The Basics

If you're my academic advisee, below are some documents and websites that you must be familiar with. They will answer most general questions you may have. Being very familiar with these will put you on the path to academic success and enable our advising relationship to be the best it can be.

  • Four-Year Plan (4YP) – It is critically important that you always have an updated/current 4YP. Please use the format taught to you in AN S 110. Once you draft your 4YP for the first time, editing it becomes much easier. Adjust your 4YP every time you deviate from it, and remember, when you do, that you need to consider whether the deviation will affect subsequent semesters.
  • Academic Progress Report (through Workday) – Always run and carefully review your Academic Progress Report, at least once per semester. Recommended times are after semester grades have posted and just prior to your advising meeting with me. You can also run what-if audits to see the status of your academic progress if you were to add a second major or a minor, for example. Remember, all requirements as stated in the degree audit must be met in order for you to graduate, so pay close attention to it. If anything on your degree audit confuses you or doesn't make sense, please bring it up during our advising meeting.
  • Academic Calendar – Always have the current semester's Academic Calendar accessible, and refer to it first with questions regarding academic deadlines (course drops, adds, conversion to Pass/Not Pass, withdrawal, etc.). On the website, click on Details to download the detailed calendar in PDF format and save it to your computer. When processing schedule changes, keep in mind that these take some time, so do not wait until the deadline to initiate the process; by then, there may not be enough time for you to collect needed signatures and approvals (or even to get in touch with key persons, should they be out of the office and/or unavailable that day). Plan ahead and give yourself, and others who are part of the process, plenty of time.
  • Schedule of Classes – Find out when courses are offered, what sections there are, who teaches them, and how many seats are available in each. Use it also to project into the future, especially if you're a junior or senior, to make sure you won't encounter any course scheduling conflicts as you near graduation.
  • University Catalog – The catalog is the university's official listing of academic offerings—majors, certificates, minors, and courses—as well as registration procedures and university policies.
  • Navigate (through the Navigate app) – This is where you go if you need to schedule a meeting with me.

I wish you all the best in your academic endeavors!