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• Total intake model—all students begin with a central advisor and move to afaculty member in the department only after completing a certain number of hoursor a status like junior-ranking,• Satellite model—academic centers are set up within departments but faculty donot advise, and• Self-contained model—all advising takes place in a central office with noassistance from faculty.Habley (1988) noted that the most common model used on campuses is the“faculty-only model,” which is inappropriate if the faculty/student ratio is clearlyunreasonable.Kennesaw State’s Communication Advising CenterThis was the scenario at my institution when I joined the faculty in fall of 2000, and itremains so today. The reality of our department is defined by the following data: over500 declared majors who choose one of three tracks (media studies, public relations, ororganizational communication), three tenured Associate Professors, three tenure-trackAssistant Professors, two tenure-track Instructors, and one Department Chair. Whilewe utilize temporary full-time instructors and adjunct instructors, neither category iseligible to assist with academic advising. Thus, we have a departmental student-tofacultyratio of 56:1.Prior to Fall of 2001, advising in the department was done according to the “dualadvising model” as described by Habley (1988). Students were designated a facultyadvisor upon declaring their major, but they could choose to receive academic advisingfrom whomever’s door was open—or they could visit the College of Humanities andSocial Sciences professional advisor. Advising took place at the convenience of thestudent, who had the availability to receive advising as many times during a semester ashe/she chose. Advising was typically done during the faculty member’s office hours,although students felt quite comfortable “dropping in” to ask questions or go overscheduling issues. The department thought of “advising” as an all-encompassing word,meaning that students could receive academic advice, career counseling, and personalcounseling during the same visit.While students were not required to receive advising prior to registration,communication majors took advantage of the option. As the student populationincreased, faculty began to feel overwhelmed by the advising workload, and there wasno way to equitably share the load because of the external factors of (1) day versusnight students, (2) availability of faculty, (3) students’ preference for certain professors,and (4) recommendations from others on campus as to whom the student should seefor advising. The result was a tremendous amount of time being spent to advisestudents without any decrease in teaching, scholarship, or service obligations. Tofurther the advising woes, the college’s professional advisor resigned in August of 2000and was not replaced.The department voted in early 2001 to institute an Advising Center, modeled afterthe successful Psychology Advising Center at Kennesaw State, that would meet Habley’sBEA—Educating tomorrow’s electronic media professionals 9