Academic Advising
Academic advising is a process in which the student and the advisor work collaboratively to set individual objectives for the student鈥檚 college experience. Whether the goal is to earn a degree, certificate, transfer to another institution, or just take a few classes, the advisor will assist in developing a plan to achieve that goal.
Only Interested in a Couple Classes?
Register for classes as a non-matriculated student (not enrolled in a degree or certificate program). Registering as a non-matriculated student is a great way to get started or to complete coursework for transfer. To see what classes are currently being offered at 51黑料网, check out the schedule page and choose from the terms listed. Once you have an idea of what course you鈥檇 like to take, contact the Advising and Transfer Center.
*Financial Aid is not available to non-matriculated students
*For classes with a prerequisite, non-matriculated students must provide proof of the course prerequisite. This could include high school or college transcripts鈥攐r even testing.
Process & What to Expect
Students who are new to 51黑料网 (either first time in college or transferring from another institution) are required to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor in order to register for classes.
Things to consider before registering for classes:
- When are you available to take classes: mornings, afternoons, evenings, online?
- How much time are you able to allot to attending class/completing assignments?
- How soon do you want to graduate? The more classes you take each semester the sooner you will finish.
- Familiarize yourself with the list of required courses for your program.
During your first academic advising appointment your advisor will discuss the following:
- Your long-term goals.
- Will you be a full-time (12+ credits) or part-time (less than 12 credits) student?
- Appropriate first-semester courses according to your availability and placement.
- Various class formats such as in-person, remote, hyflex or 100% online.
- Student expectations in online courses and/or remote courses
- How to for your classes.
- Your advisor for future semesters.
- New Student Orientation.
Other things to do:
- Need help paying for college? Contact Financial Aid
- Do you have 504/IEP in High School or a Documented Disability?听 Contact 51黑料网 Accessibility Services for reasonable accommodation plan consideration.
To the Parents
The first part of the advising appointment is a one on one meeting between the student and the advisor. This portion of the advising appointment is the student鈥檚 first opportunity to make decisions regarding their future.听
Parents/Guardians are welcome to join the student for the second portion of the advising appointment鈥攁t the One Stop. The One Stop will go over payment deadlines, financial aid, and answer any other questions.
Family Educational Right to Privacy
Once someone becomes a college student, their right to academic privacy is protected by the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act (FERPA).听This limits external access to a student鈥檚 academic record and information.听Students must sign a FERPA Release听granting access to all third parties, including parents.
Differences Between High School & College
IN HIGH SCHOOL | IN COLLEGE |
|---|---|
| Time is structured by school officials and parents. | Students manage their own time. |
| Students can count on teachers to remind them of responsibilities and to guide them in setting priorities. | Students balance responsibilities and set priorities on their own. |
| Daily classes follow one after the other with a few minutes in between. | Students often have large time gaps between classes; class time varies from day to day. |
| Most class schedules are arranged by school personnel. | Students arrange their own schedule in consultation with their academic counselor or advisor. |
| Students are told about graduation requirements. | Graduation requirements are complex, differ from program to program and, sometimes, from year to year. Each student is expected to know those that apply to him/her. |
| Bottom Line: School personnel watch out for students – guiding and correcting them if necessary. | Bottom Line: Students are expected to take responsibility for what they do and don鈥檛 do as well as for the consequences of their decisions. |
HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES | COLLEGE CLASSES |
|---|---|
| Students can normally get by with studying outside of class as little as 0 to 2 hours a week and, perhaps, cramming before tests. | Students need to study at least 2 to 3 hours outside of class for each hour in class. A course load of 12 credits requires anywhere between 24 to 36 hours of independent study/homework time. |
| Reading is often re-taught in class; listening in class is sometimes enough. | Students are assigned substantial amounts of reading and writing which may not be directly addressed in class, but still show up in tests. |
| Students can remain in school despite poor academic performance. | Students can be dropped from college because of poor academic performance. |
