Goals & Expectations
From the NEASC Self-Study Subcommittee on Undergraduate Advising
[see: http://www.unh.edu/academic-affairs/neasc/index.html]
Academic advising plays a central role in the undergraduate experience. Done well, it integrates students' course work with the larger mission of the University and prepares them for life beyond college. It establishes enduring relationships. Done poorly, it slows progress to degree and leaves students unaided to find coherence in their college education.
Ideally, academic advising:
- Engages students;
- Builds student-advisor collaborations;
- Helps students fulfill major program and University requirements;
- Assures graduation in a timely fashion;
- Stimulates exploration outside of the students' major disciplines;
- Encourages intellectual connections across disciplines;
- Integrates in and out of classroom experiences;
- Helps set goals and strategies to achieve them during and after college; and
- Prepares students for graduate study and/or employment.
Every undergraduate at the University of New Hampshire has an assigned academic advisor with whom they meet at least once each semester to review academic progress and approve course selections prior to registration for the subsequent semester.
The University expects that advisors are
- Available to meet with students throughout the semester;
- Knowledgeable about University requirements, major requirements, and other campus resources;
- Able to motivate students about the reasons and importance of these requirements and more generally, a liberal arts education; and
- Interested in students' welfare beyond their classes.
It expects that students
- Seek out their advisors;
- Come to advising meetings having reviewed their academic progress to date and at registration, time course options;
- Monitor their fulfillment of University and major program requirements;
- Explore and engage intellectually across academic areas, including outside their declared majors;
- Meet deadlines;
- Use campus resources and follow-up on referrals; and
- Check their campus mail boxes and e-mail accounts.
