Academic Advisement

ADVISOR BREAKDOWN

What is Academic Advisement?

Academic Advising is an opportunity to exchange information designed to help students reach their educational and career goals. Advising is a shared responsibility between an adviser and the student. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the student to make decisions about his/her life goals by creating a plan to reach those goals.

Academic advisers can assist in this process by helping the student understand options, determine resources and, when necessary, identify alternatives.

While students are urged to keep parents informed of plans and progress,  the advising relationship uniquely is between the academic adviser and the student.

• Take a look at your Degree Requirements.

What is My Academic Advisement Responsibility?

Just like you have a syllabus in a course, the Office of Academic Services provides an advising syllabus which will help you understand the academic advising process and your responsibility within that process.

View Your Academic Advising Syllabus

Your Rights as a Student

Who should come in for advising?

All NCAS and UC-Newark Undergraduate students are assigned an Academic Advisor. Students are expected to meet with their assigned advisor at least once per academic year to ensure that they are completing all academic requirements and making satisfactory progress towards completion of degree.  

When should I make an appointment?

Students are encouraged to meet with an advisor once a semester to discuss interests and long term plans. Students have the ability to make and manage their academic advisement appointments with the RU-N 4 Success  – APPOINTMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. To make an appointment with your academic advisor during the semester, please click here. Your meeting will be 30 minutes in length, so arrive to your appointment prepared. In order for your appointment to be productive:

1. Be on time. Please leave adequate travel time as you may have to reschedule if you are late.

2. During pre-registration have a list of proposed courses for the next semester, with alternatives.

• Please use this Graduation Plan worksheet  to tentatively plan your remaining semesters. It is best to refer to Degree Navigator,WebReg, and the Schedule of Classes to review any pre-requisites or restrictions on courses you are interested in taking.

3. Arrive with questions for discussion. Your advisor can assist you with:

• Advice on course registration, core curriculum, majors, and/or minors. 
• Discuss your academic progress this semester.
• Planning a reasonable graduation date.
• Review any questions about academic policy and processes 

When should I stop in for Drop-In advisement?

An Advisor is available for virtual drop-ins Monday-Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm unless the University is closed. If the Advisor finds your questions require more time, s/he will recommend an appointment. 

Sign-in to RU-N Success to schedule an appointment with your academic advisor

Stay on top of your academics Get helpful academic advice & Remain on a smooth path to Graduation!

Undeclared/Undecided Students

Figuring out your major can be hard.  Here are some tips on how to go about figuring it all out.

Start by becoming more self-aware.  

You can do this by trying to answer these questions first:

• What are you willing to work hard at?  
• What do you enjoy spending your time doing?
• What skills do you have or are willing to work on?

Explore Career options based on your interests, values, and future plans

• What kind of job would you like to have after you graduate from college?  
• What environment do you see yourself working in?  (bank, school, university, lab, hospital, government agency, etc.)
• What life style do you want to have?  Do you want to travel for work?  Do you want traditional hours (9-5) or do you prefer to work evenings, weekends, overnight?     
• Do you find the career valuable?  Is the role important in our society and important for you and your self-worth? 

Take advantage of the following resources on campus:

• bi-annual major/minor fair- each fall and spring semester OAS hosts a fair that features faculty and staff from all the academic departments on campus to speak to students about their major and the career options available with that major
• visiting with a career advisor  at the Career Development Center and taking a career inventory assessment
• researching careers on BLS.gov 

Major Advising

As an NCAS or UC student, you have an advisor in our office as well as in your major/second concentration. If you require advising specific to your major/second concentration, you must contact that department directly.

Click here for a list of academic departments