The financial and student success advisers merged and students now have a single adviser to answer questions relating to either field.
“But merging them together just seems overwhelming to staff and students,” explains Chelsea Bennington, a third-year performing arts major.
In Bradley Hall, room 231, students will find some new and old advisers from both departments ready to assist them in their financial or student success related issues. “We actually got more positions in order to do this, because it was more work,” Student Success and Advising Director Laura Kennedy said.
Kennedy stated that they selected these advisers based on qualifications. They preferred a master’s degree, and as for staff that wasn’t hired in advising, some were placed in different positions within SCAD while others were let go.
“It was not as painful as we thought it would be,” Kennedy explained.
Maybe it was not painful to the advisers, but Bennington tells a different story. She emailed her financial adviser, Lynda Stone, and received an automated response. After days of frustration, she found out that Stone no longer worked there and that the department had merged with student success.
Students complain that they weren’t notified, but SCAD Message System did send out one email on June 4 explaining the change that went into effect at the beginning of the summer quarter.
Bennington explained difficulties the department had. “It took a month to take the on-campus and meal plan off of my Fall 2012 bill,” said Bennington. “Other quarters before, that took only days.”
Adviser training consisted of daily one-hour sessions for six weeks during the summer quarter. During these training sessions. advisers were not only taught what to do, but also given scenarios to work through.
“While you were learning, you were also using it, so it reinforced it. Rather than having to remember stuff and wait to use it,” said student success adviser Eric Wente, who is new to the department.
Kennedy and Wente both admitted that it was much crazier during the summer and the adjustment slowed things down for a while. Bennington said it was a mess when she went to Bradley Hall. Things seem calmer now and perhaps this change will turn out for the best.
As Wente puts it, “It’s nice to have someone that can point you in the right direction and know where to find an answer to almost anything.” Hopefully that’s the case.
