The Academic Advising Office of the Naveen Jindal School of Management has streamlined the student advising process, making it more user-friendly for both students and advisors.

Students no longer have to make appointments to get assistance, although they still can do so when needed. The improved process — dubbed the JSOM Advising Lab — allows walk-ins during specific hours and also keeps staff members from becoming overwhelmed, said Director Corina Cantua.

That is particularly important this academic year because of the Jindal School’s record enrollment, she said.

Before the office launched this initiative, getting assistance often required a serious time commitment from students. They typically had to line up outside the office in the morning. The line was long and so was the wait, sometimes stretching for hours. Students were frequently forced to return the next day.

“We still have lines sometimes, but they are not as long and the wait is shorter,” Cantua said. “We have eight graduate advisors and 10 undergraduate advisors rotating into the computer lab during peak registration. I’m there the whole time, as well as several lab assistants.”

Student needs cover a range of topics, including degree requirements, credit transfers, course registration, change of major, graduation, academic policies and procedures. Some can be helped in a few minutes, but others take longer. Students sometimes need to do research before continuing with an advisor and the computer lab allows them to do that on-site without having to reschedule.

Graduate student Adi Pandey said his experience with the Jindal School’s advising office has been much more efficient than that of a school he previously attended.

“It took a long time to be able to talk with anyone,” said Pandey, an information technology and management major. “When I tried, it was four weeks before I could get an appointment. As a result, I was not able to get the information I needed in time, and I missed taking some crucial classes.”

That incident has made him especially appreciative of the opportunity to quickly get help from JSOM’s Advising Lab.

“My experience there has been completely positive,” he said. “I’ve used it six times this year to get information I needed, including classes for next semester and internship requirements.”

Occasionally, there might be a line, he added, especially during busy times such as the start of a new semester, but it is never long.

In the past, according to Cantua, the advising office was able to help about 50 students in person per day. Under the new system that number has at least doubled. On their busiest day, they assisted 200 students.

Sterling Fought, a senior marketing major whose concentration is in professional sales, is a frequent visitor to the lab.

“I transferred here from another college after freshman year, plus I have community college credits,” she said. “That complicates things.”

If she needs help with a big issue, Fought sometimes sends an email to be sure a specific advisor will be available. Typically, however, she goes in without an appointment. After filling out and submitting a slip of paper stating what she needs help with, she sits down at one of the computer stations.

We are continuing to find ways to improve the system, We try to be creative and to constantly be as efficient as possible. – Corina Cantua

“I rarely have to wait long for someone to help me,” she said. “It has never been more than 10 minutes.”

An early version of the advising lab initiative started prior to 2020 when it became necessary for personal interactions between students, faculty, and staff to be virtual due to the pandemic. Since then, the advising office program has evolved.

“We are continuing to find ways to improve the system,” Cantua said. “We try to be creative and to constantly be as efficient as possible.”