SCORE Making the Most of Departmental Advising by Sara A. Stivison 2014UNT Advising Conference #UNTAdv14 May 22, 2014 Collin College - Preston Ridge Campus

1. SCORE! Making the Most of Departmental Advising
Sarah A. Stivison
Texas Wesleyan University
School of Business Administration
sastivison@txwes.edu
817.531.4846

2. Breaking down the process
Freshmen
– Advised during Orientation
– Take only GEC courses (except accounting majors)
– Stay in Freshman Advising until they reach 20+ hours
– Advised by GEC faculty (English, History, Speech, Religion, etc.)
Transfer Students
– Advised during Orientation (or by appointment)
• Transcripts and initial worksheets/degree plan done by Admissions and sent
to SOBA for review
– Typically have most of GEC completed
– Upper level business courses not usually included as transferred unless
prior consultation with SOBA has taken place
School of Business Administration

3. Breaking down the process
Continuing Students
– Advising for SOBA-assigned students begins 4-6 weeks prior to the
start of priority registration.
– Students are notified via email and newsletter (we’re adapting to
Facebook and Twitter, but aren’t consistent yet) regarding advising;
banners are hung in SOBA building that advising is going on.
– Faculty are sent list of advisees, including major, GPA, hours to
graduation and email address.
– After registration begins, students who are not registered receive
periodic emails reminding them to see their advisor (and register) before
finals.
– Students with transfer credit questions or issues with their audit are
referred to the SOBA Office after meeting with their advisors.
Internships, concurrent enrollment, prerequisite overrides and double
majors are also referred to Academic Services in the SOBA Office.
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4. Prepping the Prospects
Potential transfer students have a wealth of knowledge available on the
Wesleyan website. For community colleges in North Texas, there is an
equivalency guide for most (if not all) courses offered and how they will
transfer in to Wesleyan (this is on the Student Records/Registrar’s page).
This allows the student to see what will transfer into their degree
program, even without consulting Admissions or the School of Business.
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5. Prepping the Prospects
The SOBA webpage drills a little deeper, but still allows a student to see
what his/her transferred program would look like, even without visiting with
Admissions. The Advising Information page has links to faculty and staff
emails for questions on programs or transferring, concentration
worksheets, course rotations, prerequisites, etc.
http://txwes.edu/academics/school-of-business-administration/meetadvisor/
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6. School of Business Administration

7. Prepping the Prospects
Because we have quite a few courses on a strict rotation (and with a
number of prerequisites), there is a spreadsheet posted that includes
rotations (F/S) and prerequisites for planning purposes.
2013-2015 Prerequisites Guide for SOBA Majors
School of Business Administration

8. Prepping the Prospects
For students who have attended TCC, there is a concordance that lists all
SOBA classes transferable into the Business Core; we encourage TCC
students to take as much as they can as part of their AA/Core Complete
coursework. While not posted on the webpage, it is handed out in
information sessions at TCC or any advising through SOBA.
School of Business Administration

9. Prepping the Prospects
Also available for those planning to transfer is a suggested path for each
concentration to guide students through their degree at Wesleyan within 2
years (those who have followed the concordance and/or asked for advising
prior to enrollment at Wesleyan). Body
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10. Advising the Accepted
Incoming transfer students are initially reviewed for transfer credit in
Admissions; once they have registered for Orientation (or requested a
private appointment), New Student Programs sends their worksheet and a
copy of transcripts to SOBA for a more detailed review. Prior to the
Orientation date, the worksheet and transcripts are reviewed for satisfactory
prerequisite completion and upper-level transfer credit. Courses that may
be taken are highlighted and notes are made on the worksheet for any
rotations/prerequisite issues.
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11. Advising the Accepted
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12. Keeping the Continuing
Each semester (after 12th Day), transcripts and advisory audits are run for
each student assigned to SOBA faculty for advising. Courses required for
degree completion are highlighted, notes are made and course sequencing
is noted (in some cases). This allows faculty to easily determine courses
missing and advise the student more efficiently and accurately. It also helps
make a point to students when they are missing a prerequisite that they’ve
been putting off.
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13. Keeping the Continuing
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14. Keeping the Continuing
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To help students prepare for advising, a mail merged email is sent out listing
major/concentration, advisor and advisor contact information. The email
also gives instructions as to how to run an audit, how to plan for
classes, etc.
Because we noticed that a number of students (international and domestic)
were showing up for advising unprepared, we put together a step-by-step
guide for how to choose classes. This is also under Advising Information on
the SOBA webpage.
Student Guide - How to Search for Courses
Because we noticed that there seemed to be a problem with some students
being advised, but not actually registering, we put together another step-by-
step guide - this one for how to register online.
Student Guide - How to Register for Courses

15. Keeping the Continuing
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In an effort to help faculty with advising, a file on the SOBA shared drive has
been set up. This file contains all advising forms and references currently
available, projected schedules for the next 2 semesters and a document on
the Advising Process that covers instructions, pointers, reminders
(prerequisites especially), links to forms, suggested sequencing for core
courses, courses that can be taken off campus and other resources.

16. Share your best practices
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Questions
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