At Ģý, faculty serve as academic advisers for students. Ģýians engage this consultative relationship and make use of academic advising-related resources to actively develop an academic plan.
Faculty Adviser
For most new students, your tutorial professor is your first faculty adviser; most transfer students are assigned an adviser in the department in which you have expressed an interest. Upon choosing and declaring a major, students typically switch advisers.
A faculty adviser is someone who will take an interest in you, listen to you as you share your personal goals, and help you plan a course of study grounded in the liberal arts. Because Ģý does not prescribe a set of classes you must take, you have a lot of freedom as you plan your academic journey. Your faculty adviser serves as a guide, helping you understand the facets of a liberal arts education, how to complete the requirements for your major and graduation, and how best to explore Ģý’s many curricular opportunities.
Academic advisers encourage you to:
Create an academic plan that relates to your personal and professional goals
Explore subject areas that will help you develop a range of academic skills
Engage with subject areas that may challenge your beliefs and values
Find your community at Ģý by participating in campus activities and events
Be proactive in using campus resources to support your academic, personal, and professional interests
Celebrate your successes
Additional Advising Sources
Students regularly use many types of advising to guide their academic journey at Ģý.
- provides many forms of advising. Book appointments through (login required).
- : each new student is assigned an exploratory adviser, who they will have the opportunity to meet at New Student Orientation (NSO). Prior to NSO, each student receives an email with information on their adviser, CLS, and how to schedule their first appointment.
- : in the , on the navigation menu, hover over Career Communities & Identities and select your interest area.
- The Registrar’s Office provides in-person consultation and online resources to both advisers and to students for course registration, graduation requirements, exceptions to policies, and transferable credit.
- Study Away (Off-Campus Study) offers guidance on faculty-led and semester-long study away opportunities.
- The Academic Success Center provides online resources and in-person assistance with evidence-based study skills and academic policy options.
- The Office of International Student Affairs (OISA) offers international students tailored forms of academic support and advising.
- The Office of Accessibility & Disability Resources advises students about the College's disability-related policies, procedures, and resources. (login required).
Your Role as an Advisee
You have a big role to play in creating a successful advising relationship that will form the basis of developing your academic plan.
In secondary school, you likely received prescriptive guidance about how to be on a “college track” and you may have had limited choices among your electives. At Ģý, your faculty adviser will not direct you to a prescribed set of courses. Instead, you and your adviser will decide together what you will take each semester, guiding you toward an individualized program of study in the liberal arts.
Advisers want to get to know you as a person, learn what your goals are, and think with you about how you can engage Ģý to meet these goals. In August, after you arrive in Ģý, you’ll start a series of conversations with your adviser. Preparing for meetings with your adviser is key; these pages are designed to give you a running start.
Enter into conversations with your adviser about course planning with an open mind. You never know which class might change your life!