LETTER: Advisers well qualified

Editor,

I found the head in yesterday's Lobo, "Not all advisers qualified," insulting and degrading. I am Arturo Sierra, and I have served as the director for the College of Enrichment Program for the last 12 years. Throughout my tenure I have worked hard with advising centers across the university and for the most part the advisers have provided quality service to their respective students. Yes, there have probably been some mistakes but it was not the fact that someone did not have a bachelor's degree that caused the error.

I applaud Susan Carkeek, associate vice president and director of the Human Resources Department, for addressing the thought provoking issue that undergraduate advisers and senior academic advisers are underpaid and unappreciated at UNM. What is the University planning to do about this grave dilemma?

A couple of years ago I was asked to serve on a University-wide retention committee with a cross section of staff, faculty and administrators and we met for an academic year. One of the cornerstones of an aggressive, University-wide retention effort is a high quality advisement program. Academic advisers and staff who are involved in advising undergraduate students are a critical catalyst in this effort. The professional development activities and additional training articulated by Dr. Wanda Martin and M. Stephanie Hands in yesterday's article are examples of the rigorous preparation advisers must go through before they advise students. It is my experience, over 25 years of higher education, that a bachelor's degree does not make someone a high quality academic adviser. At this time, there are not very many academic advisers who do not possess a bachelor's degree and I want to thank each of them for their dedication. Keep up the great work you have done, are doing and will continue to do on behalf of your students.

For your information, all six CEP program coordinators who day to day provide a holistic approach in providing direct services for CEP students all have a bachelor's degree, two hold a master's degree and two more are in the process of completing a master's degree.

Arturo Sierra