Academic Advising

Academic advising at Westminster begins during the summer prior to your freshman year. Soon after you have been assigned to your Westminster Seminar, your advisor will contact you.  You will work closely with this advisor during New Student Week and throughout the fall semester in your Westminster Seminar class. You will have the same advisor until you declare a major. At that point you will be assigned to a full-time faculty member in the department in which you declared a major. Unless you request a change, this professor will serve as your academic advisor until you graduate.

Listed below are some typical responsibilities of both the advisor and the student to give you an idea what advising at Westminster is all about.

Advisee Responsibilities:

While the advisor will assist the student in course scheduling and planning, the student must assume final responsibility for course scheduling, program planning, and the successful completion of all Graduation Requirements. Become knowledgeable about the relevant policies, procedures, and rules of the College and the academic program. Ask your advisor about anything you don’t understand. If you advisor doesn’t know the answer, he/she will know where to find the information needed to answer your questions. You can meet with your advisor anytime you have a problem, but be sure to meet with him/her at least once a semester to decide on courses, check progress towards graduation, and discuss the suitability of other educational opportunities at the College.

Advisor Responsibilities:

Help advisees to understand how things work in the academic and administrative areas of the college and in its academic programs. The advisor also works hard to understand each advisee's particular concerns affecting academic progress. Discuss educational and career objectives suited to the advisee's demonstrated abilities and expressed interests. The advisor will help the advisee to understand the relationships among the courses, programs, undergraduate research opportunities, internships, study abroad programs, and other academic experiences provided by the College. Help the advisee to plan a course of study and give advice about courses and course loads. The adviser will help the student keep track of prerequisites for subsequent courses in the advisee's program. Refer advisees to other resources when appropriate.  Should you need more information, e-mail Dr. Cathryn Pridal. Faculty Advisors Guide