We want to thank you for bringing to light issues that Amarillo College students are expressing about their experience in the advising department in the recent editorial “Problematic advising needs reform.”
While their concerns are valid, we feel that further information and clarification will address these issues. The advising department’s main objective is to build positive and supportive relationships with our students.
We strive to be continually available, helpful and knowledgeable. We want to collaborate with our students to help develop their career and academic plan and provide resources to aid in their success. We want to be a part of their support system as they achieve their academic and career goals.
The editorial indicates that students have difficulty contacting their advisers and that appointments are not always available. It is true that advisers get busy with appointments, but we always have walk-in opportunities. Advising hours are Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Although most advisers require appointments Monday – Thursday, we also have walk-in advisers ready to help. No appointment is needed to visit with any of our advisers Friday and Saturday. When a student’s program adviser is out of the office, the advising team makes sure that students are still served and that immediate needs are met.
We encourage students to make a follow-up appointment to speak with their program adviser, if needed. To meet students’ needs during our peak registration times, no appointment is required in August, December and January. We also provide special holiday hours during the winter break when most of the campus is closed.
We understand that those busy registration periods can be frustrating. We encourage students to come in early in the semester to meet with their adviser to start planning and approving future courses via Student Planning. With Student Planning, advisers can plan courses for each semester until program completion. The course approval or “greenlight” process allows students to register themselves for their courses when priority registration opens. This allows students to take control of when they choose to register and not have to depend on their adviser’s appointment availability.
Summer and Fall registration opens April 4, 2022, at 6 a.m. Come in now to meet with your adviser to create your success plan. For more information on advising services or to book an appointment with you adviser, please visit the AC advising department webpage: www.actx.edu/advising.
— Ernesto Olmos,
director of advising
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