Undergraduate Studies

Greetings from the English Undergraduate Office!

The advising locus for undergraduates, the “undergrad office,” has been thrumming with activity this past academic year and finds itself adjusting to the demands of the lingering pandemic. My co-advisor, Celeste Stoddard, and I continue to be impressed with our students’ ambitions, talents, academic accomplishments, and ability to manage complex school-and-work lives.

We have also discovered, in the movement toward a more hybrid way of working, a silver lining. As students continue to fall ill with lesser forms of COVID-19 or become exposed to it, remote advising via Zoom meets the needs of social distancing and quarantines. We also find ourselves using Zoom as an option for all students, and see it as an improvement to advising overall, with remote and in-person advising bringing different strengths to advising situations. The convenience of advising through Zoom is obvious, giving student and advisor greater flexibility in being present for an appointment. However, it also allows for a uniquely direct and versatile interaction, mainly through its screensharing function, which can give students close-up views of relevant websites, and we can more closely guide them through the course selection process or other pathways. Sharing information and email addresses in the chat function is also useful.

Nothing can replace the in-person interview when a student bustles in with color in their cheeks and cold air clinging to their jacket. It’s also the right choice for students taking classes in South College, the home of the English department and the undergrad office. Free of connectivity issues, a common plague of Zoom, meeting with students in person has a civility, formality, and congeniality that can help us know each other better. This itself can be a boon to advising.

For scheduling appointments, Celeste and rely more and more on Navigate, the undergraduate student success system, through which students can schedule appointments online. Sometimes the appointments flood in, as they did this past registration period. We’re still learning to “navigate” Navigate and the new hybrid work world, but overall are pleased with the ways the pandemic has expanded advising.