The Academic Advising Mutual Responsibilities form can be found here.
Academic Advising
In a community of inquiry, academic advising is an educational process that, by intention and design, facilitates students’ understanding of the meaning and purpose of higher education and fosters their intellectual and personal development toward academic success and lifelong learning.
At a liberal arts institution, academic advising provides students with the opportunity to build a relationship with their advisor for the purpose of gaining assistance in planning their educational career, in learning the skills needed for academic success, and in learning how to access the variety of resources and services available to them.
Academic advising is a collaborative educational process whereby students and their faculty advisors are partners in supporting students’ ability to meet the essential learning outcomes and outline the steps for achievement of the students’ personal, academic, and career goals. This advisor/advisee partnership requires participation and involvement of both the advisee and the advisor as it is built over the student’s entire educational experience at Dickinson. Both the advisee and the advisor have clear responsibilities for ensuring the advising partnership is successful.
Advisee Responsibilities – What You Are Expected To Do
As an advisee, you have clear responsibilities in the advising partnership in order to be successful:
- Become knowledgeable about College programs, policies, and procedures
- Clarify personal values and goals and provide your advisor with accurate information regarding your interests and abilities, including your strengths and challenges as a learner
- Come prepared to each appointment with questions or material for discussion
- In Banner complete a Degree Evaluation (through the Degree Works button on the Dickinson Gateway) and bring it to your advising session
- Be an active learner by participating fully in the advising experience
- Ask questions if you do not understand an issue or have a specific concern
- Keep a personal record of your progress toward meeting your academic goals and graduation
- Schedule regular appointments or make regular contacts with your advisor during each semester
- Organize official documents in a way that enable you to access them when needed
- Complete all assignments or recommendations from your advisor
Advisor Responsibilities – What You Can Expect
As your advisor, you can expect me to:
- Be a resource for you to find important information about the curriculum, graduation requirements, and college policies and procedures
- Encourage and guide you to define and develop realistic academic goals
- Discuss strategies for utilizing available resources and services
- Assist you in understanding the purposes and goals of higher education in relation to your life and personal goals
- Assist you in your consideration of possible majors
- Review your Degree Evaluation (Degree Audit) with you
- Assist you in understanding how study abroad can contribute to your academic and personal goals, and guide you in your early thinking about study abroad options
- Review your progress toward meeting your goals when you meet with me
- Be accessible for advising within stated guidelines via email and during office hours
- Maintain confidentiality in accordance with the law
Academic Resources
The Advising, Internships & Career Center offers a wide range of academic services for enrolled students at Dickinson College including: College Deans, Peer Advisors, Peer Tutors (for selected courses including most language courses), and a Learning Specialist who provides workshops and instruction in skills and strategies for academic success. Additionally, a variety of support services and resources are available through the Writing Center and Wellness Center.
Assistance for Students with Disabilities
Every one of your course syllabi should include the following statement about assistance for students with disabilities: Although you may not be requesting any academic accommodations from me for the FY Seminar, I encourage you to discuss with me how you believe your disability may impact planning your course selection and academic work at Dickinson. If you have any questions about this statement, please discuss them with me during academic advising.
Dickinson College makes reasonable academic accommodations for students with documented disabilities. I am available to discuss the implementation of those accommodations. Students requesting accommodations must first register with Access and Disability Services to verify their eligibility. After documentation review, Marni Jones, Dean and Director of Access and Disability Services and SOAR, will provide eligible students with accommodation letters for their professors. Students must obtain a new letter every semester and meet with each relevant professor prior to any accommodations being implemented. These meetings should occur during the first three weeks of the semester (except for unusual circumstances), and at least one week before any testing accommodations. Access and Disability Services is located in Old West. Address inquiries to John Joyce at (717)245-1734 or email access@dickinson.edu. For more information, see the *Access and Disability Services web site*.