Some people drool, some read and others have their ears plugged with headphones. Jessica Reddish just wishes her seat had a headrest to make her experience more bearable.
Reddish, an anthropology junior, had been waiting for 25 minutes to see her academic adviser last week.She was not the only one.
Twenty-six other students were also waiting to see an adviser with her at the Academic Advising Center of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.Students are waiting between 45 to 90 minutes to see an adviser during one of the busiest times of the semester, Albert Matheny, director of the Academic Advising Center, wrote in an e-mail.
Many students are seeking advice before advanced registration for the spring semester begins on Monday, often to get holds on their records removed.
The college has a student-to-adviser ratio of 1,200-to-1, while in other colleges the ratio is 250-to-1, Matheny wrote.
"We do remarkably well in the AAC [Academic Advising Center] when you consider this discrepancy," he wrote.
In the last few years, the number of students in the college has grown from 10,000 to 12,300, but the number of advisers stayed the same due to budget constraints in the college, he wrote.
This year, the center is getting help from graduate assistants and retired faculty members "who basically work out of the goodness of their hearts," he wrote.
The extra help is aimed at giving the center more advisers and staff members available to students, Matheny wrote, and if all goes as planned, an additional hired adviser will start working Jan. 1.
"I hope we can use this to address the advising bottlenecks," he wrote. "That would be very nice, and students would see a big impact on wait time."
In order to avoid waiting, students should plan ahead by making sure they are seeing the right adviser and going to the center early in the morning, he wrote.
Coming between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. is not recommended because most students plan to go during those times, he wrote.
The center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but many students are in class during those times.
"I don't mind waiting, but I hate to miss class," said Stephen Phillips, an anthropology junior. He had to miss class after he was waiting for more than one hour for advising last week.
The college's debt may also be a factor slowing down the advising process, Matheny wrote.
The recent proposal by the Florida Legislature and the Board of Governors for a tuition increase will directly benefit students because the money will go toward hiring more advisers, he wrote.
"CLAS understands that we are short-handed, and I believe that help will soon be on the way," he wrote.
In the meantime, students like Reddish will have to linger in the waiting area at the center.
Computer outlets could help encourage students to be patient, she said, but now all she does is "stare obliviously at other people" while she waits.
