Salem State Students Voice Their Opinions on Advising

During my time at Salem State University, there have been a number of concerns and strong opinions regarding the advising at the university, others have had no issues. Some students have experienced high stress levels during the registration period and some have had smooth sailing experiences. Below are some opinions, from both students and alumni.

Krystee Maniscalco, 22, student
“Sometimes they [advisors] don’t show up to their appointments, and when they do, they don’t know how to read my transcript. They also never answer my emails.”

Danielle Pieroni, 21, student
“My advisors told me that I had x amount of classes left, which was correct, but they didn’t tell me I had an y amount of credits, which means I have extra classes like free electives. I advised myself for three years.”

Robert Mason, 21, student
“I think the advising process could be better. The meetings are abrupt and they don’t explain a lot to you; they kind of assume you should know. I feel that being a professor hinders the ability of the advisor for the student because it is not their main priority.”

Lauren Goodick, 21, student
“I never had a problem with advising at Salem State. One thing I would probably change about the process is the class availability.”

Regis Diallo, 31, Salem State Alum
“I came through the ‘international house’ and was helped every step of the way by my advisors from the little green house on South Campus because I could not speak or understand English. So to me, they get 100 percent rating. Not sure if regular English speaking students get the same level of guidance.”

Alexandra Ambrosino, 22, Salem State Alum
“If there was one thing I could change it would be that each advisor was in contact with each other and you wouldn’t get different answers from each advisor. I was a double major and at one point my advisors from both majors were telling me opposite things to do.”

Francesca Rao, 22, Salem State Alum
“I was very happy with advising at Salem State. I found out a lot of information about my major in regards to the requirements for graduating during my senior year. I feel like this should be talked about sooner than the students senior year so they are able to properly prepare.”

Juan Jiminez, 22, student
“Yes, I am happy with the advising at Salem State. It’s always been smooth sailing for me. I think professors should be advisors because it lets them know students better which can be useful.”