Mississippi State University is planning to tackle one of the primary complaints of its students: advising.
The university received a private donation to begin working on an advising center specifically tailored to help underclassmen and transfer students in the short term.
Initially, the university will hire three professional advisers and add another adviser every year for four years. 
Dean of Students Thomas Bourgeois said the advising center resulted from a task force that relied heavily on student feedback, especially as it related to advising.
Bourgeois said one goal of the new advising center is to rethink the nature of advising in the first place.
“We’re really looking at what professional advising means. Does it have aspects of career counseling and career development? Does it have aspects of managing money and financial aid? I would say yes,” Bourgeois said.
Bourgeois explained that while many higher learning research institutions have faculty who take on the dual role of professor and adviser, MSU wants to rethink that position.
“It’s not a good or bad model; it’s just overly complicated in some departments. Every department is so uniquely different in how they structure advising,” Bourgeois said.
While the plan to rethink advising is long term, the new advising model will begin to roll out in the short term. MSU is beginning the process of hiring the first batch of professional advisers and has already appointed an executive director, Sawyer Bowering.
Bowering said one of the goals of the advising overhaul is to create a holistic experience for students.
“I think students want somebody to go to that is available and knowledgeable and to make plans and have resources and get help and advice to guide them through their college experience,” Bowering said. 
Bowering discussed the current advising model at MSU and how it relates to a new model of professional advising.
“I think when advising is your primary role, you’re literally dedicating 100% of your professional life to that. Unfortunately, for faculty, you’re just not doing that. It’s not a bad thing; it just is what it is. A faculty member’s primary role is to teach, and in our case, as an R1 institution, to research,” Bowering said.
The Student Association is another group that is heavily involved in building this new advising center. SA President Garrett Smith said that advising has been an important issue for students and is oft-cited in student complaints.
“The Student Association has handled a lot of complaints from students, and advising is near the top of that list. We have consistently been putting pressure on the university to make changes and reforms in that area,” Smith said.
Smith shared the concerns of Bourgeois that the current model of advising might be outdated and that an overhaul is welcome.
“We think that if we have people whose number one mission is to advise, they will be better equipped to do so. I think a midterm goal is to make sure that all underclassmen are advised by professional advisors,” Smith said.
While the role of the Student Association is not as involved as the Dean’s office, Smith emphasized the lobbying role SA has taken.
“When it comes to policy, we take the concerns of students and lobby the administration for change. We know that change isn’t easy and change isn’t automatic and that a lot of the systems in place are there for a reason,” Smith said. “But we’ve had a lot of conversations with Dean Bourgeois about changes to advising for a while, and this money allows them to make some of those changes.”
Bourgeois referenced the timetable of this overhaul and said it would be taking place over several years. Additionally, he mentioned how the university will evaluate the new model.
“We’ll be working with the activities office for pilot programs and try to match those professional advisors with departments and then ask for data and evaluate. Does this model work? Are students being provided for in this new professional advising model? Are they better advised?” Bourgeois said.
Bourgeois elaborated that while the old system works for some, there are reasons for the change.
“Advising is not just X’s and O’s, where it’s ‘Hey, here’s your classes, good luck.’ It is a career development conversation, a financial aid conversation and an interpersonal well-being conversation,” Bourgeois said.

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Landon Scheel | The Reflector

Due to student feedback, MSU is opening a special advising center on campus and hiring professional advisers for underclassmen.