On Friday, June 17, Shepherd University held an advisement session for transfer and readmit students who will become Shepherd students in the fall 2011 semester.

This session was the first of many this summer. The next four advisement sessions will focus on helping incoming freshmen schedule classes and become familiar with Shepherd University and support systems provided at the university such as multicultural student affairs, the health center and tutoring. The final advisement session this summer is another session for transfer and readmit students. Each session hosts about 200 students.

“It’s an opportunity for new students as theyre getting ready to start their academic career at Shepherd to come in and get a quick induction to Shepherd and also to be able to talk to faculty members who are able to help them schedule their classes and get them started on the right foot,” said Dave Cole, assistant dean of students. “Hopefully when they get started in the fall, they will be successful.”

The main area of the advisement session was the student center. Cole explained that students go in groups to meet with faculty advisers to schedule classes. The students then returned to the student center to wait until they went to a computer lab and learned how to set up their university email accounts.

While students waited, they were invited to browse tables set up in the student center with information and representatives from different organizations at the university. Organizations such as athletics, tutoring, IT, multicultural student affairs, disability support services and the university health center were represented at the advisement session.

Robin Hosby, the housing coordinator for residence life, said that not many students visited the table that day since housing applications were due earlier in the month.

Hosby deals with rearranging roommates if people do not get along, something that tends to happen in students’ first year, she said.

“Sometimes it’s difficult because they don’t really know who theyre rooming with. They will Facebook the person or go on Roommate Click and check the profile out and make a rash judgment based on what they read,” Hosby said.

Another part of the advisement sessions was the A-Team, a group of student leaders who gave a student perspective on college life.

“It’s basically a group of peer leaders that are in charge of walking students through the advisement and registration period, but we add to the experience of doing it,” said Matt Richards, a member of the A-Team. “We’re there to guide them through this and welcome them to college.”

Members of the A-Team said that new students struggle the most with time management and the social aspects of being in college. They have noticed students struggling with finding their identity and with making and keeping friends.

Transfer student Anastasia Bausum, who will be starting her third year at college in the fall, attended the advisement session last Friday. Bausum said she found the beginning of the day a bit overwhelming since she received a lot of information at once but felt reassured once she met her adviser and registered.

Bausum was glad to know that her adviser and another faculty member who assisted would be her professors in the fall.

“It was nice to meet them and get to talk to them ahead of time,” Bausum said.

Tyler Moore, who is transferring in from Frederick Community College in the fall, found the day’s session helpful and well-organized.

“It was great. Everyone was friendly, and everything was really seamless,” Moore said.

The only thing Moore was unhappy about was that upperclassmen had first choice when registering for classes. But he was still able to get into the classes he wanted.

“The day went by better than I thought it was going to go. I think the fall will start without any hitches,” he said.