Responsibilities of the Advisor

The advisor-advisee relationship is organic and will vary from faculty member to faculty member. Ideally, students will develop a mentoring relationship with more than one faculty member during their time at the University. In regard to their officially assigned advisees, advisors are responsible for the following:

• Advisors should be regularly physically present on campus and make themselves reasonably available to meet with students during not only advising and registration periods but also at other times during the semester.
• As critical points of contact, advisors should be responsive to student inquiries over email, by phone, and in person within a reasonable period of time. Advisees should be notified of any periods of extended unavailability and provided with alternative points of contact.
• Advisors should meet in person with every advisee during the pre-registration period, and ideally, at least one additional time per semester.
• Advisors should collect copies of the registration forms generated during the pre-registration advising meeting, keep a copy for their own records, and forward the other copies to the appropriate administrative office.
• Advisors should document any variations, special agreements, exceptions to regulations, or administrative decisions negotiated during the advising process.
• Advisors should inquire about academic problems and special challenges being experienced by their advisees and, if necessary, provide referrals to appropriate resources.
• Advisors should either provide accurate responses to inquiries about academic requirements or direct students to resources for acquiring that information. The advisor should ensure that the student has an advocate in getting information.