November is the time students select classes for January Term and Spring Semester. Students prepare in advance for their meetings with their advisors by reviewing their degree audits which show them their progress toward their degrees, major and general education requirements yet to be met, and total number of courses completed so far. This review also gives them a chance to consider academic planning, determining if there’s time for study abroad or semester or summer internships. Students will meet with staff in the Academic Support Center and other faculty members so that when they meet with their advisor for approval to register, they are bringing thoughtful ideas to the conversation. Also, a number of departments offer information sessions about their major and what their graduates are doing following graduation.
In addition to talking with advisors and campus resources about how to think about spring courses, this meeting time with advisors is timely in that mid-term grades are out. It’s a valuable check-in time for professors to see how advisees are doing. First-year students’ professors in the First Term Seminar program are their advisors until they are ready to declare their major anytime after the fall semester. First-year students in the Three Crowns Curriculum have one of these professors as their advisors until they’re ready to declare their major anytime after the fall semester.