Academic Advising & Selecting Courses

1. Academic Advising & Selecting Courses By Tara Davis 2009 For use with the Academic Advising & Selecting Courses Lesson Adapted from ORT “Academic Advising” Powerpoint

2. Click arrows to jump to a section. Click to return here. Table of Contents • Academic Advising – What it is and is not. • Reading the College Catalog – Your Requirements & Options • Selecting Courses Part I – Planning Your Academic Future • Selecting Courses Part II – Your Schedule for Next Semester • Related Materials – Lesson and Handouts List

3. Academic Advising What it is and is Not

4. Academic Advising • ADVISE (ad-vize)from Webster’s Dictionary1. to give advice to.2. to recommend an action, policy, etc. 3. to give information or notice to. 4. to give advice.5. to take counsel.

5. Academic Advising • Developing meaningful educational plans that fit into life goals. • The ultimate responsibility for making decisions about educational plans and life goals rests with the student. ultimate responsibility

6. IS… Going to an appointment prepared to: share information ask questions IS NOT… Going to an appointment expecting the advisor to: create your schedule make decisions for you Academic Advising

7. You have learned and practiced: Organization and Time Management Planning Self knowledge through Self-Assessment Career Research You will now learn and practice how to: Read the college catalog Understand academic major requirements Plan for the future through selecting courses Use short term options to reach long term goals Advising: Advising: How ORT Prepares You

8. Advising: Advising: Student Responsibilities • Know who your advisor is and if they are in the advising office or the health careers office • Look on the Q under “student biography” OR • Read the letter that is mailed mid-semester • Contact your Advisor or the Advising Center EARLY for an appointment. • Be persistent, use e-mail, phone, or leave a note. • The advising center gets very busy; don’t wait until the last minute!

9. Advising: Advising: Student Responsibilities • Complete ORT 110 assignments • CAPS Plan • Semester Planning Chart (2 Options) • Course Schedules (2 - 3 Options) • Print outs of: • Your placement exam scores • Your student biography • Your current/past course schedules

10. Advising: Advising: Student Responsibilities • What to bring to your appointment: • Placement test scores • Semester Planning Chart and Course Schedules • Booklet of course offerings for next semester • The college catalog or a copy of the page(s) of your academic major requirements • include the major you are waiting to be accepted into • Questions!!

11. Reading the College Catalog Your Requirements and Options

12. The catalog is also available online. Reading the College Catalog • First, you will learn how to read the college catalog: • The Table of Contents • The Program of Study Page • Find the Table of Contents now • It is at the beginning of the catalog

13. Reading the College Catalog • Everything you need is listed in the Table of Contents. • Programs of Study: Lists all programs with page numbers • Course descriptions: Describes all of the courses offered. • Browse the rest of the pages later!

14. Find your own program of study page in the catalog. If you are general studies and waiting for enrollment in another major find both pages. Reading the College Catalog The column on the right tells you which degree the program earns, admission requirements, next steps, the program coordinator and their e-mail address, and other footnotes. Prerequisites & Corequisites are courses you MUST take before you can enroll in the listed course. Some courses in this column have pre-requisites also. ENG 101 requires that you have taken or tested into ENG 100. A course may be an elective, an elective in a specific area such as “social science”, or a footnote says it must be a certain level such as 200 and above. You can take any course that fulfills it. Read the electives handout. Numbers, letters, or other symbols next to course titles tells you that there is an important footnote to read either at the bottom of the page or in the right hand column. Clusters are suggested sequences to take courses. You may take some of them in any order you want as long as you have met the requirements. Course title and number are both important, so always write them together! Courses are not always offered every semester! Most classes are 3 credits, courses with labs have 4.

15. Selecting Courses Part I Planning Your Academic Future

16. Use pencil or an erasable pen! Selecting Courses: Preparing • Before beginning you must have your: • placement test exam scores • current/past course schedule • college catalog • two copies of the “semester planning chart” • copy of the handout “courses sequences, electives, and courses with no pre-requisites”

17. Selecting Courses: Planning • The planning chart is used to plan several semesters. • No matter what college you attend you are expected to know what to take and when.

18. Fill in the areas for: Selecting semester type Course Title Course letter and number identification Course availability Taken/Plan to take Grade and Credits Pre/Co-Requisites Selecting Courses: Planning X 2009 None F/S 3 Strategies for College & Career ORT 110  Introductory Algebra Mat 099 F/S/su  3 Mat 095 or CPT Intermediate Writing Skills ENG 096 F/S/su  3 ENG 095 or CPT

19. Selecting Courses: Choosing • Now that you know how to fill out the semester planning chart, make your choices. • Remember to use the “course descriptions” page in the catalog to check for pre-requisites. • Begin filling out the “Semester Planning Chart” with courses you have already taken! • You don’t know where you are going unless you know where you’ve been. • Next, look at your “Programs of Study” page(s) • What comes next for you? Focus on basic courses first! • Plan several semesters ahead (approximately four).

20. Selecting Courses Part II Your Schedule for Next Semester

21. Selecting Courses: Planning • You should be finished planning your academic goals several semesters ahead using the “Semester Planning Chart”. • Now you will select which days and times you want to take courses next semester using the “Course Schedule Booklet” and a schedule worksheet. • If you are intending to take a winter intersession or summer course, understand that they are very fast and do the same amount of work in less time. Plan wisely!

22. The Course Schedule Booklet also has the Final Exam Schedule for next semeseter! Selecting Courses: Preparing • Before beginning you will need: • Your “Semester Planning Chart”; focus on next semester only. • Your copy of the “Course Schedule Booklet” • A “Course Schedule Worksheet” of your choosing.

23. Selecting Courses: Preparing • Every semester the college puts out a “Course Schedule Booklet” which lists: • Every course offered next semester and who is teaching it. • If it is a fall, the winter intersession courses are included. • If it is spring, summer schedules have their own book. • Each course is listed alphabetically and also with a course number AND a section number. • Section numbers are important! They indicate time of day and day of the week the course is held. When choosing your class, include this number! Example: CIS 111 -12

24. Choose a back-up time or course! Sometimes a class fills up quickly. Selecting Courses: Times • Use any “Course Schedule” worksheet you like. • Your instructor may have provided a different one for you or make your own. • Time decisions are YOURS to make.

25. Selecting Courses: Tips • Tuesday and Thursday only schedules are the hardest to get so go EARLY! • Schedule Labs/Sciences and other courses that have fewer time choices FIRST! • Sometimes classes fill-up fast, so always have other course times as a SECOND CHOICE! • Include the course number and title and section number in your selections ALWAYS!

26. Selecting Courses: Tips • Even if you are unsure of a course, always go to your appointment with a PLAN! • If you are a Health Careers student, you MUST see a Health Careers Advisor. • They have very specific information about the health programs that a general advisor would not have. • Because you’ve made decisions ahead of time, your advisor can give you quality ADVICE!

27. Related Materials • Academic Advising & Selecting Courses (Lesson) • Academic Advising Printing Prep Instructions (Handout) • Semester Planning Chart (Handout) • Course Schedule Worksheets (Handout) • Course Sequences, Electives, & No Pre-requisites (Handout) • College Catalog (Book) • Schedule Booklet for Credit Courses (Book) • The “Q-Guide” (Lesson)

28. Sources Advising Powerpoint (Original) http://www.qcc.mass.edu/t3/ORT110/powerpoints/ACADEMIC%20ADVISING.ppt Google images used for educational purposes only.