Near the end of every spring and fall semester, students flock to faculty offices to meet with their advisers in preparation for their impending registration. There are a fair amount of students who greatly benefit from meeting with their advisers; they receive advice about which courses to register for, discuss possible majors and degrees or even discuss post-graduation job possibilities. However, most students meet with advisers with significantly less fruitful results. For these students, career paths are clear, majors are declared and they have little uncertainty deciding which classes to register for. Meeting with an adviser can become unproductive or even counterproductive. These students wouldn’t even bother to meet with their advisers if they didn’t need their registration pin. Furthermore, some students avoid meeting their adviser by obtaining their registration pin via e-mail. To these students, the requirement of meeting with an adviser is more of a burden than anything else.

Registration pins should be accessible through Novasis just like nearly every other important piece of information regarding a Villanova student. By allowing students access to their pins through this means, the registrar’s office will essentially be cutting out the middle man who, in most cases, is of little use to students. This will free many students from being forced to attend a counterproductive meeting and afford professors the benefit of not having to meet with students who have no desire to meet with them. The benefits of this extend beyond the adviser and the advisee. If advisers are not required to meet with every advisee, then she or he will have more time to spend advising students who earnestly seek out help and truly benefit from an advising session. Professors would also be more accessible to their students who would be able to utilize the professors’ newfound free time for help with lessons learned in the classroom.

Allowing students to access registration pins through Novasis would also afford students the luxury of not having to waste time dealing with advisers who know little or nothing about them. Additionally, it would allow students to access their registration pin even if advisers take sabbatical without giving any notice to their advisees.

The advising process is a great system for those who can benefit from it. Unfortunately, many don’t. As college students, we are presented with the opportunity to exercise our independence and develop our maturity. Part of being independent and mature involves knowing when to seek help. The University must trust students to seek the help of advisers when they need it and trust students enough to know when they do not.