Advising Expectations

YOUR ADVISOR WILL EXPECT THAT YOU: 

• Initiate contact with your advisor; 
• Schedule a meeting, should you want it, each semester during the two-week advising period prior to on-line registration to help with course selection and academic planning; 
• Contact your advisor during office hours, if possible. If not possible, make an appointment via telephone voice mail or email to set up an appointment; 
• Come to appointments on time and cancel appointments if you cannot come; 
• Access your mid-term grades on the web and make an appointment to discuss unsatisfactory grades; 
• Discuss important decisions or questions about your education (e.g., choice of major, change of major, change of school) well before on-line registration; 
• Come prepared for appointments. Prior to on-line registration, come with a list of courses, alternative course choices, and the meeting times of these courses; 
• Follow through on referrals made by your advisor (e.g., a visit to the Career Planning and Placement Office) and be willing to discuss suggestions made by your advisor; 
• After talking to your advisor, accept responsibility for making your own decisions. (Your advisor will provide advice, not make decisions.) 

 WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM YOUR ADVISOR: 

• A meeting at the beginning of the academic year to get acquainted; 
• Availability during posted office hours and the opportunity for individual appointments; 
• Assistance in helping you find academic information, including information on majors, minors, and academic policies, procedures and deadlines;
• Referrals to appropriate people and offices if she or he cannot provide the necessary assistance;
• A meeting to discuss mid-term grades and recommendations for academic improvement, if appropriate;
• Assistance in understanding the purpose of academic requirements and their relationship to your degree program and career plans;
• Assistance in helping you to learn how to make academic decisions, how to discover the range of options available to you, and how to think through the consequences.