An Advising Staff Exodus at Parsons?

UPDATE: Parsons students received emails on February 21 assigning them to new advisers.

Before the start of the semester, Parsons students received an email from the academic advising office informing them that all but one of the advisors for the School of Fashion had departed to pursue other interests. This abrupt change has left both staff and students scrambling to solidify spring semester schedules and has sparked rumors of an advising staff exodus. Though the school moved quickly to find new advisors to serve as replacements during the start of the semester, students of the School of Fashion have still not been assigned personal advisors.

All five advisors gave their two weeks notice in January, just two weeks before school began, according to Juli Parker, the assistant dean of advising at Parsons. While Parker was as shocked by the news as students have been, she insists that the timing was a coincidence and not a planned staff exodus.

“Change is always difficult, which I think is part of the shock,” Parker said. “I feel very good that we were able to get these new advisors in place with the absolute least amount of disruptions possible.”

Despite the best efforts of the academic advising office, this staff transition has been less than smooth for many fashion students.

“I was very confused and flustered to find that my advisor had left,” Fashion Design junior Sheycha Dem said.

Dem was not yet registered for all of her necessary courses and was concerned whether credits from her semester study abroad would still transfer.

“I emailed the advising office about it and, to be honest, I think they are just as confused as I am,” she said.

Fashion students may meet with any available advisor while they wait to be assigned a new advisor. They have been instructed to e-mail the Parsons Fashion advising team or to utilize walk-in hours during the add/drop period.

“We are currently in a transition period here in Advising and as such you do not yet have a new Advisor assignment,” is the response that most students will receive if emailing the advising office.

The email instructs students to use Starfish through MyNewSchool to make an appointment with an available advisor. However, many students have had difficulty reaching a member of the advising team.

“We pay so much to go to school here. We shouldn’t have a problem when we need advising,” Fashion Design junior Alina Mihelin said.

Students will be assigned new advisors by the end of February when the remaining positions are filled and there is a full advising staff in place. The start of a new semester brings high traffic to the advising office. The three new advisors, each of whom moved from different departments within The New School, have seen 550 walk-ins and 226 appointments since January 21. They also have responded to over 400 student e-mails since January 19, according to Parker.

“We strive to make this transition as seamless as possible,” Parker said. “But I don’t expect perfection.”