The right answer

Last week was advisement, but only twenty students (give or take)  showed up.
Last week was advisement, but only twenty students (give or take)  showed up.

No, you do not need glasses, my cut and paste function didn't suddenly go hogwild, and yes, that sentence is up there twice. On purpose.  You see, I have eighty-five advisees. Eigty-five students with academic advising holds that will only be lifted once they come for, you guessed it, advisement. Our university instated this policy a few years ago, because they found that the majority of the students not graduating within four years did so because they never went to advisement and thus made less-than-effective scheduling decisions. Anyway, the advising hold is a way to make sure students actually meet with their adviser. You'd think it makes perfect sense. It does to me. But apparently I'm missing something, as of my eighty-five students, only twenty or so bothered to show up last week. On Friday, no less. Not during any of the other, oh, twenty hours I had set aside for advisement. And not even after I sent every single advisee an email advising them of, well advisement, the previous week.

This week is fall registration. It's the week students are supposed to sign up for those classes they so diligently picked out during their advisement. Unless you have a hold on your account. Because, you know, you didn't actually go see your adviser.

I have about sixty cases like that floating around campus. About thirty found their way to my office yesterday throughout the day, complaining that they, much to their incredibly surprise, could not register for classes (and have they told you how unfair that is?!). Unfortunately for them, once advisement is over, my schedule returns to normal, which means I only (and I use that word in the most sarcastic way possible) have two office hours per day. And they're early in the morning too. On account of I need to get stuff done, such as, oh I don't know, teach or grade, during the rest of the day.

So you can imagine what happened. Lots of students were turned away and told to come back today during my office hours. Only three did, which means that today is probably going to be a repeat of yesterday, with students knocking on my door when I'm in a meeting, grading, or away teaching. And just in case you're now convinced I'm the grinch who stole Christmas and Easter (goodness knows my students are) - I really want to help. I do. But I have sixty papers that need grading, twenty senior portfolio to assess, twenty defenses to attend, five finals to put together with accompanying study guides, and the list just goes on and on and on. So I simply don't have time for people who forget to check their academic calendar, don't know how to plan, think everything will be magically solved for them, still have some learning to do when it comes to assuming responsibilities.

There haven't been any tears yet, but there have been mumbled insults and underhanded insinuations. This time around, however, it hasn't affected me nearly as much as it has in previous years, where I would still see students outside office hours, scramble to resolve scheduling conflicts, overrides, and whatever else would come up at the last minute. This time around, there has been very little of that. If I'm busy (and I am), and they're outside of my office hours (and they usually are), it's a clear "no" from me.
I know. It's new to me too. And I think I can attribute it all to the one perfect, fool-proof, no-comeback statement I have started using consistently: "Poor planning on your part, and yes, not showing up during advisement is poor planning, does not constitute an emergency on my part".
And then I smile, wish them a wonderful day, and shut my door.

Professor: 1
Student: 0.