It’s the most stressful time of the year! Registration for Spring 2024 classes is underway.
However, many students are now facing the additional stress of being unable to register because of an advising hold placed on their accounts. The hold cannot be lifted until the students meet with their academic advisors to “discuss plans for next semester” according to the Dornsife advising website.
With the influx of undergraduate students, the already complicated process has become increasingly more difficult. USC admitted 8,032 first-year applicants this fall — the university’s largest admitted class yet — however, it’s not clear if the university has hired additional advisors to meet the increased demand.
Students attending USC Dornsife are especially impacted. With more than 90 majors and 90 minors, Dornsife is the university’s largest college. Their website states, “meeting with your academic advisor is an important part of your academic journey at USC,” but some students feel forced to take a different path.
Elsa Diaz, a sophomore studying international relations, said she heard from many Dornsife students and has also experienced “the lack of availability” from advisors.
“Usually, when we meet up with them, the program is not the best in terms of helping you build a career,” Diaz said. “So, a lot of people want to leave the major after their first year just because they don’t have enough resources.”
Sophia Hameed, a human development and aging major in the School of Gerontology, said she changed her major because of the lack of support, stating that she didn’t know who her advisor was or if she had even been assigned one.
“Recently, I tried to make an appointment, and they were all full, so I had to go walk all the way to the advisement office,” economics major Andrew Maxwell said. “They told me just to email my advisor and get my student I.D. number, and he’d lift the hold on my registration.”
However, Maxwell said with his registration date just four days away, he was “a little worried” that his academic advisor would not get back to him in time.
According to the Vice Provost, students will be able to access Advise USC, a new advising platform, in mid-November, bringing hope for a smoother advising process next semester.