| Bottom Line: Students are usually told in class what they need to learn from assigned readings. | Bottom Line: It鈥檚 up to the students to read and understand the assigned material; lectures and assignments proceed from the assumption the students have already done so. |
HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS | COLLEGE PROFESSORS |
|---|---|
| Teachers check completed homework. | Professors may not always check completed homework, but they will assume the students can perform the same tasks on tests. |
| Teachers remind students of incomplete work. | Professors expect and want the student to attend their scheduled office hours. |
| Teachers provide students with information in case of an absence. | Professors expect students to get, from classmates, any notes from missed classes. |
| Teachers present material to help students understand the material in the textbook. | Professors may not follow the textbook. Instead, they may use other materials to supplement the text, or they may expect the students to relate the classes to the textbook readings. |
| Teachers often write information on the board as a summary of notes. | Professors may lecture nonstop, expecting students to identify the important points in their notes. Good notes are a must. |
| Teachers impart knowledge and facts sometimes drawing direct connections to lead students through the thinking process. | Professors expect students to think about and synthesize seemingly unrelated topics on their own. |
| Teachers often take time to remind students of assignments and due dates. | Professors expect students to read, save, and consult the course syllabus (outline); the syllabus spells out exactly what is expected of the student, when assignments are due, and how they will be graded. |
| Bottom Line: In high school, students mostly acquire facts and skills. | Bottom Line: In college, students are responsible for thinking through and applying what they have learned. |
TESTS IN HIGH SCHOOL | TESTS IN COLLEGE |
|---|---|
| Testing tends to be frequent and covers small amounts of material. | Testing is usually infrequent and may be cumulative, covering large amounts of material. The student, not the professor, needs to organize the material to prepare for the test. A particular course may have only two or three tests in a semester. |
| Makeup tests are often available. | Makeup tests are seldom an option; if they are, the student needs to request them. |
| Teachers are open to rearranging test dates to avoid conflict with school events. | Professors in different courses usually schedule tests without regard to the demands of other courses or outside activities. |
| Review sessions pointing out the most important concepts are common. | Professors rarely offer review sessions, and, when they do, they expect the students to come prepared with questions. |
| Bottom Line: Mastery can be seen as the ability to reproduce what students are taught. | Bottom Line: Mastery is often seen as the ability to apply what the student has learned to new situations or to solve new kinds of problems. |
GRADES IN HIGH SCHOOL | GRADES IN COLLEGE |
|---|---|
| Grades were given for most assigned work. | Grades may not be provided for all assigned work. |
| Extra credit projects are often available to help raise your grade. | Extra credit projects cannot, generally speaking, be used to raise a grade in a college course. |
| Students may graduate as long as they pass all required courses with a grade of D or higher. | Students graduate only if their average in classes meets the departmental standard specified in the catalog. |
| Bottom Line: 鈥淓ffort counts.鈥� Courses are usually structured to reward a 鈥済ood-faith effort.鈥� | Bottom Line: 鈥淩esults count.鈥� Though 鈥済ood-faith effort鈥� is important in regard to the professor鈥檚 willingness to help students achieve good results, it will not substitute for results in the grading process. |
IN HIGH SCHOOL | AT GREAT BAY COMMUNITY COLLEGE |
|---|---|
| High School is mandatory and usually free. | College courses are paid for by scholarship, loans, and/or out-of-pocket. |
| Although student absences are recorded, students are not subject to penalty for missing too many classes. | Each faculty member has an attendance policy. Students may be dropped from class due to violation of the attendance policy. |
| Students may add or drop classes within a specific period of time. | Students may add or drop classes within a specific period of time. This timeframe includes a small window in which to receive a full refund. After that, the student is responsible for the cost of the course. |
| Bottom Line: Students have no financial responsibility for the changes made to course schedules. | Bottom Line: Not paying attention to attendance policies or add/drop dates can be an expensive lesson. |
Extracted from the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at Southern Methodist University.
Contact Us
Phone:听603.427.7728
Fax:听603.559.1523
[email protected]
Room 210, Portsmouth Campus
Hours
Monday-Thursday: 8:00AM to 5:00PM
Friday: 8:00AM to 4:00PM听
Staff
