How Academic Advising Works

Academic advising is one of the most important aspects of your college experience. Your advisor can be an important resource for you beyond merely helping with the selection of your courses each term. However, it is up to you, the student, to get the most out of your relationship with your advisor.

It is important to carefully prepare for your appointment with your advisor. He or she cannot adequately help you if you do not properly prepare. It is not the advisor's responsibility to make your decisions for you, or to schedule your time blocks for courses.

What you do:

Know your degree.
Know what you've taken.
Know what you need to take for your major.
Know what you need to take for general education requirements.
Know what is being offered next semester, including availability, time, and location.

What your faculty advisor does:

Answers your questions about your major and the courses in it.
Answers questions about career paths.
Double check your choices.
Suggest courses based on interest and focus.
Signs your registration form to clear you to sign up for classes.
Fills out your major program sheet so you can graduate.
Troubleshoot problems you didn't forsee.

What your faculty advisor doesn't do:

Choose or schedule classes for you.
Surf around the course listings to see what's being offered and what fits into your schedule.
Tell you the easiest classes to fulfill general requirements.

When you're done:

Once your registration form has been signed, you can register on-line for your courses on your assigned date (it varies based on how many credits you have). Courses fill up quickly so that it is important you register as early as your scheduled time allows; delays can result in students not getting their first choices in classes and times.

Major Program Check and Senior Program Checks

One semester before graduation (e.g. the fall semester for a May graduation; spring for a summer or December graduation), students should have senior checks to be ready for graduation. Your advisor will do your major program check to make sure that you've completed/will complete the major. The Dean's office is in charge of making sure you have fulfilled your non-major requirements.

Here's the thing

I like advising. It's rewarding for me personally to help people navigate a curriculum and move toward a career. However, it is unbelievably time consuming, so I get very frustrated when students don't take it seriously or take responsibility for their own lives and careers. Also, it's really inconsiderate of the time of the people who would be kept waiting while more clueless students drift into advising with no idea what they've even taken, let alone what they have to do. So, if you're not ready, it's very likely that I'll ask you to leave and come back later when you've prepared.