Semester Conversion Banners Give Advising a Chuckle, Inform Students
- April 27, 2017
They went up for the first time last quarter, the day before a heavy storm brought wind, rain and flooding to the East Bay.
Tall and designed to draw attention, the now-infamous Cal State East Bay semester conversion feather banners have had a perilous journey since being placed around campus. They were frequently lost or destroyed in this year’s particularly heavy winter rains.
But still, they persisted.
“They went up right in time for the massive, hurricane weather thing we had last quarter, which destroyed them and left us with black carbon spikes all over campus,” said Larry Bliss, director of Cal State East Bay’s Academic and Advising Career Education department. “We joke about the banners, but there is a point to them.”
Which is?
To remind students about the Individualized Advisement Plans available to help them with the transition from quarters to semesters and beyond. Completing the plans involves a visit to AACE or EOP, plus the student’s faculty advisor.
“We want to make sure that students see the roadmap that leads them to graduation,” Bliss said. “We’ll be talking to students who have to make the leap from quarters to semesters and we want to help them understand how best to make that leap.”
Among other advising tools, the IAPs are a type of timeline that allows students to see what classes they still need to graduate and help ensure they aren’t taking classes they don’t need.
“It’s a relatively painless process that involves mapping out how to get you to graduation from wherever it is you are right now,” Bliss said.
Sounds a bit easier than keeping feather banners standing through an unpredictable California winter.
For more information about advising and the department’s individual advising plans, visit the .