To help students prepare for the spring semester, The University of Akron School of Communication is hosting a fall advising fair in room 110 of Kolbe Hall on Oct. 29 and 30.

Only for students in a communication program, this walk-in style event just started this past spring semester from the idea that faculty are better suited to assist with making program specific plans and decisions.

McKenna Vietmeier, an assistant professor of instruction and undergraduate faculty advisor for the school of communication, said various faculty members will be available to help determine schedules and give advice on which classes to take before others.

“We do have our college level advisors… who work on the more broad stroke stuff… but we knew that a lot of our students still needed additional help making program specific decisions.” Vietmeier said.

Some of these program specific decisions include if students can take the capstone course and complete an internship to graduate or what order classes should be taken for each specific major.

Along with having students work directly with faculty to plan for the future, this will also help the faculty in planning for next semester in case a class won’t fill or if more sections are needed for a course.

“It’s planning on both ends,” Vietmeier said. “Helping us plan as faculty and also helping our students plan, and of course, graduate more quickly because there’s that proactive forward looking happening.”

One hope for this semester’s advising fair in comparison to last semester’s is to spread the word of the event in order to make students aware ahead of time and promote proactive planning.

Faculty involved are encouraging all students, not just seniors preparing to graduate, to engage in proactive planning toward their future as it leads to easier scheduling, less confusion and possibly faster graduation.

Another goal faculty members have with the advising fair is to get students involved with the school of communication organizations; WZIP, ZTV and The Buchtelite, as they enhance learning and give real-world experience to those involved.

“So students who aren’t necessarily a major or minor here yet but are maybe interested in them, it would also be a great opportunity to come and meet with faculty about those specific programs,” Vietmeier said.

Several students in the school of communication have not heard about the advising fair but are interested in receiving one-on-one assistance directly from the faculty members in the program.

Junior Morgan Horn, a strategic and organizational communication major, plans on attending the advising fair in hopes of receiving help that’s more tailored to her needs in the program.

“I’m excited to get more out of it than I’ve gotten from other advisors and I’m ready to get on track going into my senior year to graduate,” Horn said.