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(1988) designation as a “supplementary advising model.” The Communication AdvisingCenter began operations that fall according to the following schedule:• the Center would be open only four weeks during a semester, and studentscould only receive academic advising during that timeframe;• students would be sent a letter explaining the Center and encouraging them tocall the departmental office to make an appointment for advisement;• faculty would designate three hours a week to work in the Center, so that eachfaculty member would advise only 12 hours a semester;• appointments would be limited to 20 minutes; and• students would be required to call at least 24 hours in advance to schedule anappointment.Students were given the ability to choose an advising appointment based on the facultymember working in the Center at that time or based on the convenience of thescheduled time. They simply called the departmental office and gave the secretary theirnames, tracks, and any specific preference they had for advising. Once an appointmentwas scheduled, the departmental secretary created a folder for the student by pulling hisor her latest transcript off the computer. The goal of the appointment was to ensure thestudent was on track for graduation, provide advice on the next semester’s class schedule,and answer any curriculum questions. Students were informed prior to the appointmentthat the Center was open for academic advising only; career counseling would still bedone during faculty office hours.Students who had never seen a faculty member in the department for advising werenot seen in the Center, because of the 20-minute time limit. These students were splitinto two groups: new majors and transfer students. One faculty member advised all thenew majors outside the Center, offering a one-on-one environment to explain thecurriculum, the three tracks, the “gateway” courses, and to assist in the development of acourse schedule for the following semester. Another faculty member advised the transferstudents individually, with the focus of those meetings being an explanation of thecurriculum and where their transfer credits would fit into KSU requirements.MethodAn evaluation survey was developed to gain quantitative and qualitative data fromstudents concerning the acceptance and effectiveness of the Center. This survey, withminor variations, has been distributed for three semesters (Fall 2001, Spring 2002, andFall 2002) to all communication courses. Students are encouraged to complete the surveyone time only, and both full-time and adjunct faculty are charged with the responsibilityof remembering to hand out the surveys during the week following closure of theCommunication Advising Center. All communication majors are asked to complete thesurvey, regardless of whether they utilized the Center that semester.The two-page survey asked students if they made an appointment with the Center,whether they kept it, whether they were on time, and whether the faculty member was ontime. Students were then given six statements regarding the notice, operation, expertise ofthe faculty advisor, usefulness of the materials in the Center, the 20-minute timeframe forappointment, and their overall pleasure with the Center with standard Likert-scale choices.The survey also asked students if they planned to use the Center the following semesterand allowed them to answer two open-ended questions about their advising experience.10Feedback April 2003 (Vol. 44, No. 2)