Academic Advising Guide

Viewing Your Student Advisee Files

Each student has their own advising file which is virtual and accessed through Google Drive.  Follow the instructions below to access your advisees’ files. 

• Launch Google Drive
• Select Shared Drives in the left side panel
• Your advisees' files will be in a folder labeled ADV: Last Name, First Name (e.g., ADV: Albert, Sharon)
• As a content manager of this Shared Drive, you may add additional files and folders and assign rights to individual files on a case by case basis
  • Please note: You cannot delete files from this drive
• Watch the video tutorial to learn more

Please remember: These files contain confidential, FERPA-protected information, so handle with care!

There are many reasons why you or your advisee may decide to meet, including a discussion of their course of study, graduation requirements, post graduation plans, academic or personal challenges, requests for letters of recommendation, to name a few.  As a partner in student success, you play a vital role in information dissemination, providing support and encouragement to your advisee. 

1. At minimum, you must meet with your advisees prior to registration for the upcoming semester.  However, you don’t have to wait for an advisee to initiate a conversation, particularly if you receive a correspondence from the Academic Resource Center or another faculty or staff member who is concerned about your advisee.  An advising schedule will help to ensure that you have good interaction with your advisees.  Possible times to meet with your advisees include:
• At the beginning of each semester to review course selections and any changes to their academic plans, new opportunities and reminders about the academic calendar (e.g., drop/add dates, withdraw, internship, study abroad deadlines).
• The student is experiencing academic difficulties that are reported by the student, a faculty member, Academic Resource Center staff or the Dean of Academic Life.
• Contact students prior to registration to discuss course options and program requirements.
2. A student’s file is confidential, open only to the student and you. It is illegal to discuss a student’s record with other students. Faculty should not discuss a student's academic situation with a parent/guardian unless the student has given the parent/guardian permission (THIRD PARTY PERMISSION IN WORKDAY) to do so. It is preferrable that you do not talk directly with parents/guardians without consent of the student even with this permission and it is preferable that you engage with the Dean of Academic Life before engaging with a parent/guardian as we want students to learn how to manage difficult situations as independent adults.  
3. Allow adequate time for your advising appointment.  First Year student advising takes longer than for students in other class years.  Pre-registration advising may take longer for a new major.  A good rule of thumb is to allow for a  minimum of 45 minutes per advising session for a FY student and 30 minutes for other meetings.
4. Familiarize yourself with online academic advisor resources found at Academic Advising and, as needed, the our catalog for academic policies catalog.muhlenberg.edu.  Any changes to academic policies during the academic year will be posted on the Dean of Academic Life Advising webpage and on the Office of the Registrar webpage.
5. Ensure that you ask a student’s preferred name and pronouns and share this information about yourself to your students.
6. Academic advisers, as are all employees of the college, are required to contact the Title IX Coordinator if a student shares information related to a sex or gender based harassment incident including, but not limited to: sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, stalking and/or sexual assault.  Report this information here.
7. Make sure your advisee knows about the school’s policy regarding academic integrity. Review the Academic Integrity Code and Procedures.
8. If your advisee is facing academic challenges you may want to speak with a member of the Academic Resources Center, Office of Disability Services or the Dean of Academic Life prior to your meeting with the student. Professionals in these offices will be able to provide you with some additional information and support to guide your conversation.
9. Discuss plans for study abroad, internships, independent research, possible summer study or transfer credits. 
10. You may find yourself talking about non-academic concerns or challenges that students may be experiencing.  Remember, you are a part of a team of professionals and you should make recommendations to students to reach out to appropriate other staff on our campus referral page/or complete an incident report.

Whether you are a First Year advisor or an advisor for a major or minor, you play an important role to help students feel connected to our community and all of the rich academic and non-academic resources available to them.  During your first meeting, you will begin to forge an important relationship with your advisee that should develop beyond a conversation about graduation requirements. This page provides information to guide your initial conversations.

