Solution Center Guest Blogger Jennifer Hankin Discusses Advisement Day

This week the Student Solution Center welcomes guest blogger Jennifer Hankin, of the Academic Advising office, to share the following handy information about the upcoming Advisement Day.  Jennifer writes:

Do you know what’s happening on Tuesday, November 6th? Yes, it’s Election Day and certainly an important time for Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and the future of our country, but it’s also Advisement Day, an important day for you…our students.

Our office recently sent out a survey about Advising at Saint Rose to students as well as faculty. One of the student’s comments, though, caught my attention. It stated “The College of Saint Rose needs to employ (more professional) advisors.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against professional, full-time advisors…I am one, but it made me think about the role of an advisor. Yes, I could tell a student exactly what classes to take in the correct order, but isn’t an advisor’s role more than that? An advisor is supposed to be a mentor, a source of information and a specialist in their field. An advisor can discuss career and research opportunities, get students involved in conferences, and publishing articles. I’m not capable of all those things, but our faculty are. So, I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and meet with your faculty advisor on Advisement Day and begin to build that special relationship if you haven’t done so already. And if you find that you have run out of time that day after discussing your spring schedule (because, after all, I realize that you need your alternate pin number) then just ask to make an appointment to come back at a later time. These advising relationships are not one-sided, faculty get as much out of them as you do. After all, you are interested in their field of expertise, they love to talk about it, and you represent its future.

At this point, you’ve hopefully read several messages about Advisement Day. If you haven’t, check your Saint Rose email! If you’ve read the emails, then the following list should help you prioritize the information. Here are the top things to remember in preparation for Advisement Day:

1. Make an Appointment with your Faculty Advisor Prior to Advisement Day- many faculty have sign-up sheets on their doors so make sure to sign up for an advising appointment in advance. If you do not see a sign-up sheet, please contact your advisor for instructions.
2.  Academic Progress Report – Be sure to review and understand your Academic Progress Report. Progress Reports are accessible via the Secure Site (using your Saint Rose ID number and PIN). Remember that your academic advisor’s name can be found in the upper, left-hand corner of your Academic Progress Report. If you need assistance deciphering the Progress Report, you can stop by the Academic Advising Office or the Registrar, both in Saint Joseph Hall.
3. Course Offerings – You can view the Spring 2013 course offerings on the Registrar website. These listings are updated in real-time, so you can see how many seats are available in a class as registration proceeds. You can also click on a course title to view a description of the class and check to see if the course requires prerequisite coursework or a math placement test score. Lastly, click on the blue textbook icon after a course title to view the required textbooks for the class. Remember the course offerings are viewed from the Registrar section of the website. Students often look for it within the Secure Site.
4. Schedule Planning Form – Students should formulate a tentative course schedule in advance of their meeting with their advisor (preferably students should draft a couple of alternative schedules, in case a course they want is full). A useful tool for drafting your class schedule is the new schedule planning form, which is available from the Academic Advising Office.

So there you have it. Please keep these things in mind as you prepare for Advisement Day. And think about what role your advisor plays. As my colleague, Dr. Kelly Meyer, the Director of Academic Advising states, “I hope students will think of Advisement Day as an opportunity to talk with an expert in their chosen field- their advisor- and, in general, to take control of their educational destiny.”