MCC advisers discuss common mistakes made by students
Joesph Starkloff
Academic advisers at MCC have received a wide variety of questions on a daily basis. They also supplied fundamental suggestions that could help solve these and many other dilemmas students may come across while traversing academia.
Carol Vaughan, an academic adviser, said the most common mistake by students is not acting pre-emptively.
“Another common mistake is students not taking science or math,” said Vaughan.
She said that those classes fill up the fastest, which cause a student to spend extra semesters at MCC and spend more money in tuition.
Vaughan also stated that students who have not decided on a major would benefit from doing research and aptitude ability testing at career services, as another way to cut down on the time and cost of higher education.
“What’s really important is that (students) keep moving forward on a degree,” Vaughan said. “It’s easier to make a correction in the course than to run it later.”
Limse Thor, an MCC academic adviser and administrative assistant, said the error he confronts the most is students not listening to their adviser.
“We have students that tend to complain about misadvising. However in terms of researching the documentation that we provide in here, less than 1 percent are actually misadvised,” Thor said.
He also stated that early registration is the best action students can take to ensure smooth transitions between semesters.
“We don’t tell students what to do, we give them options,” Thor said.
Liz Calderon, a fellow academic adviser, stressed the importance of online research.
“There’s a lot of good information out there that would help (students) make good decisions about their education,” Calderon said.
She also stated that check sheets given to students are vital in tracking student progress, and should be kept to bring back whenever a student visits an adviser.
“As an adviser, my goal is to give students the tools they need to make the decisions for their education,” Calderon said.
