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Students enjoy many constitutional rights, including freedom of speech, right of redress for grievances, right to due process, and equal protection. There must be no differentiation at the College in providing advising or other educational services based on the student’s sex, religion, age, veteran status, handicap, sexual orientation, race, color, or national origin. These rights also apply to advisers, of course. The rights of students and advisers are in juxtaposition to one another and with the rights of the institution.
As stated earlier, advisers and advisees should keep notes of their discussions because these notes may be helpful in resolving a dispute over what advice was given. Keep in mind, however, that students are expected to know the provisions set forth in the College Catalog, Student Handbook, the Schedule of Classes, and the course syllabi for all courses undertaken by the student. Consequently, students cannot reasonably assign sole blame to their advisers for missing published deadlines, failing to follow published policy, meeting published requirements, etc.
Students at Berea College who believe they have a grievance regarding advising should first contact the chairperson of the academic department in which the adviser is assigned. If the problem is not resolved there, the Office of Academic Services should be contacted, with the Associate Provost for Advising and Academic Success addressing the problem.
Generally, if students take responsibility for their courses of study and advisers follow College policy and consistently act in the student’s best interests at all times, advising problems can be minimized. When in doubt about a particular situation, advisers should consult promptly with the Associate Provost for Advising and Academic Success.
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