At 4 p.m. Thursday, about eight students were waiting to see advisers as they sat on sofas and armchairs in the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Academic Advising Center’s new lobby.
They were among the first to use the renovated Farrior Hall, which opened Jan. 3, said Joseph Spillane, the advising center’s director. The University Athletic Association, which shares Farrior Hall with the center, paid $25 million for the renovations and construction of the connected Otis P. Hawkins Center for Academic and Personal Excellence, according to Alligator archives.
All three floors of the building were renovated, Spillane said. The new space features new research rooms, conference areas and a larger lobby.
Sebastien Courty, a UF political science junior, said in the past, he waited up to an hour to see an adviser since his first semester at UF. On Thursday, he waited for 20 minutes.
“It’s a lot more efficient,” the 20-year-old said. “It’s a lot neater in the inside, too.”
Spillane said wait times during the drop/add period have already decreased this semester, and he expects they’ll continue to go down because of the new space. He said he hopes it will allow him to hire more advisers in the future.
Spillane said the average wait time during the drop/add period last Spring was 49 minutes. This Spring, the average time, as of Thursday, has been 29 minutes.
“We’re really thrilled,” Spillane said. “It’s (a) more attractive space and more comfortable space than it was before.”
Patreis Young, a UF microbiology and cell science freshman, said she liked the appearance of the new center.
“There are glass doors, and they have nice chairs,” she said. “I like it a lot.”
Young, 19, went to the center Thursday morning at 8:10 a.m. and waited an hour until she had to leave for class. She came back in the afternoon for an additional 25 minutes before seeing an adviser, but Young said she didn’t mind the wait.
“It’s okay, especially during add/drop week,” she said. “It’s understandable why it took so long.”
jtavel@alligator.org
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