Brown's advising begins before students even enter the college. The summer before their first year, students are given the opportunity to take a class which combines advising and teaching, called Curricular Advising Program, or CAP classes.

The main feature of a CAP course is that its instructor volunteers to be a first-year advisers. These classes are available in a wide range of departments.

Brown's unique approach has many advantages; the professor/adviser is given a chance to see his or her advisee in a class context, and the student gets a chance to see his or her adviser on a regular basis.

Consequently, the system is also a natural solution to matching adviser with student based on interest.

The idea may seem flawless, but Brown's Associate Dean Robert A. Shaw, who has directed the school's advising for seven years, also sees some disadvantages.

"Advising gets a lot of complaints at Brown as well," he says.

In particular, he says professors often feel uncomfortable being both teacher and adviser. They are placed in the awkward position of helping as well as evaluating.