Relief may be on the way for students lost in the fog of "major confusion."
The Student Assembly's pre-major advising guide, which will probably be distributed to students in November, will help to bridge the "gap between first year [advising] and major selection," Assembly member Lila Paul '00 said.
Paul, who worked with Assembly member Jorge Miranda '01 on the project, said the guide will give sophomores information about how to choose a major and about each of the College's academic departments.
She said the first part of the guide will include a letter from next year's sophomore dean, Lisa Thum, and information Thum compiled about special majors, modified majors and double majors, among other topics.
The guide will also include a list of more than 20 frequently asked questions compiled by Thum, students interested in the problem of academic advising, the dean's office and by the Dean's Office Student Consultants -- eight seniors trained to help advise students -- Miranda said
Paul said the departmental information given in the guide will be more focused on pre-major advising than the details listed in the Organizations, Regulations, and Courses book.
She said the guide will include a section about the philosophy of the major, its size and the specialties of the professors in it.
Paul said she is still working to compile this information, and so far she has heard from between two-thirds and three-fourths of the College's departments.
A section of the guide will focus on ways students can receive advice and assistance, including information about career services, the academic skills center and the Dean's Office Student Consultants, she said.
Paul said the guide was co-sponsored by the Assembly, the academic skills center and the dean's office.
"I think it's a great step forward for everyone to be working together on this," Miranda said.
