Academic Advisors are experts in educational planning. Depending on where you chose to go to
college, they could be professional staff members, faculty or both. Advisors measure their success by your
educational success. Advisors are your
partners in helping you to achieve your educational goals.
So often students “self advise” or get academic advise from
friends. My recommendation is that you
use the people who have dedicated their professional careers to the craft of
advising. Students should meet with an
academic advisor every semester prior to enrolling for classes. Advisors will ensure that you take the proper
courses to make your academic experience both efficient and engaging. They will help you properly sequence courses to
maximize your learning and help your semesters feel seamless.
At the community college level, advisors are also experts in
transfer. They can help you to explore
the vast opportunities that exist for you.
They will help you understand how your credits will transfer, show you
important resources and connect you to university transfer
representatives.
No matter where you start your college experience, utilize
advisement often. The better you know
your advisor and your advisor knows you, the better your experience will be. Remember that the only “dumb” question is the
one that is not asked. Advisors will
share all kinds of information with you, but if you have questions that they
did not address, ask them. If you did not
understand something they said, ask them to clarify. The more information you have, the more
prepared you are. Advisors WANT to
prepare you!
