Poor advice from advisor requires daughter to skip & then add a semester. Any options?

[J-rap]

My daughter recently added an education certification onto her major. (She is a first semester junior.) She had a lengthy discussion with her advisor, who assured her she could do it without having to extend her schooling. She then walked her through the registration process for second semester to make sure she was getting the right classes to meet the additional requirements.

 

Three weeks into the semester (too late to drop/add), my daughter has discovered that the majority of the education certification requirements are only offered in the spring. She could have taken several of these spring-only classes THIS semester, but her adviser for some reason advised her to take other classes that are also required, but that are offered year-round.

 

And actually, only one class that she needs to take for either her major or her certification is offered next fall. So, the school is telling her she needs to take next fall semester off completely, and then come back 2nd semester, in which case she'll still be able to finish in a year and a half, but of course it interrupts her education and causes her to have to wait an additional semester before she can graduate.

 

Doesn't this seem strange and irresponsible of the school? Can we do anything about it? Is it my daughter's fault for not trying to figure it all out herself? SO frustrating...! If anyone has any advice or experience with something like this, I'm all ears!

[regentrude]

What department is her advisor in? If he is in her major, I would not expect him to have the insight into which classes are offered when for the education certificate.

If he is actually in the education department, then I would be upset and complain.

 

ETA: She should check out whether she can take any of those courses in the fall at a different institution and transfer the credits.

[Starr]

Unfortunately I doubt there is anything that can be done. :( These sorts of things make me crazy. I want to go over all the options with my dd and she always says everything is fine. But often not all options are considered. I'm sorry.

[J-rap]

What department is her advisor in? If he is in her major, I would not expect him to have the insight into which classes are offered when for the education certificate.

If he is actually in the education department, then I would be upset and complain.

 

ETA: She should check out whether she can take any of those courses in the fall at a different institution and transfer the credits.

 

I don't know. I will have to ask her. Even if I complain though, I don't know what they can do. If the classes aren't offered in the fall, then I don't know how they can help her.

[kiana]

It is certainly a cautionary tale as to why checking (and not just trusting your advisor) is a good idea.

 

There is nothing you can do about it at this point. I would look for maybe an interesting educational or internship opportunity for the missed semester. Maybe she could get a job tutoring for her major, or volunteer?

[regentrude]

I don't know. I will have to ask her. Even if I complain though, I don't know what they can do. If the classes aren't offered in the fall, then I don't know how they can help her.

 

They may not be able to change anything, but bad advising needs to be brought to the administration's attention (if it was indeed the education advisor).

 

Her best bet may be to get her courses in elsewhere; taking a one semester break is not a good idea.

Oh, and she may want to discuss whether she can do anything via independent study. If the school advised her poorly, they should be receptive to this remedy.

 

ETA: For independent study, she should contact the professors teaching the courses she can't take and see if they would agree to that. I have done this with students who had scheduling conflicts for one of my courses.

[J-rap]

My only thought is that this school is in a consortium with three other private colleges in the same city. Students can take classes at the other colleges if the classes are not offered at their own school, although they are not allowed to take classes at the other schools to fulfill a major. Maybe if my daughter's school admits they gave poor advice, they would allow her to take the required classes at one of the other schools (if even offered there).

[J-rap]

It is certainly a cautionary tale as to why checking (and not just trusting your advisor) is a good idea.

 

There is nothing you can do about it at this point. I would look for maybe an interesting educational or internship opportunity for the missed semester. Maybe she could get a job tutoring for her major, or volunteer?

 

Yes, I have thought about this. This would definitely be the best option if she is forced to take the semester off.

[J-rap]

They may not be able to change anything, but bad advising needs to be brought to the administration's attention (if it was indeed the education advisor).

 

Her best bet may be to get her courses in elsewhere; taking a one semester break is not a good idea.

Oh, and she may want to discuss whether she can do anything via independent study. If the school advised her poorly, they should be receptive to this remedy.

 

ETA: For independent study, she should contact the professors teaching the courses she can't take and see if they would agree to that. I have done this with students who had scheduling conflicts for one of my courses.

 

Independent study is a good idea. We will look into that, as well as the possibility of taking advantage of the school consortium agreement, though it supposedly is not allowed for majors.

[scholarly]

Just something to consider- if she takes a fall semester off, she will probably go into repayment on her loans (if she has any).