Before your first advising appointment:

• Class of ‘22 and ‘23 hard copy of folders in your departmental office
• Class of ‘24 and ‘25 are placed in a Google Shared drive in your advising file
• Check on student’s academic progress on Workday or other correspondences from the Academic Resource Center or offices or information in the student’s folder
• Review student virtual files.
• Common App
• High School Transcript
• Summer advising language, math and chem (class 2025) placement scores 
• Student Folders will contain:
• Office of Disability Services (ODS) pre advising information
• SAT/ACT score if taken - also on Workday
• If the student is a part of an honor’s program (Dana, EL, MBS, RJ, Shankweiler)
• Notes from DoAL, Registrar, other college offices
• View Readings below and those related to working with Special Populations of Students on this webpage
• Review our catalog for academic policies catalog.muhlenberg.edu and check for any academic policy updates on the Office of the Registrar or Dean of AcademicLife webpages.
• Sample Questions for first meeting to help you in getting to know your advisees:
  • What specific academic areas are of greatest interest to you and why?
  • How would you describe yourself as a learner?
  • What was your most rewarding academic experience in high school or at Muhlenberg?
  • What skills do you hope to develop, improve upon, or refine?
  • What types of activities/clubs do you plan to (or do) participate in at Muhlenberg?

• Generally, your conversations should cover topics about:
  • institutional policies and procedures
    • degree requirements
    • critical dates and deadlines
    • programs of study
  • the individual student
    • core values
    • aptitudes/interests
    • strengths/areas for improvement
    • involvment in extracurricular activities
  • the future and goal setting
    • how students visualize their future personal life and career
    • steps to make this a reality related to their college experiece
    • how students have changed as a result of their education.

                         * adapted from Drake, Jayne, et al. A Faculty Guide to Academic Advising. NACADA, 2009.

Pre-registration advising is not just about the short-term goal of choosing courses. It is an important moment for each student to work together with their advisor to ensure both that they are meeting academic requirements, general and for their major, and, equally important, that they are taking full advantage of the  opportunities available for academic exploration and growth. With those goals in mind, it is essential that you meet with each student. *

Core pre-registration advising responsibilities:

1. Meet with each advisee to help them develop an academic plan in Workday for the coming semester
2. Approve the plan once it has been submitted.

The academic plan is not a schedule. It is a listing of potential courses that will help the student move forward with their academic program, both in their major and more broadly in the Liberal Arts.

As students consider options for the Spring, review with them:

• General Academic Requirements (GAR)
• Especially for First Years and Sophomores, this need not be a checklist. Instead talk about exploration of different ways of thinking and learning.
• For Juniors and Seniors, use the Academic Progress tab under Academics in the student’s Workday profile to see what requirements are still outstanding.

• For Majors, progress to degree completion

This meeting is also a good time to encourage students to think about engaging in high impact experiences such as study abroad, internships, and independent research.

* In departments that use cohort advising, advisees may meet with other faculty in the department, along with their peers. Cohort advising can be a great option for departments with many majors as long as all students have opportunity to have their particular questions answered. 

Inclusive Advising

Education Students

First Generation Students

First Year Students 

Gender identity, pronouns, LGBTQ+

International Students

Individuals with Disabilities

Prehealth Students 

Transfer Students (in progress)

NACADA is the international network for international academic advisors.  Their webpage provides useful information on all advising related topics:  https://nacada.ksu.edu/.

1. Academic Advising Approaches : Strategies That Teach Students to Make the Most of College.
   Authors: Jayne K Drake, Peggy Jordan, Marsha A Miller
2. The new advisor guidebook : Mastering the Art of Academic Advising
   Authors: Pat Folsom (Editor), Franklin L Yoder (Editor), Jennifer Joslin (Editor)
3. Creating a Culture of Caring Practical Approaches for College and University Faculty to Support Student Wellbeing and Mental Health Faculty Resource
   by Active Minds and the Association of College and University Educators
4. Thriving in Transitions : a Research-Based Approach to College Student Success
   by Laurie A Schreiner, Michelle C Louis, Denise D Nelson'
5. Effective Advising: How Academic Advising Influences Student Learning Outcomes in Different Institutional Contexts
   by Lanlan Mu, Kevin Fosnacht
6. The Review of Higher Education
   Volume 42, Number 4, Summer 2019, pp. 1283-1307 (Article)
7. Advising in the Time of COVID
   by Colleen Flaherty
   Inside Higher Education December 14, 2020
8. If Advising is Teaching, What Do Advisors Teach?
   by Marc Lowenstein, Stockton University
   NACADA Journal Volume 40(2) 2020