Academic Advisor's Role

Academic advising must be a cooperative effort between advisors and advisees.  In order to achieve this goal, advisors should:

• Create an atmosphere of openness, caring, and concern where meaningful communication and trust exist.

• Listen constructively, attempting to hear all aspects of students' expressed problems

• Help students to clarify their values and goals.

• Assist advisees when they are not achieving in accordance with their abilities-- helping them plan activities to correct their difficulties.

• Provide pro-active assistance to the academically under-prepared student.

• Assist advisees in identifying career goals and objectives.

• Attempt to understand advisees' concerns from a student point of view.
  
  
• Make students aware of the full range of educational opportunities that are appropriate to their plans.
  
  
• Help students in academic difficulty recognize possible causes of their difficulty and suggest alternative courses of action.
  
  
• Encourage superior students to take advantage of special educational opportunities, i.e. interdisciplinary courses, honors program, etc.  Encourage them to explore double majors/minors, etc.
  
  
• Encourage first-year students to become involved with departmental clubs and campus activities.
  
  
• Schedule, post, and keep regular office hours for meetings with advisees.
  
  
• Set aside enough regularly scheduled time to adequately meet the advising needs of students assigned to them.
  
  
• Know University academic standards, policies and procedures in sufficient detail to provide students with accurate, usable information.
  
  
• Provide accurate information about general education requirements, academic programs, and graduation requirements.
  
  
• Refer students to other sources of information and assistance when referral seems to be the best student-centered response to be made.
  
  
• Maintain good records of conferences with advisees.
  
  
• Become familiar with the Buckley Amendment and the legal implications of academic advising.
  
  
• Maintain confidentiality of student records consistent with the requirements of the Buckley Amendment.
  
  
• Share his/her advising skills with new departmental faculty who may also be actively involved with advising.
  
  
• Actively participate in departmental and University-wide in-service advisor development programs.
  
  
• Encourage student feedback on the effectiveness of his/her advising.
  
  
• Become knowledgeable about financial aid guidelines and the impact on academic progress.