Advising Step by Step

The following steps provide the necessary directions for your advisement to go smoothly. You should also see our Frequently Asked Questions.

If you are a senior, you must have a senior check completed in the semester before graduation.

1. Two weeks before the start of advising, check the bulletin board outside of the Undergraduate office (room 114 Welsh Humanities Office Bldg) to find your advisor's name and office number (all faculty offices are in Welsh). Be sure to check this board each semester since majors sometimes need to be assigned new advisors, depending on availability of faculty.
   
2. Sign up for an appointment with your advisor. Advisors will post sign-up sheets for appointments by their offices.
   
3. Prepare for your advising appointment by first reviewing the master schedule and course descriptions and then working up a tentative list of courses you're interested in discussing with your advisor. The master schedule is available on-line at the registrar's office. Descriptions of English department courses are available on the English department website under Course Descriptions. You also may want to consult the appropriate checklist for your major as well as the Academic Advisement Guidelines detailing college requirements.
   
4. On the day of your appointment with your advisor, pick up your file from the Undergraduate Office to take to your advising appointment. During the appointment, your advisor will first review your progress toward completing your requirements (core, distribution, and major). Based on this review and your own interests, you will then decide on specific courses for next semester. In order to tailor a program of study that best suits your needs and interests, this is a good time to ask questions about career plans, including graduate or professional school.
   
5. Once you have decided on your courses, you and your advisor will complete and sign the advisement form (you will keep the white copy and turn the pink copy into the Undergraduate office so that you can be cleared to register; the yellow copy remains in your folder). Then return your folder and the pink copy of your advisement form to the Undergraduate Office.
   
6. Once you have been cleared, you can register on-line for your courses on the assigned date. Courses fill up quickly so that it is important you register as early as your scheduled time allows; delays can result in students not getting their first choices in classes and times.

Senior Checks

One semester before graduation (e.g. the fall semester for a May graduation; spring for a summer or December graduation), students should have a senior check to be ready for graduation. For a senior check, see Ms. Patricia Armstrong in the Undergraduate Office or your advisor.

It is essential that you complete the senior check to be certain you have met university, college, and major requirements. The senior check is a two-step process: it begins in the department and concludes in the dean's office. If you fail to complete both steps, you will not graduate.( Top of Page)