For students experiencing difficulties, an academic advisor is often one of the first people they seek out for advice. 

But it can be hard to vocalize those concerns in a crowded office space teeming with other students and student services staff. 

That was a challenge in the former Engineering Student Services suite located in the Shelby Center. 

“When students experience depression or academic difficulties, you don’t want a bunch of people overhearing that,” said Janet Moore, director of advising in the College of Engineering. “The advisors were very clustered in the Shelby Center, which made it difficult.” 

Since the move to the Brown-Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center, the college is now able to offer a truly private and comfortable advising experience for students. 

“The biggest change, though, is access and visibility,” Moore said.

“The more doors you put between students and the services they need, the less likely they are to seek out those services. Being centrally located where the students already are has greatly improved our visibility.”

That enhanced visibility is already paying dividends for the advising staff. The college’s no-show rate for advising appointments was already low at 7% in the 2018-19 academic year. However, that has now dropped to just 2% for the 2019-20 year as of November. 

“Location is the only thing I can attribute that to,” Moore said.

The new Brown-Kopel Center has also elevated the college’s robust peer advising program, which is managed by academic advisor Jane Lamb. All pre-engineering students in the college meet with a trained peer advisor prior to their appointment with the professional advising staff. 

In the past, there was no dedicated space for peer advising sessions. Students had to bring their own laptops and search for an empty space where they could meet, often in a noisy public area with heavy foot traffic. Brown-Kopel has changed that, allowing students a private space to talk with their peer advisors. 

“Peer advising has been a big hit with our students,” Moore said. “They tend to enjoy it because your professional advisor is not necessarily someone who has gone through the engineering classes they are taking. Peer advising helps students navigate technology like DegreeWorks and get peer feedback on their course load. Those aren’t conversations you would normally have with your professional advisor.” 

Beyond elevating the services offered to students, Moore feels the new Brown-Kopel Center’s central location also offers opportunities for increased collaboration between departments, such as developing new partnerships between Engineering Student Services and the Office of Career Development and Corporate Relations. 

“This is such an exciting time for Student Services because of Brown-Kopel,” Moore said. “The space has been very positive for both the students and the staff.”