Weinberg administrators have developed a recipe for a solid advising program: knowledgeable advisers, flexible hours and a new location on Sheridan Road.

“If you offer a good hamburger, people will come and eat it,” said Robert Coen, a former Weinberg associate dean who originally proposed the new program. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”

The three-year-old college advising program — Coen’s brainchild — matches each student with an adviser during Spring Quarter of his or her freshman year. That adviser stays with the student for the next three years.

Since the inception of the rejuvenated advising system three years ago, the number of sophomores visiting the advising office during Fall Quarter has increased by 35 percent, said Craig Bina, Weinberg’s associate dean for undergraduate studies.

“We want to set things up so students actually want to come in and talk to their college adviser,” said Bina, who now oversees the advising program. “We invite people to come in and talk, but we haven’t forced anybody, and yet the traffic is just skyrocketing.”

Before the new system was put in place, Weinberg students had two advisers during their college career: a freshman adviser and a major adviser — once they declared a major.

But many students keep their “undeclared” status until the end of sophomore year, leaving them without an adviser for a year.

“Students felt that they weren’t getting enough advice,” said Lane Fenrich, a Weinberg assistant dean who coordinates the freshman advising program.

Students still have both freshman and major advisers, but college advisers provide consistency.

“Students felt there was no continuity with their advisers,” Coen said. “Every time they went to see an adviser, it was someone else. They had to start from square one and explain their life all over again. They could find an adviser who might know about the particular program, but they wouldn’t know the rest of the college — much less the rest of the university.”

Keona Childs, a Weinberg junior, said she talks about her classes, study abroad options and scholarship opportunities with her adviser.

“My academic adviser also gives me advice about who to talk to within my major,” said Childs, who makes quarterly advising appointments.

The steady increase of participation attests to the advising system’s success.

“The evaluations the students are filling out indicate a really positive response to our services,” said philosophy Prof. Mark Sheldon, a college adviser.

During the program’s first year, the 2001-02 academic year, sophomores visited the advising building 603 times Fall Quarter. The following year that number jumped to 651, and this year’s sophomores stopped by 811 times Fall Quarter.

The program’s move from Hinman Avenue to 1908 Sheridan probably made it more accessible, Coen said.

Although Coen said advisers “might be better located where students congregate,” the building on Sheridan is still a more central location.

Bina said he is planning an overall assessment of the program this year, which should determine if student demand will require more advisers.

“We’re still in the learning stage,” he said. “We’re going to keep a close eye on how popular the program is.”