Succeed Together: Advising

First year advisors are staff members who provide holistic, student-centered support and serve as cultural navigators for those transitioning to EMU. Students are balancing academic, personal, and vocational responsibilities during college; first advisors come alongside students and help them carry forward their visions for their time at EMU and their future. During their first semester on campus, students will craft their own version of a “four-year plan” and consider long-term goals and career aspirations. First year advisors will support students in refining their strategies and plans to achieve and own their goals for college and career success.

Students transition to a faculty advisor in their major during year 2 and take increasing responsibility for shaping their academic plan and goal-setting. Faculty advisors can further refine strategies, provide suggestions related to career preparation, and provide guidance on how co-curricular involvements support personal aspirations. 

 

In general, you can expect your academic advisor to: 

• Meet with you one or two times per semester to discuss your curricular plan and academic progress. The number of appointments may vary depending on your class rank and individual advising needs. 
• Discuss challenges and Celebrate Successes
• Understand the general education curriculum (CORE, including intercultural opportunities), graduation requirements, course sequences, prerequisites, and requirements for a major 
• Answer questions about university regulations, policies, procedures, services, resources, and opportunities (or direct you to the person who can). 
• Talk with you about how your educational achievements, academic and personal interests, values, skills, and abilities relate to your current educational goals, choice of major, and possible career paths; 
• help you plan each semester’s program of courses, decide on a major in a timely way, and develop or refine a 4-year academic plan. 
• Monitor your academic progress and communicate with you about progress reports, academic, or attendance concerns from your professors
• Recommend additional levels of academic support and outreach as needed. 

First Year Advisors: Helping Students Start Out Strong

Traditionally, an academic advisor’s job is to help students determine a major and select courses to progress towards graduation requirements.  While this is an important and foundational aspect of first-year advising, here at EMU, our academic advisors are committed to helping the whole student through active listening and connecting students to campus resources for any issues that they may face as they begin their college journey. Our advisors serve as mentors, helping students navigate the personal and functional aspects of being a college student, including interacting with various offices on campus such as the business office, financial aid, residence life, the tutoring center and health or counseling services.  First-year advisors may not be able to answer all the questions a student has, but they will be able to guide the student to the person who can help them find the answer.