Need Advice?

Advice Guide to Getting An Advising Appointment

Usually, the busiest time of a semester is when students need to create their schedules for the following semester.  An incoming freshman needs advice and they will meet with their advisor during orientation to select their classes for the first semester. There are prerequisites that they need to take and with so many students needing the same type of classes, like ENC 1101, those are offered at several different times.  However, as semesters go by and majors get chosen, classes that are needed for different majors are offered on a limited schedule.

Students often try to pick classes with professors that are popular and have the best rating or classes with schedules that fit into their schedules.  The best advice that I can give is for your students to have their academic goals in mind when meeting with their advisors. An open line of communication is a great start and a great way to let their advisors know exactly what their needs are.  This link for the advising department at UNF will give choices of the different colleges at UNF as well as first-year advising.

Here are some tips to make the most out of your student’s advising appointment:

• Make a list of questions for your advisor.  Once they have made the appointment, they should start writing down as many questions as they feel necessary.  No question is a dumb one and it will typically lead to new ideas or thoughts.
• Schedule more than one meeting a semester.  There is no reason that they have to wait until right before registration or during drop/add.  The advisor will probably have less time during these crunch times to speak with your student.
• Bring a planner or organizer and make notes based on what the advisor says (if for no other reason than to relay the meeting back to parents.)
• Make a list of their goals for that semester whether it be to challenge themselves academically with difficult classes or picking up an extra elective to boost their GPA.
• Keep a folder with all “official” papers in it and bring it to advising appointments. This folder should include materials of importance.
• A copy of important dates (e.g., last day to drop a class without a grade, first date of eligibility for early registration for the upcoming semester). See our calendar for these important dates.
• Any worksheets or checklists you and your adviser have been working on. It’s helpful to always have on these sheets a space for the date on which they were most recently updated.
• Do your research! Know what type of classes you are interested in and what may be available to you. Also, some classes require pre-requisites so being well informed will help your student and their advisor to make the best decisions for them.
• Be honest-your advisor is there to help you, but you know your study habits and learning capabilities best.

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