We have found it very helpful to contact advises a few weeks prior to registration to remind students of the importance and benefits of the advisor/advisee relationship.

Communicating with Students

Communicate with students through email (at various points in the semester), D2L, shared drive, and Navigate.

Start of Semester Email to New Students/Advisees

Hi and welcome to BSU!

I have been assigned as your academic advisor and wanted to check in and see how your semester is starting for you.

We will touch base mid-semester for academic advising, but please feel free to reach out now, introduce yourself, and let me know if you have any questions. When I started college, I was a first-generation student and I know that starting in a new place is full of excitement and perhaps many questions.  Regardless of whether you are new or a transfer student, I’d love to get to know you and help you acclimate to BSU.

I’m happy to answer any questions you may have, and if I don’t have an answer,  I’ll make sure I find a person or resource for you! 

I hope you have a great semester!

Dr. Pawlowski

Email to New Advisees

Hi and welcome to BSU!

I have been assigned as your academic advisor and wanted to check in and see how your semester is going for you.

We will touch base mid-semester for academic advising, but please feel free to reach out now, introduce yourself, and let me know if you have any questions. Regardless of whether you are new or a transfer student, I’d love to get to know you and help you on your academic journey at BSU. 

I’m happy to answer any questions you may have, and if I don’t have an answer,  I’ll make sure I find a person or resource for you! 

I hope you have a great semester!

Dr. Pawlowski

Check-in/Wellness Email After a Month

Good morning!

I am just checking in to see how your semester is going!  I hope classes are going well for you. We are nearing the half-way mark, and I know sometimes that can create excitement, and sometime a little more stress – you got this ?

Please let me know if you have any concerns about any classes or if you would like to meet with me about anything.  We will be doing official academic advising in a few weeks and I will send specifics regarding signing up for appointments, but wanted to see if you had any initial questions in the meantime.

Have a great rest of the week,

Dr. P

Student with Kudos Email

Good morning,

I am just checking in to see how your semester is going!  I saw that you received some kudos from one of your instructors!  Nicely done ?. I hope the rest of your classes are also going well. 

Please let me know if you have any immediate questions about anything.  We will do formal advising in a few weeks, and I will send you information for signing up for an appointment but wanted to at least touch base to see if you had anything urgent.

Keep up the great work!

Dr. P

Class Concerns/Flag Raised Email

Good morning,

I am just checking in to see how your semester is going!  I noticed that one of your instructors has a concern about your progress in your X class. 

Learning can sometimes be challenging; but we’re here to help you be successful.  Perhaps you have already done this, and the concern has been taken care of, but please reach out to your professor as soon as possible for questions and guidance. They (or other campus resources such as advising success center) can provide some strategies for helping you through the semester.  If you want to discuss this with me, please let me know – I’m happy to visit with you.   

I received notice about one of your classes, but how are your other courses going for you? Is it just this one or are there others that are problematic for you?  Knowing this will help me identify the resources you might need to be successful for the semester.

We will be doing official academic advising in a few weeks and I will send an email with more specifics regarding signing up for appointments but wanted to touch base to see if you wanted to meet sooner than later to discuss class concerns. I do encourage you to reach out to your professor for this particular class to assess the nature of the concern to get you back on track for the course.  

Let me know what I can do for you!  

Dr. P

Advising/Registration Variability

  • Some athletes register earlier
  • Students with learning abilities/disabilities register early
  • You used to be able to get registration times via Starfish; not sure if Navigate will have this information

Advising Modality Advice

  • In-person is best
  • Zoom for online students
  • Email or asynch correspondence for smaller questions
  • Use email/D2L/shared drive for some “group” messages

ADVICE – Don’t give access code over email until you’ve had a conversation with students – I do mine in person for on-campus students.

Reading DARS

  • 120 hours to graduate
  • Lib Ed/Core – 42 credits
  • 3000-4000 level – 40 credits
  • Minimum GPA for graduation – 2.0; some programs are higher
  • Transfer students – need at least 30 hours from BSU
  • Z – course in process
  • T – Transfer credits
  • RP – Repeat course
  • Courses can count in more than one area but not double credits

Mentoring with Advising

BEFORE YOU EVEN GET TO CAREER OR COURSE SCHEDULING (ask about personal and school progress – not all necessarily in this order but show interest in THEM)

  • How are classes going this semester?
  • What’s been most successful for you?
  • Where are the trouble spots?
  • How do the courses work with your learning style?  Tease this out…
  • How do you like to learn?  How’s the balance of reading, application, writing…?
  • If they were advised “randomly” over summer, you might not know what works best for them
  • How are things outside of school?  Balance of work/life?
  • Roommates?  Work?
  • Living on or off-campus?  Attending events with people? Getting involved with clubs or organizations? (gets at isolation issues or general engagement-interest in campus life)
  • Where is home for you? (you may know this from information but nice if you show interest or reference it)  How often do you get home?  Enjoy going home? (this can help tease out if home sick or not)
  • How big of family?  Where are you in the family?  Do you have other siblings who went to school or are you first-generation?

Mentoring with Advising

TO DETERMINE TYPES OF COURES TO TAKE: (some based on whether student is online or on campus student)

  • How do you best learn?
  • What are your strong skills?
  • Activity-based/application
  • Working in groups
  • Creativity/projects
  • Reading and research
  • What fits you best? Online learning or in-person (were applicable)?
  • Morning or later in the day courses?
  • Involved in any activities we need to consider in scheduling?

Mentoring with Advising

Not all at once but helps to tease out potential career paths – starter questions.

TO FIELD ACADMIC/CAREER INTERST AREAS:

  • What are your interest areas?
  • What is it that you like to do?
  • Where is your passion?  Working with others?  Age-ranges?
  • What were your favorite types of classes in HS?
  • What do people say you are good at?
  • Do you want to work indoors or outdoors?
  • Are you wanting to work for someone or have your own business/self-starter?
  • Have you considered graduate school?Do you like working with others or do you like being more isolated when you work?