Students having trouble figuring out what courses to take next semester can find some relief at next week’s Scheduling Fest.
The academic advising session is set to take place on Tuesday, Nov. 11, from 3:30 to 6 p.m. in the Susquehanna Room of the Old University Union.
According to Scott Bennett, assistant director of the Discovery Program which runs the event, Scheduling Fest was first held in the fall of 2007 and organizers say it’s continued to help students since then.
A host of campus faculty members, such as professors from each school, peer academic advisers and Career Development Center representatives will be at the event, he said.
Each of the schools will have a number of representatives set up at tables in the Susquehanna Room.
“[The event is] geared toward freshmen and sophomores, but everyone is welcome to come,” Bennett said.
On the day of the event, Bennett suggested students bring a copy of their DARS report, along with a laptop, if possible, to make the advising process run smoothly and quickly.
Lawrence Greenfield, director of Harpur Academic Advising, said he believes the event is a positive thing, and that it serves as “another opportunity to connect with the students and generate an outreach to them.”
Harpur College of Arts and Sciences will probably have the most tables because of the high enrollment in the school, according to Bennett.
The Harpur tables will include many advisers from different departments, including the pre-law and pre-health advisers.
There will be advisers from the Watson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the School of Management, Decker School of Nursing, and the College of Community and Public Affairs to help students from those schools as well, according to Bennett.
Greenfield said that he likes meeting with students at the tables because doing so encourages them to talk about their careers at Binghamton University.
The idea for Scheduling Fest came from the positive responses from summer orientation sessions.
“If they liked it during the summer, [we decided] it might be a good idea to offer this help during the semester,” Bennett said, adding that so far the feedback from students has been enthusiastic, so the program has not been changed.
Along with the feedback, Bennett said the number of students coming to the event has also increased. The first Scheduling Fest hosted 200 students, and the next one showed an increase of between 240 and 250 attendees.
He also noted that the Scheduling Fest program will probably not be tweaked until it has had a solid basis of at least two to three years, but that coordinators are looking into modifying the program.
For now, Bennett said he is looking into “starting a tradition” with Scheduling Fest.