USC’s Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Programs officially launched Advise USC, the University’s newest academic advising platform in a University-wide email Tuesday. After months of piloting and preparation, the platform is now available to all undergraduate students.

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Advise USC promises to streamline the academic advising process by better connecting academic advisors with students. The platform serves as a hub for communication between advisors and students, with every student having access to a “success team” of academic advisors to converse with. 

Through the platform, students will be able to create course plans and schedule advising appointments in a few clicks. Videos are available in the email announcement to help familiarize students with how to access and use many of the added features. 

USC holds lofty expectations for the platform and its ability to enhance the academic advising experience for students, wrote Andrew Stott, vice provost for academic programs and dean of the Graduate School, in a statement to the Daily Trojan.

“Academic advising is one of the most important things at USC — or in any university — for student success,” the statement read. “Advise USC significantly enhances academic advising for our 49,000 students, including graduate students, to ensure that they receive appropriate guidance and maximize their opportunities.”

The statement also mentioned that the purpose of the new platform is to promote student success.

“It also helps us develop a sense of mentorship and belonging that can help students meet their goals in their academic programs and achieve their personal goals,” Stott wrote. “After all, their success is our success.” 

Data will be an essential element of Advise USC. The new platform is expected to collect and distribute vast amounts of student data that advisors can access. Advisors will be able to look at various trends regarding what students are asking, how many appointments students are making, and what courses they are taking to help guide and inform students.

Advise USC is still in its soft launch phase, and changes are expected to be made across the platform in the following weeks, according to the University-wide email. In the following months, the platform will continue to expand to include more students, advisors, academic programs and support offices.

President Carol Folt first announced Advise USC in her State of the University Address March 28, describing it as “one of the largest student and faculty-focused technology initiatives ever.” Since then, the University has tested the platform with various pilot groups before its official launch. 

According to Stott, Advise USC is the largest investment and enhancement the University has made toward academic advising in a generation. Stott and the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Programs felt that the current 15-year-old advising system was outdated and failed to support advisors and students to its fullest capability. 

One complaint with the former advising system was that advisors from a major could only see a student’s information in that major, creating complications for double-major students and students with minors in other schools, according to USC News.

USC students seem to welcome the new advising system. Ethan Hughes, a senior majoring in business administration, said he does not find much fault with the current system but is excited for Advise USC.

“Academic advising in Marshall is pretty good. They do have a lot of resources, but I think they could make it a bit easier to connect with your advisor,” Hughes said. “Overall, they do a good job and they have a lot of resources.”

Hughes said he’s open to the new system as well and is excited to try it out.

Sparsh Dak, a sophomore majoring in accounting and finance, said he believes the new advising platform will work well. 

“It’ll make life easier, having an advising platform where you can access all your resources,” Dak said.