The university is making some changes to advising, and Provost Robert Frank says they are working to put them in place for next year’s freshmen.

As previously reported, part of the changes is making advising mandatory once per semester for an undergraduate’s first two years and hiring more advisers in some colleges to balance out the ratio of students to advisers. Frank said widespread implementation of the Graduate Planning System is also imminent.

“It’s really critical that every student have a GPS plan, because those plans are what drive the advising process,” Frank said.

President Lester Lefton said at February’s Faculty Senate meeting advising is one of a limited number of areas the university will be working on in the near future, but it’s one he wants to perfect.

“We have to do the best job we can with advising,” Lefton said. “I would like us to be known as the best advising university in America.”

Frank said all of these changes are part of the first phase of the changes. This phase is set to be “conceptually done” this week, he said, and will be implemented this fall.

Contact Carrie Blazina at [email protected].