The University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Academic Advising Team is coordinating a biennial academic advising survey.

The Academic Advising Team chair Helen Reynolds said the survey is used to identify which areas of advising are working and which areas need improvement. The survey was sent to 6,578 students on April 22 and the Academic Advising team has received 482 completed surveys.

Reynolds said the survey is important to the university because advising is the only required one-on-one interaction a student has with faculty.

“Having an advisor a student can turn to for help not only helps the student, it helps the university with retention,” Reynolds said. “Plus, most students want more interaction with their advisor, and students want that interaction to be a positive experience.”

Assistant professor of business Wendy Brooke won the College of BILSA Outstanding Academic Advisor award and said getting to know the students one advises is crucial. Brooke said advising requires more than a knowledge of a student’s major, it requires knowing the university’s rules and regulations and navigating the system.

“You have to know what is happening all over campus; if a student has a question, an advisor needs to know who to send them to and where to go,” Brooks said. “Every student is unique and every student has individual needs.”

The survey asks questions about satisfaction in different areas of advising, the importance of different areas of advising, and features two open-ended questions for students to give feedback.

Senior biology major Caitlin Gorden is one of the students who participated in the survey. Gorden said she participates in most surveys the university sends because she thinks student involvement is important.

“Advising is important for students,” Gorden said. “Advisors guide students through their academic careers.”

Students interested in taking the advising survey can follow the link in their university email, or go to schoolperceptions.com for more information.