Over the summer, Advising Central relocated and expanded from the second floor of J. Walter Wilson to the third. It opened for student use on Sept. 1, the first day of classes.
The expansion was designed to reflect the recommendations of Faculty Advising Fellows and is intended to establish a clear point of entry for all student advising needs, as well as to pool staff resources to enhance the student advising experience.
The expanded space includes an office for Disability Support Services, a center where students with disabilities can complete assignments for classes with the necessary accommodations.
The Curricular Resource Center, which previously occupied the space now used by Advising Central, has moved to the second floor of the Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center. A few temporary Swearer Center offices also had to be relocated to the second floor of J. Walter Wilson to make room for the expansion.
Although Advising Central has expanded, the number of staff working there remains the same.
With the expansion, students now have a centralized space dedicated to advising and no longer need to wait in the hallways to see an adviser, as they did last year, said Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron.
"Advising Central was conceived as a place for students, and it's evolved every year," she said. "Students can go to J. Walter Wilson and find Faculty Advising Fellows, Randall Advisers and peer advising all in one location."
Bergeron said that Brown can expect a further expansion of advising, as well as the development of faculty expertise to comprehensively address students' questions.
Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn said that Advising Central was conceived as a way to "encourage interaction with faculty and students" and that the expansion worked to "evaluate and build on programs that brought together faculty and students."
"Advising Central is now involving faculty in the lives of students directly," she said.
Bergeron said Advising Central addresses students' need for "just-in-time advising" when they have urgent questions and provides students with the opportunity to expand their network and interact with more faculty for a diversity of perspectives.
Students have the option to head to Advising Central and chat with an adviser about their favorite course over a cup of coffee or make a formal appointment to discuss more serious academic goals, Klawunn said.
"Advising will be made available in the way students want it," Bergeron said.
