2.4 Academic Advising: Your Roadmap to a Bachelor’s Degree
2.4 Academic Advising: Your Roadmap to a Bachelor’s Degree
Obtaining a bachelor’s degree can be easily likened to taking a cross-country trip. Let’s say that a person wanted to travel from Los Angeles to New York City. This person could take a more northern route and experience mountains and cooler temperatures. Or, this person might elect to take a more southern route and experience deserts, beaches, and warmer temperatures. A really adventurous person might elect to traverse the globe and see oceans, China, and Europe along the way. Earning a degree should be seen as a journey—a long term commitment to self-improvement through education. Many decisions will be made along the way that can take you down discrete paths in your quest for a degree that may ultimately lead you down different career paths based on your strengths and interests. Academic advisors will ultimately help you navigate your academic journey.
Who Is Your Academic Advisor?
Typically in high school, students were automatically enrolled in a course schedule for a full academic year. These schedules were most likely created by a guidance counselor based on your student record and some administrative input. However, in college, students create their course schedule each semester with the help of an academic advisor, not a counselor. In your first academic year, you will be meeting with full-time professional academic advisors from the University Advising Center in the Division of Student Success who will help you navigate your first-year courses and provide additional support as you “learn the ropes.” Once you leave the Division of Student Success, you will be advised within your major academic department. In this case, your academic advisor could be a professional staff advisor, a faculty member who agrees to take on advising responsibilities, or even a graduate assistant who works under the supervision of an advising administrator. While being advised by the Division of Student Success, you are not discouraged from talking with the academic advisors of your major department. In fact, in some cases, the Division of Student Success advisors may request that you speak with a departmental advisor to answer specific questions. However, you should always check in with a Division of Student Success advisor before making any adjustments to your course schedule.
University Advising Center in the Division of Student Success
Your academic advisors should have information available in the academic department or on the department Web site regarding their office hours and preferred methods for contacting them. It is your responsibility to seek out that information and have it available for when you need to make contact.
When Should I See an Advisor?
Quite simply, you should feel free to contact an academic advisor any time you have a question about your college experience or are experiencing a difficulty that is impeding your success in college. Then again, you do not have to simply see an adv