The College of Health and Human Services at Eastern Michigan University is dedicated to the growth and success of our students. We pride ourselves on our ability to find new resources and methods that will help our students reach their potential and equip them to go on to transform the lives of others. A great example of this philosophy in action is the CHHS Advising Center.
This incredible student resource is the result of Eastern Michigan University and the College of Health and Human Services listening to student feedback and implementing new services based on their needs. We discovered that our students were experiencing confusion and frustration when planning their class schedules and determining their major requirements. This was especially true for new students adjusting to college life and new responsibilities.
As a result, the CHHS Advising Center was created. Our advisors are trained in modern guidance practices and are fully equipped to help our students find a program that will best align with their career goals as well as plan out personalized course schedules.
“Our professional advisors provide an invaluable service to our students. Their advice and counsel helps guide students towards their path to graduation,” said Associate Professor and Associate Dean Dr. Christine Karshin.
Each advisor is experienced in dealing with a large variety of student needs. Since every student’s experience is unique and has varying program requirements, it’s critical for our advisors to be familiar with the paths available for each student and how best to follow them. Having the opportunity to sit down and plan out a personalized academic schedule with a qualified individual can reduce the stress and pressure a student might experience when planning it alone.
Brendan O’Shea, EMU class of 2017 student and Exercise Science major, attests to the skill and care that our advisors use when working with students. “I can always rely on the College of Health and Human Services Advising Center to provide me with well thought guidance, in a timely manner. My academic advisor, Linda Jerome, continuously goes the extra mile to enhance my academic experience and I thank all the CHHS staff so much for my success here at Eastern Michigan University,” said Brendan.
Starting out with just five advisors, the CHHS Advising Center has helped hundreds of students to better organize and understand the responsibilities and requirements of their programs. Since opening, we’ve added more staff to better accommodate the growing number of students seeking help.
“CHHS Advisors are an important link between University advising and the academic departments that we work with. Being housed under the University Advising and Career Development umbrella, I feel that we now have a more direct line of communication and are more aware of changes in advising-related policies and processes in the university. We are then able to share this information with the students we advise as well as the CHHS academic departments we work with on a daily basis. At the same time we are able to facilitate the flow of communication back the other direction. When academic departments make an advising-affected change, such as a change to a major or program application change, we are able to share this info with our advising colleagues across the university,” said CHHS Advising Center Advisor Amanda Niemiec.
In order to continually improve upon the resources and help available to students, we ask our students and those thinking of exploring a program within Eastern Michigan University’s College of Health & Human Services to use the advising center to their benefit. All students are welcome, and the advising center is just one of the many available tools on campus dedicated to improving students’ learning and development.