Consolidation of liberal arts college complete

If you are a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, you might have been confused earlier this year if you showed up for advisement at Gambrell or Jones Physical Science Center. No, the school hasn’t decided to erase the department, but rather simply moved it to make it more accessible to students.

The College of Arts and Sciences has moved to a combined space in Flinn Hall, which is conveniently located right outside the Horseshoe. The decision to change was made by Dean Fitzpatrick, who wanted the arts and science majors to be together. The problem with arts and science majors before was that if a student wanted to switch between the majors, he or she would have to walk all over campus. This deterred students from getting the necessary paperwork done, slowed down the process and made communication between advisors harder.

“Consolidation helped a lot and made it easier for students to switch majors inside the college. Now, everything is in one place,”  third-year psychology student Cierra Brabham said.

Brabham is also a student worker for the College of Arts and Sciences and reports a lot of positive feedback as a result of the switch.

“Students used to get lost a lot, especially the freshmen. Although signs outside of Jones Physical Science center and Gambrell alleviated the problem somewhat, the switch to Flinn Hall solved the problem all together,” Brabham said.

The College of Arts and Sciences has 7,500 undergraduate students and about 12,000 students taking classes in the college each year. Instead of separate buildings all over campus, there is a specific area of Flinn Hall dedicated to matters such as advisement, change of majors, senior checks and graduation applications.

“I was very stressed over the fact that I would have had to run all over campus to get my early graduation check done. I was not sure where to go or who was going to help me,” third-year psychology student Julianne Weagley said. “But, I was surprised at how easy everything was and how quickly I got things done. It was a huge relief.”

To make things even easier for students, the college even held an ice cream social and ribbon-cutting ceremony to get undergraduates familiar with the new location and services it provides. At the ice cream social, students had access to the whole facility as well as information on the 41 majors under the one roof.

“I and my staff are very excited to have this opportunity to provide services in unprecedented new ways to students in the College and the University,” said Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Student Affairs and Advising Loren Knapp in a press release.

“We encourage all students who have any connection to the College of Arts and Sciences to come see us and learn more about what we can do to enhance their academic experience,” Knapp said.