Wichita State University

Toward A Mission Statement For Academic Advising

Wichita State University faculty and staff advisors work to promote progressive student responsibility, commitment to the pursuit of intellectual foundations, major clarification, disciplinary competence, academic success and preparation for career advancement. A major intent of academic advising is to challenge and encourage our students to participate in Wichita State's Metropolitan Advantage and to THRIVE in the WSU campus and Wichita communities and beyond.

Introduction

This Handbook has been prepared specifically to assist you with your work in academic advising. Several biases influenced the preparation of this handbook:

Quality advising is the shared responsibility of faculty, students and administrators;
Advising is a teaching opportunity;
Sound educational planning and decision making utilize a faculty advisor's knowledge and expertise, WSU resources, and a student's needs, interests, values and abilities;
Faculty advisors can articulate and help students understand the relevance and inter-relatedness of the General Education Program and their majors in educational, personal and career contexts; and
Advising can contribute to academic excellence and persistence.

We trust that you will find this Handbook to be a valuable resource. You may want to photocopy or print a page to give to a student. Comments and suggestions to improve its usefulness are encouraged and should be sent to Bob Rozzelle, I.T. Director, LAS Advising Center, Box 6, WSU-3700.

You can also email me: bob.rozzelle@wichita.edu

Wichita State University is the academic home for approximately 15,000 students each semester. Each of these students brings unique potentials which can be enhanced through relationship with an academic advisor. Each also bring s family and community responsibilities, careers and academic expectations which usually add up to more than 100% of available time, energy and resources.

Because of this we, in our role as faculty advisors, have unique opportunities to assist students in meeting these demands, challenges, stresses and opportunities constructively and creatively.

The academic advising relationship is a vehicle we can use to share ourselves, our knowledge and our experience in a more personal way than is possible in the more formal class atmosphere. Good academic advising can help the student bridge the gaps between personal, academic and career requirements. Supported by good advising, students will clarify, plan, implement and monitor a program of study consistent with their values, goals, interests and abilities. This will lead to success and satisfaction in their personal, academic and career lives.

When students meet with their advisors, they come with varying needs and expectations. Generally WSU students want the following in advising:

Accessibility – an advisor who is reasonably available for advising appointments and who conveys an attitude that says "advising is an important educational process;"
Accurate information – an advisor who knows the current information regarding requirements, policies, procedures or where to find the information; an advisor who knows when to refer to another person or office;
Advice – an advisor who is willing to challenge, recommend, encourage, without imposing his/her preferences; and
Relationship – an advisor who is willing to sit face-to-face and care about the educational and career plans of the student.

Effective advising will enhance the likelihood of the following:

Student major/career exploration and selection consistent with the student's values, goals, interests, abilities
Student satisfaction with their academic program, advising and Wichita State
Student/faculty advisor relationship that is positive
Student persistence in academic programs (retention)
Student success before and after graduation from Wichita State

The elemental core of good academic advising, as in good classroom teaching, is the care and competence that you, as advisor, bring to the relationship with students to help them develop their unique potentials.

The Advising Process

Academic success and persistence are enhanced by an academic advising process which includes:

Exploration of life goals
Exploration of career/educational goals
Selection of an educational program
Selection of courses
Scheduling of classes

Expectations

Academic advising is more than class schedule building. The shared relationship between student and advisor is an essential part of the University experience. As with any good relationship, each must contribute to make it work effectively.

Advisors

Students can expect their advisors to listen and respond to their interests and concerns, to accept them as unique persons, to be reasonably accessible, to know policies, procedures and where to find information, and to be a personal resource for academic, career and life goals.

Students

In turn, students are expected to initiate and maintain contact with their advisors; to discuss information that may affect academic performance (such as work and family commitments); to learn basic University, college and departmental requirements and to accept responsibility for meeting them; and to seek assistance when needed. A good academic advising relationship promotes academic excellence, success and achievement of educational goals.

Advisor Assignment

Students will be assigned an academic advisor from the department in which they major. If they are undecided about a major, an academic advisor from the LAS Advising Center will advise them. If students need to talk with an advisor before the start of the semester, they may contact the LAS Advising Center or the department or college office that houses that major.

Academic Advising at Wichita State

Wichita State University believes in the importance of quality academic advising. This includes the development of an ongoing relationship between a student and a knowledgeable advisor who cares about students' personal and intellectual development and their academic and career success. Students are challenged and encouraged to develop academic and career plans that uniquely fit their abilities, goals and aspirations. Academic advising is available through individual department offices and through the offices listed below.

Intended Major	Advising and Administrative Assistance Available
Business	Barton School of Business 114 Clinton Hall, (316) WSU-3245 Website: http://www.wichita.edu/business
Education	College of Education 107 Corbin Education Center, (316) WSU-3300 Website: http://www.wichita.edu/education
Engineering	College of Engineering 100 Wallace Hall, (316) WSU-3400 Website: http://www.wichita.edu/engineering
Fine Arts	College of Fine Arts 415 Jardine Hall, (316) WSU-3389 Website: http://www.wichita.edu/finearts
Health Professions	College of Health Professions 402 Ahlberg Hall, (316) WSU-3600 Website: http://www.wichita.edu/chp_advising
Liberal Arts & Sciences Declared Majors & (Exploratory) (Deciding) Guests/Open Admission	LAS Advising Center 115 Grace Wilkie Hall, (316) WSU-3700 Website:advising.wichita.edu