Everyone tells tales about advisers. Some of the stories are heartwarming, while others are prurient, even horrifying. Most everyone has such stories on tap because the adviser-student relationship is the most crucial in turning a graduate student into a professional. the ties between graduate students and advisers are both professional and…

In August 2010, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, speaking informally at a technology conference, said technological innovations should be able to lower the cost of college to $2,000 a year. Mr. Gates's comments reportedly caught the attention of Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican of Texas, who came up with his own back-of-the-envelope estimate of how…

Students are bringing the latest devices to campuses expecting to use them as learning tools, and colleges are trying to deliver. Some of the world's best-known universities tried some experiments with a new model of online learning, in which students watch short video lectures, take automatically graded quizzes, and use online communities to work…

The dissertation adviser's task may be to give advice, but his or her approval is required for the thesis to pass and the degree to be awarded. It is the graduate student's dissertation, but the imprimatur belongs to the dissertation adviser, so perhaps the process belongs to both of them. But that equation leaves out some other important actors,…

This article reports on the findings from the 2007 Community College Survey of Student Engagement. The survey determined the services that students need but are not receiving in their first four weeks of college. It finds that many new community-college students receive little or no attention from advisers in their first four weeks of class. The…

Reports on trends to re-examine and restructure systems of academic advising for college athletes in the wake of scandals involving athletes at the University of Minnesota and the University of Tennessee. Discusses whether such advisers are responsible to athletic or academic departments. (DB)

For years administrators at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, in Richmond, Virginia, had a hunch that students were not taking full advantage of the college's advising services. Still, they were disappointed two years ago, when the Community College Survey of Student Engagement revealed that their students rarely used career services and…

Increasingly, college undergraduates are custom designing their courses of study and creating majors that allow them to combine often eclectic interests with career goals. In many cases, students' creations have had a lasting impact through development of new academic programs. Institutional arrangements for planning, advising, and monitoring…

A lack of cooperation between engineering and liberal arts faculty members, along with inadequate student advising, has thwarted efforts to broaden the education of engineering undergraduates. A report by the Association of American Colleges, "Unfinished Design: The Humanities and Social Sciences in Undergraduate Engineering Education,"…

Colleges and universities are anticipating significant benefits from electronic transfer of student transcripts and other data, including reduced costs and time savings, improved academic advising, and standardization of information format. Early testing of the recommended software suggests institutions find the system useful. (MSE)

An Association of American Colleges report recommends changes to strengthen undergraduate instruction, urging academic departments to (1) consider how courses in a major relate to each other and to outside courses and (2) structure majors so students can build on their knowledge, tying it together in a final senior experience. (MSE)

Frustrations common among students at large institutions include unavailability of faculty, crowding, inadequate advising, and problems getting into required courses. Students are often too intimidated to ask for help, but at some institutions they are pressing for changes. (MSE)

Representatives from 12 state universities have formed the Alliance for Undergraduate Education to prove that attention is being paid to undergraduates on their campuses. Participants expect to discuss how to avoid the depersonalization of large campuses and packed undergraduate classrooms. (MLW)

The National Association of Graduate-Professional Students has passed resolutions calling for reforms intended to improve the lives of graduate students, including increasing health care and making faculty and institutions accountable for better advising. Although the association is not dominated by union activists, the issue of collective…