Classes can become stressful towards the end of the semester, but selecting the best class to take the following semester might only make life more difficult. Registration for the spring semester begins November 8 and ends on November 17 for University of Memphis students, so The Daily Helmsman sat down with Professor Michael Robinson to gather some helpful tips to navigate through advising meetings.
Robinson is a professor who teaches media classes, such as creative mass media and a capstone class. He is also a student services coordinator where he coordinates student internships, and advises new students at the university.
Building a relationship is the first step to having a successful meeting. At the end of the day, advisors are mentors to help you navigate college and your introduction to professional life.
“Your advisor's job is to help and guide, not do everything for you,” Robinson said.
By that, Robinson refutes the idea that a student is there to be a blank slate during an advising appointment. Advising, as the term might suggest, requires some amount of previous direction, so students should be aware of who their advisors are, know their graduation requirements, and be generally prepared for the appointment.
“Get familiar with the prerequisite that you need to have in place,” Robinson said. “It makes the meeting go a lot smoother when the student knows what they need in a certain class.”
Having a plan and knowing what direction a student wants to go in is helpful for the student and advisors because it allows the advising meetings to run efficiently.
“It always helps the advisor when we are talking to a student, and the student has an idea of what their path action looks like,” Robinson said. “Come into the advisor meeting with a plan to spend less time discussing what classes you’re going to take and spend more time talking about potential internship opportunities.”
Robinson also pointed out the importance of being unafraid to ask their advisors questions. Part of being a college student is managing your schedule, and it is important to identify what classes are a priority with an individual’s major.
“Asking your advisors which classes you should prioritize, or which class you should register first, is wise to build your schedule around those classes is an important question to ask.”
Choosing classes sounds troublesome, and can be overwhelming, but the best option is finding classes that are relevant to a student’s major and interest them.
“Think about your Gen-Eds less as just throw-away decisions and more about looking through your UM Degree to see what slots into your major, and find what interests you,” Robinson said.
