According to Shepherd’s online academic calendar, fall 2014 advisement begins March 24 and lasts until April 9.
For Kelly Pannill, director of the advising assistance center, academic advisement is “the process in which students and their faculty advisors work together to define the student’s academic and career goals” and plan for those achievements.
The purpose of academic advising is to provide advice, recommendations and assistance throughout a student’s education at the university. It is a partnership between advisor and student.
Pannill recommends that students do a bit of planning ahead of time, such as selecting a minimum of two potential class schedules to discuss. Pannill also encourages students “to be prepared to discuss their particular educational goals, to share what they are finding most enjoyable and/or challenging about their classes, and to ask any questions they might have about their program.”
One of the goals of each advisement session is to plan a class schedule and to establish an academic plan for future semesters.
Daniel Zappia, a freshman history major, said he would have been completely blind if he hadn’t been advised. “The advisors tell you what is hearsay and what you actually need to do. It worked for me,” Zappia stated.
Iuli Washington, a senior secondary education major, stated that she “could not have battled the bureaucracy involved in getting my degree without the invaluable help of my advisor. She reminds me of deadlines or forms that need to be turned in, recommends what classes to take and when, and she does it all effortlessly, always teaching me something in the process. Because of her, I will be graduating in three years instead of four!”
Washington said that if she could make one change to the program, it would be to consult students, maybe through a simple and quick online poll, prior to any major changes to the curriculum, such as offering a class required for one’s major once every two years.
“There is no reason for a student to finish a four-year degree in six years when the ultimate goal of any institution of higher learning is to expertly and expeditiously prepare students for the real world beyond school walls,” Washington stated.
In addition to reviewing the student’s plan, asking questions, making suggestions and providing information on the student’s registration date and time, the advisor holds the key (or PIN) to successful registration. Each student will receive an alternate PIN which the RAIL system will prompt them for when they go online to register for priority registration.
According to Shepherd’s website, the first available day for continuing students to register after their advisement session will be April 7 at 9 a.m., but students should receive their specific registration date and time during their advisement session.
What if a student doesn’t know who his or her academic advisor is? Pannill recommends taking the following steps: There’s a direct link on the Shepherd homepage under “hot topics” for “Who Is My Advisor?” which provides instructions for retrieving this information in RAIL. Students can find their advisors by logging into RAIL, then going to “student,” then “student records,” then “view student information,” selecting the current term, then clicking “submit.” On this screen, students will see their primary advisor. If students are not sure how to reach that person, they can type the person’s name into the “people search” feature on the Shepherd homepage (in the upper left-hand corner) to view their advisor’s email, phone number, and office.
If a student feels a bit lost about this advisement business, he or she should head to the Advisement Assistance Center (AAC), which can do more than simply advise. “We assist students in understanding how to use the catalog and RAIL as well as how to read and understand their degree evaluation. We have a lot of students who come in because they are considering changing their major or minor or changing catalogs, so we can help them use the tools in RAIL to get a better idea of the outcomes of that change,” Pannill states.
The AAC staff can help students utilize and find resources across campus, fill out paperwork, figure out what paperwork needs to be filled out, and more.
The AAC is located in the Scarborough Library in room 104, and they are open from 8 a.m.–6 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. They will also meet with students outside of these hours by appointment. They can be reached at (304) 876-5317 or advising@shepherd.edu.