Students changing majors or declaring a new major this semester should take notice of information sessions that they must attend to have priority registration, said UA advisers.
More advisers are offering major information sessions as a time-saving process to inform students of major requirements so advisers can focus efforts on students already in the major, said Judy Roman, a sociology adviser.
Roman said many departments that offer major information sessions, such as sociology, political science and psychology, will only give priority registration for courses to students declared in those majors.
Some departments in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences are offering the information sessions to handle the increased enrollment and interest in their majors, Roman said.
Thirteen UA departments now hold mandatory major information sessions for students who want to declare the major.
Paul Johnson, a journalism adviser, said the journalism department began the mandatory major information sessions this semester to better serve the 560 students who have already declared.
The one-hour major information sessions are open to all students interested in declaring the major and will be similar to major information sessions offered at freshman orientations.
The sessions will replace most individual advising for prospective majors, but individual advising will still be required for transfer students and students who can’t attend any of the scheduled sessions.
“”It’s not as personal, but it’s a better use of our time to help students who are already in the major,”” Johnson said.
In addition to saving time for advisers, Roman said the major information sessions can also be more informative for students when they learn from questions made by other students at the sessions.
Ann Parker, director of student affairs for the College of Education, said education major information sessions provide students with general information about the major, allowing individual student advising to be more personalized.
The College of Nursing offers pre-nursing information sessions that are highly recommended to students, said Vickie Radoye, assistant dean of student affairs for the college.
Radoye said she sees the information sessions as the first step students can take towards the admissions process into the college. They offer students information on admissions criteria, program expectations and other helpful advice.
Kristin Klier, a pre-nursing sophomore, said she attended a nursing information session when she was still in high school.
“”It helped a lot because I didn’t know where to start,”” Klier said.
Vanissa Van Winkle, a psychology freshman, said she attended a major information session for psychology last semester.
The session, featuring a PowerPoint presentation, helped her understand the major requirements, she said.
Johnson said he is working to inform students of the major information sessions through posters and on UA advising Web sites.
Students who want to declare journalism as major must attend one of the four remaining major information sessions if they want to have priority registration for summer and fall journalism classes, Johnson said.
Students can find out if their prospective major has a mandatory major information session at the UA Advising Resource Center Web site, or by contacting the department, said Gabrielle Sykes-Casavant, administrative assistant for the advising resource center.
