Student Advising

Your advisor is a seasoned professional in the field of Psychology. To gain the most from your advisor, we encourage you to think of your advisor as a mentor that can help guide your journey into this field. Always be sure to talk to your advisor if you are…

Thinking about adding or dropping a class - please have this conversation before dropping the course!
Approaching academic trouble OR in academic trouble
Planning for registration (registration takes place in the 9th week of classes) for the upcoming quarter; bring a copy of your tracking sheet!

Your advisor assignment will be provided within the first weeks of the quarter.

Making the Most of Your Academic Advisor

Patience. First and foremost, try to have patience when dealing with an academic advisor since you are not their only student.

Schedule an appointment so that you have a set time to discuss your academic issues. When scheduling, let your advisor know why you wish to meet.

Know their role. Often advisors are called upon to fix a myriad of problems that their department does not handle. Advisors cannot fix a problem with your financial aid; you must call the financial aid office for that. They cannot tell you if the class you are registered for will be easy or hard. They cannot know if your professor will be nice or mean. They do not update textbook lists, Sakai sites, etc.

Read your school’s website. You can usually find information about pretty much anything from financial aid to graduation requirements on the Antioch website. It is important to familiarize yourself with the website, as a lot of questions you may have for your advisor are easily answered by looking online.

*Check your email.* When an academic advisor sends you attachments via email, read them thoroughly. Often academic advisors have developed systems to help them manage all of their assigned students. They usually receive the same questions numerous times per day. For this reason, they create documents to answer those questions.

Follow your degree audit report. It’s that simple. When you first begin your course of study, you will receive a document which shows what courses you must take to complete your degree. All you have to do is register for the classes which you still need to complete. It’s good to put a little check mark next to each course once you complete it to help you keep track.

Know the rules. Academic advisors do not create their own rules. Each college or university has its own set of policies and requirements for a degree to be granted. When a student is advised that a certain course won’t transfer, or that a class is still needed for degree completion they sometimes get upset.

Be realistic. The advisor cannot change the requirements of a degree because of individual circumstances. If you still need another math course to meet graduation requirements, no amount of getting upset or begging will change that.

Be prepared. Bring a list of questions to the scheduled appointment with your advisor. Have a notebook and pen ready to take notes, if necessary. This way you get the most out of your meeting.

Help yourself, too. Please remember that an academic advisor is there to help you, but you have to do your part as well.

If you follow the above tips you should be well on your way to academic success.

Adapted from: http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/3837-making-the-most-of-your-academic-advisor