Happy Monday Champions! I hope all preparations for the beginning of the semester are going well! A reminder that if you all have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us in the office or email us at nso@westfield.ma.edu.
Today I wanted to give you a better idea about what advisors are and how they help us as students. For those of you that have attended college you might be familiar with the role that Advisors play in our lives as students.
For me when I entered college, I had no idea what an advisor was and what they could do for me as a student. It was a big learning curve for me, adjusting to having the presence of an advisor to help me through my college journey. Since I have 2 majors, I have 2 advisors. It is similar to students that are in the Honors Program because they have 2 advisors, one for their major and also one from the Honors Program. Having 2 advisors means really understanding what they both can help me with separately and what they can do to help me as a team. I have one advisor in the History department and one advisor in the Education department. I am able to go to each of them with questions pertaining to either of my majors and they are able to help me. Of course, it is a bit easier going to my education advisor about education related questions. I have enjoyed having 2 advisors, it gives me an additional person to help me through college.
The most important thing that an advisor does is being there for us as students. It helps knowing that I have someone to go to from the beginning of my college career until I graduate. The most important thing for your students to know about their advisors, is that they cannot register for any classes for the next semester without first connecting with their advisor. In order to register for classes, your student needs to receive a PIN number. They can only get that PIN number from their advisor. This ensures that students are checking in with their advisors at least once per semester. During those meetings, your student and their advisor will talk about classes for the next semester. I know for me, it has benefitted me having my advisors input about what classes I want to take. They make sure that as a student, you are taking classes in the most efficient way possible to benefit you in the long run.
I have gone to my advisors during registration with schedules created, and I have left the meetings with whole new schedules because after talking to them, they can tell me what classes would work better in different semesters. My first semester here, me and my education advisor sat down and we mapped out all the education classes I needed to take throughout my 4 years, even going as far as deciding which ones to take which semester. For me(who over organizes their life) this was the best thing. I didn’t think that way at the moment, I was a bit overwhelmed. Now though, I realize how much it benefitted me. Especially when I was making my schedule, I was able to look back at that document to help create a schedule.
Another great thing my advisors have been able to do for me is get me into classes that I was not able to get into on my own. Sometimes during registration, classes are restricted from students to select. I was able to email my advisor at 7:00 in the morning(when registration takes place) asking for help getting into a class because I was not allowed to do it myself. They were able to reach out to the registrar’s office and get me placed in the class.
Advisors are essential to your student and their success in college. I suggest your student figures out who their advisor is at the beginning of the semester. It’s helpful to know at least one familiar face in academic buildings. New students will not know who their academic advisors are until October, so once they have been assigned their advisor, I encourage your students to reach out!
I hope to see a lot of you in September!
-Lindsey
Student Coordinator of the Champions Network