The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

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The Girls Who Code club met together in Sierra Hall, on Friday, Sept. 15, in Northridge, Calif. Club members played around with a program to create a virtual game.
The CSUN club that’s encouraging women in STEM
Miya Hantman, Reporter • September 18, 2023

CSUN’s Girls Who Code club is just one of many across many campuses and countries, including 110 in...

Students form a crowd for DJ Mal-Ski on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Northridge, Calif.
Matador Nights carnival makes a splash at the USU
Ryan Romero, Sports Editor • September 21, 2023

The University Student Union hosted “Matador Nights” on Sept. 8 from 7 p.m. to midnight. The...

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock by FiledIMAGE.
Women’s Soccer has Closed the Competitive Gap
Luis Silva, Reporter • September 19, 2023

There is no longer a significant competitive gap in the sport of women’s soccer. There is a brighter...

The line for concert merchandise on the second night of The Eras Tour in Paradise, Nev., on Saturday, March 25, 2023.
My experience at The Eras Tour
Miley Alfaro, Sports Reporter • September 18, 2023

It’s been a long time coming. I began watching The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift’s ongoing concert trek,...

Within the Oaxacan town of Asuncion Nochixtlan, we find my mother’s birthplace, Buena Vista. Photo taken July 29, 2023.
I Love Being Mexican
September 12, 2023
A student holds up a sign during a rally outside of the CSU Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach, Calif., on Sept. 12, 2023.
CSU board approves tuition increase amid protests
Trisha Anas, Editor in Chief • September 15, 2023

The California State Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a 6% tuition increase for the next five...

group of mena and women touching hands
Miracles In Action Restores Patients’ Lives and Actualizes their Potential

Letter to the editor: The Degree Progress Report and My Academic Planner

There have been some controversies in regard to the article published on Wednesday November 19th, 2008 by the Daily Sundial on the Academic Advisement resolution passed by the Associated Students senate. The main purpose of my resolution is to help students be on track and expedite their path to graduation by having the right information provided to them by advisors. It was my only intention to request mandatory advisement for freshmen and transfer students for them to get to know the system and requirements.

I was elected to office by the students to represent their views and promote all sorts of resources for us (students) to reach graduation day in a timely manner. The Academic Affairs Committee, which I chair, conducted a one-month long, campus wide survey and students spoke clearly that they want mandatory advisement. Furthermore, freshmen students declared not to have mandatory advisement. We, Academic Affairs, think advisement is a right for all students. However, we decided to recommend mandatory advisement for freshmen and transfer students only, because returning students can contact advisors at any time for guidance. It was not, by any mean, our intention to confuse students with the resolution passed by the Associated Students Senate. The University administration suggests that advisement is mandatory for all freshmen students already, but our survey results show that some freshmen students do not get mandatory advisement. Thus, we decided to recommend that advisement must be mandatory for freshmen students.

However, the resolution on Academic Advisement goes beyond recommending mandatory advisement. We are also suggesting that the Degree Progress Report and My Academic Planner, two very useful yet complicated tools to understand, are unified into one file for easier reading by students and advisors. We, also, ask advisors to inform students that several classes may count for more than one section of the General Education requirements. This not only saves students time by taking less classes, but also frees up spaces in classrooms. As long as I’m an elected official in the Associated Students, I will search for new resources students can take advantage of to obtain their degrees in less time.

A high percentage of students at Cal State Northridge live check by check or have a hard time counting penny by penny to pay for tuition. We must help students save money and time during their college education. We were elected as Associated Students officials, to propose changes to the benefit of the student body. I know what it feels to account with barely enough funds to pay for my tuition, but I was lucky to be advised with the right information and graduated as a computer engineer in four years. Now, I am pursuing a master degree in electrical engineering.

I am glad that the University administration has responded to the passage of this resolution. Furthermore, I applaud that we [Associated Students and the University] agree that academic advisement must be mandatory for freshmen students because advisement is a key component on students’ path to graduation.

Luis Carbajo
Senator, Associated Students ‘amp; Chair, Academic Affairs Committee

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