So it has come to this. Academic advising has become a problem so paralyzed by a lack of initiative that a parent is the most active proponent of reform. We are talking about Masood Vojdani, the incoming chair of the Parents Campaign Philanthropy Board who has already collected more than 70 e-mails from students describing their experiences with GW’s various advising systems. It is inexplicable and inexcusable that GW has turned such a blind eye to advising reform that a parent is now leading the charge.

More than two years ago, President Knapp participated in a town hall meeting in which advising was a primary concern voiced by students. Two years after hearing about those issues, we have not seen any real progress toward improving advising, much less acknowledgment of it as a central priority. GW’s chief offender, of course, is the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. Led by Dean Peg Barratt and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Paul Duff, both administrators have repeatedly demonstrated an utter disregard for truly addressing advising over their respective tenures.

In a previous editorial, we suggested parents could be an effective voice for change on advising problems, and we applaud the work of Masood Vojdani. We encourage more students to contact him with their positive and negative stories about advising at GW. His e-mail is [email protected]. Even a paragraph or two would be enough to help him develop a more complete picture of the advising issue. But it should not be the responsibility of a parent to make advising a University priority. It is time for students and administrators themselves to take the issue head-on.

Advising is an extremely important part of an undergraduate student’s development and experience. As far as advising at GW goes, Vodjani explained, “The duty of advising is the duty of care, and that care is missing.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

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