After four frustrating years at Harvard, Joel Pollack '99 decided something had to be done about the College's academic advising system.

"I and many of my classmates struggled with bouts of unhappiness, confusion and isolation in both academic life and personal life...in which we found the existing advising structure to be quite unhelpful," Pollack says.

So stressful was his experience that Pollack and a few friends from the Class of 1999 proposed an initiative on Monday that they hope will improve advising at Harvard.

They aren't the only ones. Students, faculty and even administrators admit that poor advising continues to be a problem in many Harvard departments--even though hard data on the issue has been available for three years.

Pollack hopes external pressure will work. But even Harvard officials admit the goal is lofty.

Though Harvard's problems with advising--high student-to-adviser ratios, little contact between students and Faculty, confusing routes to seek help--have been long acknowledged by College officials, students in several departments still say they feel helpless.

This lack of progress frustrates College officials, who, in an effort to pressure delinquent departments into reforming, have publicized data showing students are weary of the advising system. Even this has not succeeded.

College administrators say they can't force departments to change and that Faculty members should shoulder the responsibility of advising students.