1: Murray State University Academic Advising provides easy-to-access information for Academic Advisors and Advisees. Racer Academic Advisors are well-informed and dedicated, and we want to make sure that we stay that way. This year, one of our goals is to make sure that studentsknow their responsibilities for Academic Advising, which will make our jobs as Academic Advisors easier.
2: I'm Barbara Cobb, faculty member, Academic Advisor, and Coordinator of Academic Advising. This presentation has been developed with guidance from the Advising Committee, whose members are Academic Advisors from the colleges and schools at Murray State. Academic Advising at Murray State is housed in the academic units. Murray State University Academic Advising provides support for our blended decentralized advising program, through training and resources both for Academic Advisors and for Advisees. This presentation is part of that ongoing effort.The presentation may be paused at any point to explore links; it is also available as a PPT show with a transcript if you prefer.
3: Teaching Racers to Fish: The metaphor refers to our push this year to make sure that our Advisees know where to find the same kind of Academic Advising information that we as Advisors use to advise them. Our Advisees’ embracing of RACR as a tool to help them make academic progress has helped a lot; the more our Advisees know, the better they can make decisions that will contribute to their academic success.
4: Winter term Advanced Scheduling opens on November 2nd. Advanced Scheduling for Spring term opens for special populations on November 9th – Honors College students and a number of others can register on this date. The Timetable for Advanced Scheduling is linked here, or you can find it on the Registrar site, under Calendars and Scheduling, at the bottom of that page.
5: The Advising website includes an Advisor checklist that you can use to help you to know what needs covering during your advising sessions The checklist is a Word doc, so you can tailor it to your own program and your own needs. Our advising model, and our university itself, are student-centered . . .
6: and this representation of our advising philosophy shows that all of the steps -- Define, Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver – are steps that our Advisees should take to make wise decisions from their first Summer O through graduation.
7: All Academic Advisors should review the current academic Bulletin before each advising season for any changes that have been made. For each advisee, check the Bulletin in force, which is noted on the RACR; if it would be to an Advisee’s advantage to move to a newer Bulletin because of changes in Univ Studies or program requirements, encourage the Advisee to do so.
8: The three chapters in the Bulletin that you should review are: “Academic Degrees and Programs” -- this year some University Studies courses have been added;the chapter foryour College or School and therein the section with your department’s programs, areas, majors, and minors, again noting changes from earlier Bulletins; and then the chapter with the course listings, including course descriptions and prerequisites. Consider how any changes might benefit your advisees.
9: By about October 20th, contact your Advisees to arrange for Academic Advising. The Center for Undergraduate Business Advising has specific days reserved for specific student populations. Make it as easy as possible for your Advisees to make an appointment or know when to come to be advised before Advanced Scheduling begins.
10: The Academic Advising website has a wealth of information for your Advisees. The Your Advisor link in the Menu lists what an Academic Advisor does, and, most importantly, the Advisees’ responsibilities for Academic Advising. “We advise, you decide” is a slogan used by NACADA, the National Academic Advising Association, to reinforce that it is the Advisee’s responsibility to make good decisions and to know what they need to know to do so. How to Read a RACR and Registration 101 trainings for students are here as well.
11: At the bottom of the Academic Advising main page and on the For Academic Advisors link in the menu you will find trainings geared for Academic Advisors, and resources to make your job as an Academic Advisor easier. Trainings are updated for each advising season to be sure that you know what is changing – however big or small -- semester by semester and Summer O by Summer O.
12: Quick Links for Academic Advising is found in the site menu as well. If anything needs to be added to this list, or if any of the information needs updating, please let me know.
13: All Academic Advisors use RACR for advising. RACR is the degree audit that the Registrar and Graduation Office use to determine Advisee progress to graduation. It is your Advisee’s responsibility to make sure that the information on the RACR is correct, that courses are populating where they need to, that all coursework is properly evaluated and included. Your Advisee needs help in doing this, though, and the more help you can be, the better your Advisee’s chances of a smooth path to graduation.
