continuum of undergraduate advising

 

Figure 1. The undergraduate student advising continuum.   All undergraduate students first interact with their academic advisor at orientation, whether they are a new first-year student or transfer student. Students move along the advising continuum depending on their major. Most students transition from Advising Commons Professional Advisors to a Faculty Advisor upon completion of their first year and some transition after their second year.  A few majors maintain professional or faculty advising throughout their program. The overlapping green circles in the diagram represent the necessary advising partnership and feedback between Advising Commons and Faculty.  This partnership allows for continuous improvement in the advising process and the curricula. Each group is responsible for assessing their processes to continually improve student advising. Information in the green circles defines the reporting mechanisms and provides a link to a website with additional details. 

 

Module 4 – Who advises MSU students?  

In the last five years, MSU has invested in a well-organized, thorough, and more centralized advising system to ensure undergraduate students receive accurate and timely information to succeed at MSU. The undergraduate student advising system is a continuum between Advising Commons professional advisors and faculty advisors that help students successfully navigate the university from matriculation through graduation.

Advising Commons is a team of 43 professional advisors, who advise students in every college.  Because most incoming students start with an Advising Commons advisor, approximately half of all undergraduates are advised by a Commons advisor. The Advising Commons shared-service model allows MSU to adjust advisor FTE to meet enrollment changes.  Advising Commons hosts monthly meetings open to all advisors, student success professionals, and faculty. Critical advising and registration information is shared during these meetings, which are held online.   Advising Commons maintains a One-Drive shared library, where the Advising Manual, Advising Plans, meeting minutes, course flyers, and updates and other helpful information are stored.  Advising Commons also maintains an online advising toolkit as a ready reference for professional and faculty advisors.

MSU also offers pre-professional advising for students seeking to attend graduate programs in health professions, law, and veterinary programs. These pre-professional advisors aid students from any major as well as recent MSU graduates, helping students select electives, internships, paraprofessional opportunities, summer work, and other experiences.

Faculty advisors are key in guiding most students through their final years to graduation.  In addition to continuing to guide students on their curricular path, faculty advisors are mentors, advising on co-curricular activities, internships, professional and research opportunities, summer work, and other experiences preparing students for a successful post-graduate career.