What is Academic Advising?
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Academic Advising is an opportunity to exchange information designed to help you reach your educational and career goals. Advising is a shared responsibility between an advisor and the student. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to make decisions about your life goals by creating a plan to reach those goals.
Academic Advisors assist in this process by helping you understand your options, determine resources and, when necessary, identify alternatives. While you are urged to keep parents informed of plans and progress, the advising relationship is unique between the academic advisor and the student.
Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate prospective or incoming students in individual advising sessions until the semester they begin at Rutgers.
Student Responsibilities
- Call early to make an advising appointment, arrive on time, and cancel 24 hours in advance if you cannot make it.
- Prepare for your appointments in advance by bringing a list of questions and courses you are considering taking.
- Use Degree Navigator to review your own major/minor options and requirements.
- Define a primary plan to achieve your goals but also have an acceptable alternative.
- Take advantage of University resources by asking for guidance and advice about opportunities that will enhance your educational experience.
Advisor Responsibilities
- An advisor may provide assistance in helping a student learn how to make practical academic plans and decisions, how to discover a range of options available to the student, based on the student’s stated goals, and how to think through the consequences of the student’s own choices.
- Assist in development of academic/career plans consistent with student’s stated goals, interests, and abilities.
- Provide accurate information about policies, procedures, and requirements.
- Create positive working relationships with students, other SAS advisors, staff, and faculty.
- Assist student in understanding the rationale and potential of an arts and sciences education.
- When appropriate refer students to other University resources and services.
Expected Outcomes of Academic Advising
- You will know how and where to access accurate information about policies, procedures, and requirements.
- You will be encouraged to make decisions that support your goals, abilities, and aspirations.
- You will be expected to become familiar with your departmental advisors for your major or minor.