14: A quick glance over a continuing student’s RACR allows you to check to be sure that everything is where it needs to be. If you find errors on a RACR, or have questions, or need something moved, check with the RACR Office. If it’s a matter of a substitution or waiver or Advisor Approved electives, use the Course Exception form found under Registrar Forms on the Registrar website. If the AAPRs are in the minor, refer the Advisee to the department chair for the minor.
15: For all Advisees, focus on Prerequisites, Planning, and Progress. If students can knock out prerequisites in good order and plan their courses, taking into account when particular required courses are offered and the sequence that needs to be followed, they can make progress toward degree with fewer roadblocks. We still hope to have the DegreeWorks Plans feature available sometime in the future.
16: Academic Advisors can refer students to Retention just as instructors do. A Retention Specialist will reach out to your Advisee and try to link your Advisee with the support that’s needed.They have connections all over campus and often can see bigger patterns that sometimes an Advisor can’t see.Links to Tutoring and Counseling resources are on the Advising site as well.
17: Transfer advising training is found in the For Academic Advisors link in the main menu. Transfer Center Director Maria Rosa and Credit Evaluator Jennifer Husemann can help with Transfer advising. Transfer students are directed to their Academic Advisors as soon as they are admitted: getting these students advised and registered is one step in their smooth transition to the university.
18:Students need to check for holds that will keep them from registering for classes during Advanced Scheduling. A box is being added to the myGate Academics tab with information for students with Title IX or Alcohol EDU holds; most holds will provide at least the name of an office or a phone number or email address to help students make the contacts needed to clear these holds. Academic Advising Quick Links may help with contact information as well.
19: The only Hold that you can remove is the Advisor Hold. Once you have had a successful advising session, you will release the Advisor Hold. – Just click on the red Advisor Hold link and it will turn to a green “None.”
20: If it was lifted in error, contact the Registrar’s Office to have it reset. If you see the red “Advisor Hold,” the hold is still in place. If you see a red “yes,” the hold is in place, but you do not have Advisor Hold lifting authority for that student – if you should, contact the Registrar. Your Chair, Program Coordinator, and Dean have Advisor Hold authority for your Advisees, so in case of an emergency, you have a back-up.
21: Since Advisees may have questions or issues at any time, Academic Advisors need to use the “away” or “vacation” responders on email, phone, and office door. Your “away” responder should provide Advisees with a contact for immediate Academic Advising. Chairs and Program Coordinators are the usual contacts. Your responder should also provide Advisees with information on when YOU will be available again, in case the issue isn’t time sensitive. Chairs and Program Coordinators, if you are using an “away” responder but will continue to monitor your email for Academic Advising issues, be sure to make this clear in your responder message. The key is that, as long as the University is not closed, an Advisee with a time-sensitive issue should be directed to an Advisor who can help. Technology and teamwork should make it not too hard to achieve this goal.
22: I can’t stress enough the positive effect that quality Academic Advising has on recruitment, retention, and student academic success. Semester-by-semester contact between an Academic Advisor and an Advisee makes a big difference in keeping Advisees on track. Many faculty Academic Advisors are not snuggly or cuddly, but that’s not what our Advisees need: our knowledgeable concern for their academic progress – and to get them the help they need, when they need it – contribute directly to student success and resilience. To sum it up: Keep up the good work.
23: Now the obligatory training certification. Use this link and access code to complete an eight-question quiz. The Provost’s Office is expecting 100% of undergraduate Academic Advisors to be certified by October 30th. If you are having trouble with a question on the quiz, email me and I’ll do what I can to get you to certification.
24: Murray State University Academic Advising is here to help. Please let me or a member of the Advising Committee know how we can help you in your Academic Advising endeavors. Thank you for being part of the success of Academic Advising at Murray State University.