Having been through advising many times doing this flow chart seemed easy at the beginning. While I was doing it I thought about what I am doing this week, what steps am I going though as a SR. I made a list of everything I am doing, then I thought about the friends I have that are freshman. If I handed them this list would they know what MYRWU is? Or do they even know who their advisor is? So I made a list of all of the questions I thought that they would ask me from my list. Having these two lists really helped me make sure that my audience (current freshman) were able to use this flow chart to sign up for classes this semester.
While making my flow chart I had come up with a few other questions off of answers that I had given. The hardest part in making the flow chart was making sure everything looped back to an answer because the only possible end for advising is that your all registered for classes for next semester. Knowing that there was only one possible outcome i had to make sure each question or process connected to another question or process until I reached the terminator.
When I reached the what I thought was the end (register for the classes you had talked about with your advisor) I realized that as a freshman you don’t always get to sign up early enough to get the classes that you want or the class times that you need to fit it into your schedule that you had made. The class you may want may only be offered when another class that you NEED is being offered. Then I thought well then what would I do. I would just sign up for another class that I need or want. So instead of ending it I came up with another question of did you get the classes you want if yes then your all set and all registered. If no then you pick a class from your back up list of classes and then your all set for next semester.
The next hard part was trying to remember how I use MYRWU and what the words are that I click on. Never really thought about it, well at least lately, I just mindlessly go in and click a few buttons here and there and I’m where I want to be. But what are those buttons I click? Well luckily this problem had a very easy solution….. Go to MYRWU and sign up for classes. So I did. Sitting here and actually reading the words that I am clicking on and righting them down as I go made me think back to my freshman year and how nervous I was that I wouldn’t get a class I NEEDED (I usually just really wanted that class cause a friend was taking that exact one too). Then I thought about if I were making this chart for seniors what else would I add and what would I take away. Well what I would take off is easy I don’t need the part about do you know your advisor, or do you know your log-in to MYRWU. But I would add at the end what happens if a class you NEED to graduate isn’t being offered? Then what? Im currently going through this. Luckily its for my minor and I can graduate with taking a different type of class. However the other choices that I can take to graduate with the minor don’t actually help me with my minor. Then don’t help me learn anything about photography. They would just be a filler class and to me thats just a waist of money. Since I’m still learning the answer to this question I didn’t want to add it to the flow chart. Plus its not relevant since our audience is Freshman not Seniors.
vsilveira 