Advisement: How to hack it at the Valley

Richard Decker
Staff Writer

Students share tips and tricks about utilizing advisement at Hudson Valley.
When class registration opens Oct. 26, students have many resources available to help choose classes and fulfill their degree track. This includes meeting with their advisers, talking to peers and using RateMyProfessor.

Sept. 25 marked the start of advisement and verification number (AVN) distribution for students attending Hudson Valley who plan to return in the spring.

Students who have not scheduled appointments with their advisers to discuss Spring 2018 classes should reach out to their office soon. During meetings, students will be given an advisement verification number which allows for class registration when it opens Oct. 26 on the HVCC WIReD website.

With just under three weeks until the start of class registration, some students have planned their full semester, while others are unaware of the resources that are available to aid in the process of choosing classes.

“I’m an individual studies major and I’m trying to take all the prerequisites to transfer, but I don’t know the best way to choose my classes,” said Mary Kate Dollard, a senior individual studies major.

Dollard considers several factors when choosing her classes, but the main reason behind her decision is the professor.

“Usually [the determining factor] is the professor. I know a professor can be really awesome and have a great course,” said Dollard.

Many students agree that being able to find a professor that is well-received by peers is an important aspect to consider.

A popular resource among students on campus is RateMyProfessor. According to the website, RateMyProfessor.com is the leading website in professor reviews with “more than 19 million ratings, 1.7 million professors and over 7,500 schools.

Additionally, for students thinking of transferring upon graduation, the website compiles Top Lists of the Highest Rated Professors, Hottest Professors and Top Schools in the U.S. based on ratings from students. These top lists can be found at “toplists.ratemyprofessor.com/”.
RateMyProfessor provides insight on professors in several ways. Most pertinent are the reviews, which are capped at 350 characters.

Alongside the reviews are tags that give helpful and quick information on the professor and the class such as “participation matters,” “accessible outside class,” “tough grader” and “get ready to read.”

For some students, the teaching method and friendliness of the professor affect their decision.
“I noticed for me, personally, I really learn most when I like the teacher,” said Allison Marshall, a sophomore. “If it’s taught in a way I don’t agree with, then I’m not going to take in that information.”

Regarding RateMyProfessor, Marshall said, “Although some professors will only have one or two ratings, there are tags like “lecture-based” and I know that I most likely won’t retain that information, and I won’t take that class.”

However, Marshall says there are other factors, like past-student reviews, that sometimes encourage her to look more closely at the professor.

Anna Tuttman, a social sciences and humanities major, said, “I would say I rely on [RateMyProfessor], but I am definitely hesitant because you don’t really know who is writing those reviews.”

Tuttman brings forth a valid point. How trustworthy are anonymous reviews of a professor? Tuttman said, “I talk to my adviser, we look at the degree track and go from there.”