[SarahW]

Ugh, that's terrible.

 

Because I did a lot of dual-enrollment, I wanted to do college in only two years, with a double major and a minor. A few days after arriving at college I hung around the registrar office long enough to snitch a copy of their future course offering schedule. That thing was worth it's weight in GOLD. Seriously. No, platinum. I was able to see right away that I had to take an upper-level course and it's prereq in the same semester. I explained this to my advisor. His response: "Really?" Me: "Yes. Really." I had to go get permission from the department chair, who also said: "Really?" Me: "Yes, really."

 

I don't know what would have happened if I didn't snitch that booklet. I probably would have had to graduate without one of my majors because of that one class.

 

To the OP: I don't know what your daughter can do. I would have made an appointment to talk to the Dean of Academic Affairs and put it on the school to arrange a workable plan for me.

[J-rap]

Just something to consider- if she takes a fall semester off, she will probably go into repayment on her loans (if she has any).

 

She has a good scholarship that covers most of her tuition, so we fortunately did not have to take out a loan. This is another reason why the school is telling her she needs to take off a semester, because her scholarship is good for just 4 full-time years.

[J-rap]

Ugh, that's terrible.

 

Because I did a lot of dual-enrollment, I wanted to do college in only two years, with a double major and a minor. A few days after arriving at college I hung around the registrar office long enough to snitch a copy of their future course offering schedule. That thing was worth it's weight in GOLD. Seriously. No, platinum. I was able to see right away that I had to take an upper-level course and it's prereq in the same semester. I explained this to my advisor. His response: "Really?" Me: "Yes. Really." I had to go get permission from the department chair, who also said: "Really?" Me: "Yes, really."

 

I don't know what would have happened if I didn't snitch that booklet. I probably would have had to graduate without one of my majors because of that one class.

 

To the OP: I don't know what your daughter can do. I would have made an appointment to talk to the Dean of Academic Affairs and put it on the school to arrange a workable plan for me.

 

 

Lesson definitely learned here! This is our first child in a traditional U.S. university. We will all hopefully be wiser and more assertive in the future...

[Barbara H]

It is unfortunate that happened. I would not see this as a unique failing of her school, but rather a pretty common type of mistake that could happen almost anywhere for a couple of reasons. One, because advisers often aren't that great - they aren't necessarily trained well and they are often overworked. Two, because sometimes requirements are a lot more complicated than it appears at a quick glance and it is possible even for someone good who is trying really hard to make a mistake. A really good adviser can often work out paths through the system that aren't obvious to students just looking at the requirements. I would strongly urge your daughter to keep talking to other people - the director of undergraduate studies in her department, other advisers, etc. and ask them to think creatively about other options. It may be they can substitute a requirement, allow for an independent study, shift around her existing credits, etc.

[J-rap]

It is unfortunate that happened. I would not see this as a unique failing of her school, but rather a pretty common type of mistake that could happen almost anywhere for a couple of reasons. One, because advisers often aren't that great - they aren't necessarily trained well and they are often overworked. Two, because sometimes requirements are a lot more complicated than it appears at a quick glance and it is possible even for someone good who is trying really hard to make a mistake. A really good adviser can often work out paths through the system that aren't obvious to students just looking at the requirements. I would strongly urge your daughter to keep talking to other people - the director of undergraduate studies in her department, other advisers, etc. and ask them to think creatively about other options. It may be they can substitute a requirement, allow for an independent study, shift around her existing credits, etc.

 

 

Thank you - we will look into those options. Shifting around credits is something to think about, as well as substituting a requirement.

[QueenCat]

If the classes can't be found for the fall, can she do an internship?

[In The Great White North]

Could she do her student teaching that semester?

[J-rap]

If the classes can't be found for the fall, can she do an internship?

 

 

An internship would be her best option if she can't take classes, I think. This is definitely something she would pursue.

[J-rap]

Could she do her student teaching that semester?

 

Hmmm...From what I understand, the student teaching needs to be done at the end. But, maybe this is something the school would consider if they feel responsible.

[kiana]

 

Hmmm...From what I understand, the student teaching needs to be done at the end. But, maybe this is something the school would consider if they feel responsible.

 

Implausible -- not just because "they won't let her" but legal/certification reasons relating to having taken the courses she is supposed to have before student teaching.