Home » Advising

Advising

Advising is a service at universities and colleges that helps students make decisions and plan for their academics and careers. Advisors support students in their transition to college and help prepare students to succeed academically and personally. University requirements can be daunting, and advisors help students understand and plan for their future.

Many first-year students may find advising especially helpful as they transition to college, explore majors, and need help navigating university policies and requirements. UC Santa Cruz explains the goals for their first-year advising programs here.

CASAT Advising – CASAT
Source

Academic Advising

Advising first year students can make a difference in students’ successful development both academically and personally.

Academic advising is the process between the student and an academic advisor of exploring the value of a general education, reviewing the services and policies of the institution, discussing educational and career plans, and making appropriate course selections.

The University of Maine, Faculty Handbook

80% of institutions participating in the 2017 National Survey on the First-Year Experience included academic advising as part of their programming. Of these institutions, about 70% require all first-year students to participate in academic advising.

Examples of academic advising practices during the first year:

  • Introduce advising in college vs. high school counseling
  • Academic planning
  • Explore majors and careers
  • Connect student and institution
  • Promote identity exploration

Career Advising

…Career advising helps students clarify, specify, and create a career plan and helps students identify barriers to choosing or moving forward in a major or career path.

Donna J. Menke, University of Memphis

Many institutions incorporate career advising into academic advising and the first-year experience program as a whole. Agnes Scott College has a robust first-year experience program with many different activities and events organized by the academic advising department. Some examples of first-year experience events that incorporate career readiness include:

  • Resume workshops
  • Alumni panels and networking opportunities
  • Internship and job fairs