senior checks from the College of Arts and Sciences will cross Pence’s desk this year, but she is responsible for the College of Fine and Performing Arts, too. Though the senior check alone are enough to keep them busy, the check ers have other duties. Checkmate In addition to senior checks, stu dents must have a final check done when they apply for a degree. In the final check, the clerks make sure students have completed any requirements lacking on their senior checks, Pence said. But because final checks must be done before graduation, clerks must stop doing senior checks for about a month every semester to do final checks, Pence said. Besides^ all their i office and) Pence said. Also, all senior and final checks are processed based on graduation date, not application date. In too deep Students should apply for senior checks when thev have twn semesters of course work left. This way they will have time to correct any deficiencies before graduation, Pence said. By applying early students have time to complete anything listed in the check. my check back, but I did it early enough that I had time to confect any problems,” said David Maloley, a senior educational science major The records and registration office is working to improve the checks sys tem with computers, but the system won’t be in place until after the year 2000, Assistant Records Director Rodney Moore said. Some colleges offer an informal senior check to students to give them an idea ofwhat they still need. “We try to get students to do their checks early, so they can get the results,” biology adviser Laurie Homer said. “We also do unofficial checks to help students plan.” The Association of Students of the University of Nebraska is considering investigating the senior checks. “Wfe haven’t decided to take action yet. We are still gathering informa tion,” ASUN senator Erik Hoegemeyer said Although it may take a while to see results, clerics want students to know they are not forgotten. “We’re not ignoring you, we’re just buried,” Pence said. Deans, professors: Use your advisers By Josh Funk Assignment Reporter Students need good advice to plan their way through the univer sity to graduation. The University of Nebraska Lincoln’s advising system leaves some students searching for answers, but advising only works if students go to their advisers, some UNL registration officials say. “Your adviser should be your new best friend at college,” Registration and Records office clerk Linda Pence said. On their own Some students don’t go to see their adviser because they think they already know the course A V^UAA VAAAV1AVO. “I haven’t seen my adviser in quite awhile, but I have a good idea of what classes to take,” junior biology major Jason - Chrisman said. Easy access to registration through NRoll also has made many students think they don’t need to see advisers, Rick Alloway, the voice of NRoll and journalism adviser, said. “The problem is when stu dents make mistakes in their regis tration,’ Alloway said. “Advisers can help students avoid mistakes.” Successful advising can only happen if students see their advi . sors. ' -v:-i •' - ■ “I got really good advice once I started seeing my adviser,” senior educational science major David Maloley said. “He helped me get everything lined up to graduate.” Device for advice Advising is one of the most important functions at the univer sity, said Will Norton, dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. “Faculty can really get to know students, and students get good advice,” Norton said. _ Advising is difficult for stu dents and faculty because “it is tough to know all the require ments for graduation,” Norton said. t * .• Deans and advisors agree that students and faculty need to know the requirements. Faculty mem bers must be experts in their fields, and experts in the ever changing graduation require •- ments.“It is increasingly difficult to keep up with the changing requirements,” Alloway said. The Association of Students of the University of Nebraska is con ducting a survey to find out how effective advising is at UNDs col leges, ASUN senator Erik Hoegemeyer said. Hoegemeyer, who is in charge of the survey, said he hopes to pre sent his findings to ASUN by early next semester and then the university. Advising HQ To combat this problem, some colleges have created undergradu ate advising centers staffed with « The problem is when students make mistakes in their registration. ” RickAlloway voice of NRoll full-time advisers to help students. In the School of Biological Sciences’ advising center, stu dents are counseled by advisers with a master’s degree in counsel ing. “We’re trained to advise,” Laurie Homer, chief academic adviser, said. “We make sure stu dents get the answers to their questions.” In the arts and sciences col lege, students can get help from auvismg specialists. “We feel that students get good advising almost without exception,” said Brian Foster, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Advising centers also help non-major students with ques tions about a college’s classes, Foster said. In the case of arts and sciences, its faculty teach 60 per cent of the undergraduate credits for all students, Foster said. The business college also uses an advising center, but it is staffed with a combination of student and full-time advisers. “We try to do a thorough job and answer all their questions,” Amy Horrum, a sophomore, part time business adviser, said. Wondering years According to the Institutional Research department, many UNL students do not graduate in four years. About 15 percent of the stu dssfs wgQ Nebraska-Lincoln in a given year leave with a degree four years later, according to Institutional Research. _ ■ _ _ i'“ . ror rive-year degrees, the per centage jumps to 40 percent of students graduating. “That graduation rate surpris es me, but it doesn’t surprise me that people are delaying gradua tion more,” Alloway said. Students prolong college to defer costs, Alloway said. “I’ve never been in a hurry to get students graduated,” Alloway said. - Students shouldn’t rush through the college experience, Alloway said. It is a part of life that cai’f be recaptured. “You should want to get the most for your money while you’re here,” Alloway said. “Take the best classes, not the easiest ones.” Despite problems with the advising and senior check systems, students and faculty will have to deal with them, Alloway said. “Right now it is the best we’ve got.” --------—_