The Academic Advising Program

The faculty has approved a system for academic advising and has articulated the following aims and goals of effective academic counseling:

• Enable students to take responsibility for designing their programs of study.
• Encourage and assist the student to explore and articulate interests or career goals.
• Encourage students to take a reasoned, contemplative approach to designing a program of study.
• Assist students in designing a program within the liberal arts framework that is clearly related to interests or career goals.
• Ensure students are fully informed about all available options and has been encouraged to examine all options, and that the course of study is designed to meet the student’s individual goals.
• Provide advisors, who not only monitor the student’s academic program, but also meet personally with the student and explore their changing interests and goals.
• Ensure all advisors have current and detailed course offering information and are aware of the variety of options offered to students.

The Faculty Advisor

New students are assigned to a first-year faculty advisor after they have registered for their first semester classes. First-year faculty advisors are well-prepared for this task and work with their advisees until they declare a major, even if the student does not declare a major until their second year at the College. Once the student selects one or more majors, they are assigned to a member of the department as major advisor. Students should be particularly careful when arranging their academic programs and must consult regularly with their advisor(s) to ensure compliance with all graduation requirements and fulfillment of specific upper-level course prerequisites. The final responsibility for meeting all the academic requirements rest with the individual student.

The Registrar’s Office sends major declaration information to any student who has completed at least one semester of study and is still undeclared; students who have completed at least 48 credit hours and remain undeclared will receive a final reminder of their obligation to select a major by the end of their fourth semester at the College; students who have completed at least 60 credit hours and achieved junior standing will have their first-year faculty advisor removed and will be advised by the Registrar or the Assistant Dean of Advising and Academic Advocacy until they successfully declare a major.

Both advisors and students have a responsibility in advising. It is essential that both take the matter seriously if students are to achieve a meaningful and successful program of study. In the dialogue between advisors and students, advisors serve in two capacities: to interpret the College and its goals for students, and to encourage students to gain understanding of their potential and how it may be developed. In a very practical way, advisors are sources of information for students. They explain campus rules and customs, clarify special programs and requirements, and collaborate with the student to help achieve their vision for postsecondary education and career pursuits.

When students have questions or problems, they should contact their faculty advisor. Although the College schedules advising sessions each semester, the real benefits of such an advising system are realized through more frequent meetings between student and advisor. The College’s advising program intends good working relationships to develop. However, students and their advisors do not always relate well, and the student is free to ask the Assistant Dean of Advising and Academic Advocacy for a change of advisor. This request should be made in writing.

Among the faculty, students find friends as well as advisors, and they are urged to foster such friendships. Herein lies the great value of a small, liberal arts college and the education it provides. The benefits of personal attention and assistance under the advising system derive from close association among students, faculty, and administrative officers—an association rarely possible at large colleges or universities. The academic advising system is under general direction of the Office of the Provost and Dean of the College. The Assistant Dean of Advising and Academic Advocacy, the Registrar, and the student’s instructors are also on hand to help with advising.