Navigating the Triumphs and Trials of Student Scheduling

The Registrar's Office, located in Donnelly Hall, plays a key role when it comes to registration -- but so too do advisors, who help guide advisees through the forms and processes the Office has in store for students during course selection season this month. Credit: Emma Denes '25

With registration for the summer and fall 2024 semesters almost upon us, students and advisors share their experiences with the advising process.

With registration season in full swing, students and advisors once again are joining forces to step through the waltz of course selection. For some, this collaboration can be the key to accessing all the academics that Marist College offers. Still, others feel that they might as well be on their own.

According to an email sent by the Registrar’s Office, before working with students on their degree programs, advisors are required to undergo “comprehensive training.”

Juan F. Arias, an advisor in the School of Computer Science and Mathematics and senior professional lecturer of computing, said his training experience was not very extensive. “There are workshops that are offered from time to time about advising students, but none of them are mandatory,” said Arias.

Mark Gildard, lecturer of athletic training, has attended several of these optional workshops as an advisor in the School of Science. During his first few years at Marist, he found them to be “especially helpful for new advisors.” 

Gildard added that in addition to the workshops, Marist has an online page with all things advising that advisors can refer to, as well as access to a newsletter from The Center for Advising & Academic Services that they are sent each month.

Psychology major and biology minor Kristina Cangiano ‘25 said the advising process has not given her the sense of direction that she anticipated. After three years with the same advisor, she says the advising experience has not given her any specific direction throughout her academic journey at Marist.

Regardless of Cangiano’s advisor supporting her academic aspirations, she has mostly been on her own with selecting courses for her minor, which she claims her advisor openly expressed they could not help her with, considering her major and minor are in different academic schools.

“I would like it if she recommended classes to me or had more knowledge on what my choices are,” said Cangiano. This experience has made her feel that her advisor is “only there to remove a registration hold.”

One of the most common complaints the Registrar’s Office received, as explained via their provided email, is “students’ preferred course date and time not being available.” This ongoing issue often leads to overwhelming override requests in various courses.

Override requests, according to assistant professor of communication Amanda Damiano, who is also an advisor in the School of Communication and the Arts, are “handled on a case-by-case basis, which is the tailored approach that Marist prides itself on.”

For instance, when faced with overriding requests from his advisees, Arias said that after explaining the request process to them, he left it to them to handle the rest. If necessary, he adds that he will email the instructor when the class is critical so that the students can keep them on schedule.

In her experience teaching in the computer labs with a limited number of seats, Joanna D'Avanzo, senior professional lecturer of advertising and advisor in the School of Communication and the Arts, understands the hesitance for professors to let students override into certain courses. However, as an advertising professor, when overriding is not feasible, she always makes sure to “offer students suggestions for other courses that are required for their degree.”

Gildard has found that Marist’s biology department is not often as overwhelmed with course override requests, as students have a wide variety of courses on similar topics to choose from. When a course is not available, he said, students have the option of taking another replacement course that will keep them “in sequence with their four-year plan.”

Brian Haughey, associate professor of finance and advisor in the school of management, said many of his finance students run into the common issue of struggling to satisfy prerequisite requirements. For this reason, it is one of the main topics he covers during his advising meetings.

According to Haughey, the School of Management “must conform to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, which gives very little room for waiving prerequisites.” Students have been able to combat this issue in the past, said Haughey, by catching up on prerequisites during winter break and summer if necessary for their degree. 

To help combat this issue early on, finance student Christian Pluchino ‘24 believes that more advisors should focus on “specifically outlining prerequisites to help students space out classes better.”

Throughout his advising career, Arias said he had noticed a repetitive issue of students not being familiar with the course catalog. This issue often leaves students confused regarding the class options provided to them and the prerequisites that come with them.

To help avoid this confusion and other registration issues, Gildard makes it a point to “lay down a good base” with his advisees within the first year. This involves primarily focusing on helping them navigate Degree Works, as well as accessing important forms and documents that can make their course selection process easier.

D'Avanzo finds that a simple email following the start of each semester has tremendously helped in straightening out these issues, as well as other issues, prior to registration season. 

Allowing the initial discussion of her students' four-year plans, D’Avanzo said, allows for a much smoother advising period by helping her to figure out “where the student’s interests lie” so she can properly guide them in their course selection. 

Coming into Marist as a psychology major her freshman year, Juliette Leveau ‘25 said she was not offered much help from her advisor. However, her switch to fashion merchandising allowed for a change in advisors that ultimately nudged her in the right direction. 

Now settled in her new major, Leveau said her current advisor “goes the extra mile” to be transparent regarding coursework difficulty, as well as possible indications that she may be taking on too much coursework in one semester. 

Casey Meunkle ‘25 said the advising process “is only helpful if your advisor is understanding of your current circumstances and wants to see you do well.” 

Similarly to Leveau, Meunkle also found himself disappointed with his advising experience until he could switch advisors. When he received a response from his freshman-year advisor, he often felt that the interaction “made it clear they did not care.” 

Going into finance his freshman year at Marist, Meunkle always knew what classes he wanted to take going into the next semester. His current advisor has helped provide necessary pointers, as well as answer any scheduling questions that he has had as he approaches his last few semesters.

To avoid situations like this for future students, Menukle suggests implementing what he describes as “a survey that students can fill out, relating to their advisor after the first advising appointment.” 

When approaching the advising process, the Registrar’s Office encourages students to openly communicate with their advisors about the methods of mentorship that can be most helpful in recognizing and achieving students’ academic goals. However, some students find themselves confused about the type of guidance they should seek from their advisors. 

Now, in his last semester, Pluchino described his introduction to advising as a freshman as “uncomfortable,” as he found there was a miscommunication as to what the advisors were supposed to offer students. 

When first meeting with his freshman year advisor, he said that they expected him “to know which classes [he] wanted to take,” while he was “under the assumption that the point of the meeting was for my advisor to recommend classes to take.” Regardless of this unfortunate introduction, Pluchino did acknowledge his freshman-year advisor’s role in assisting to his introduction in advisory meetings and the inner workings of Degree Works.

His current advisor, he says, has been “extremely helpful” in guiding him through the internship and job-hunting process as he gets closer to obtaining his degree. 

Regardless of any difficulties that advising season may bring, Damiano acknowledged the truth that lies ahead for all students. “Every student who walks across the graduation stage is a success story.”