Guidelines for Advising (for Students and Advisers)

Responsibilities of the Student

In the “Student’s Guide to Academic Advising,” the Office of Academic Services provides students with an outline of the respective responsibilities of advisee and adviser in the advising and academic process. That information is as follows:

As students in the Academic Advising program, you are expected to:

1. Recognize your own responsibility for continuous evaluation of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and for your academic choices. You are responsible for knowing the requirements of your academic program.
2. As early as your first term, you can prepare a Curriculum Plan showing how you will meet the General Education requirements for your degree. Begin with the courses you MUST take by a certain term in order to continue at Berea. Later, during the Declaration of Major process, you and your major Adviser will prepare and submit a more formal Curriculum Plan that will serve as your road map for the completion of your degree. Laying the preliminary groundwork will make that process easier and will help you stay on track toward graduation.
3. Formulate academic and social goals in order to reach optimal lifestyle and career choices.
4. Become acquainted with resources available to you.
5. Familiarize yourself with academic policies, procedures, and requirements, published each year in the Student Handbook (available online at www.berea.edu/studenthandbook).
6. Know the graduation requirements for your degree, including the deadline to submit your Application for Degree. [See the 2008-2009 Berea College Catalog.] All degree requirements, except for regular course work, must be completed 30 days prior to the commencement at which the student will be graduated.
7. Maintain accurate and current academic records. Use the online Degree Evaluation tool on BONd to make sure your records and those in the Office of Academic Services agree with one another.
8. Maintain regular contact with your adviser.
9. Prepare, in advance, for every advising session with your Adviser and bring with you any materials your adviser may need, including your Berea College Catalog, Schedule of Classes, Curriculum Plan(s), Curriculum Guides (the most up-to-date of which are available at the www.berea.edu/catalog site), and tentative class and labor schedules.
10. Follow through when there are questions regarding grades, credits (including transfer and advanced-placement), or requirements. Don’t let something slip through the cracks!
11. Know your Adviser’s office hours, campus extension, and CPO box number.

Prior to each term, your Adviser will meet with you to help you build your academic schedule. This is an important part of planning your academic program and ensuring Satisfactory Academic Progress. There are two types of courses that you, as a first-year student, must consider in this process:

• courses that must be taken the first terms
• courses that may be taken the first terms.

Responsibilities of the Adviser

As advisers in the Academic Advising program, you are expected to:

1. Become well acquainted with the advisee’s academic and educational needs.
2. Obtain and maintain current information concerning each advisee.
3. Provide the advisee with current information about academic procedures, policies, and requirements. (Inform advisees that it is their responsibility to be aware of these issues, which are covered in the College Catalog, Schedule of Classes, the Student Handbook, and other publications available to students.)
4. Assist the advisee with developing course schedules and offering advice on choices of electives.
5. Provide the advisee with accurate information concerning alternatives, limitations, and possible consequences of their choices, both academic and personal.
6. Refer the advisee to available campus resources according to the student’s needs.
7. Encourage the advisee to develop a term-by-term plan for upcoming terms and to review his or her own academic progress on a regular basis using the Degree Evaluation tool on BONd, searching for and reporting any conflicts or omissions. NOTE: The official Curriculum Plan must be filed with the Office of Academic Services as part of the Declaration of Primary Major process.
8. Study, discuss, verify, and sign official forms with the student, as needed. Note that your signature constitutes your awareness, and often your approval, of the action being taken or proposed. If you express concerns or reservations about the action but elect to sign the form anyway, be sure to note your concerns in the student’s file, on the applicable form, and possibly on the proposal, as well.
9. Assist the advisee in taking control of his or her life. For most students, coming to College is the first experience away from home. Such an adjustment is difficult for some students. Guide them toward a life of independence and maturity, but avoid doing everything for them or making all of their decisions.
10. Provide the advisee with your office hours, campus extension, CPO box number, and any other contact information you wish to share. Be sure to keep your posted office hours and to inform the advisee of any changes.
11. Provide the advisee with an understanding of the importance of being thorough, prompt, and honest in completing the various evaluation tools they will receive from the Institutional Research and Assessment office concerning advising and courses/instruction, including the Instructor Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ).