A Guide to Getting an Advising Appointment
While in college, having a strong relationship with your academic advisor is important in being able to graduate without any missed requirements. There are a couple of key resources that students at UM should be aware of so they can make an advising appointment with their specific advisor.
One of these tools is how the student’s advisor tracks each meeting so that students can go back and review the progress they made with their advisors. With the help of these resources, students can easily schedule an advising appointment throughout the semester.
The first resource that students should know about is the website GradesFirst. Once a student logs onto the GradesFirst portal, they will be able to schedule an appointment easily by clicking on the blue “Get Assistance” tab in the top right corner. Once you click the tab, you can select make an advising appointment instead of a tutoring appointment and then select the necessary school or college that the student is in. Then you finalize the scheduling by selecting “General Advising” as the service type, determining the location and time of the meeting, and giving the student’s advisor’s name.
It is recommended that students schedule meetings with their advisors a couple of weeks in advance since appointments can start to fill up. In addition, if your respective school or college within UM has a specific day reserved for “walk-ins,” it is best to take note of when that day is since it will be easier to meet with your advisor then.
If after meeting with your advisor you have any follow-up questions that you would like to ask them without making another appointment, another strong tip is to get your advisor’s business card so that you can email them when you have a question. Emailing is usually the best way to contact an advisor without having to take a trip to the advising office. Make sure that when emailing them, you show kindness, respect, and appreciation for their time. This will develop a strong relationship between you and your advisor, making meetings and conversations more productive.
Another tool that students can use to set up an advising appointment in Handshake. This website allows students to make appointments with an advisor to discuss topics such as utilizing LinkedIn, job or internship search, and interviewing techniques. This website is a great tool that students at the University of Miami should be aware of in order to help them get the guidance they need to find an internship or job before graduation.
In addition to GradesFirst and Handshake, most schools within the university have their own academic advising pages that allow students to make an advising appointment; for example, the Miami Business School.
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Carter Krouse, Intern, HaveUHeard
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