Advising

Why Do You Need an Academic Advisor? Because it's vital to your success!

A student's first contact with academic advising takes place at New Student Orientation, when a student is assigned to an academic advisor. Throughout their time at UMass Boston, however, they will have regular contact with advisors.

Academic advisors are professionals trained to aid students in exploring and achieving their academic, career and personal goals through the utilization of the full range of University and community resources. They strive to deliver accurate, respectful, honest, friendly and professional service, and are pleased to answer students' questions about academic policies or procedures, to assist with the selection of courses, and to make appropriate referrals to other departments,

Here are some general facts about academic advising, including information about the University Advising Center:

• Although developing a strong relationship with a single advisor is recommended, students may request a different advisor any time throughout his/her academic career.

• Most students are required to seek advising at least once a semester in order to plan for each upcoming semester, especially during registration advising months of November/December and April/May.

• Academic advisor can help students understand how to use the degree audit as an effective planning tool.

• When students declare a major or concentration, they are encouraged to form a close working relationship with a faculty advisor from their department who can guide them through their major course requirements and explore graduate school options.

• Students in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the College of Public and Community Service receive advising and guidance directly from their colleges.

• College of Liberal Arts (CLA), College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), and College of Management (CM) students can stay in touch with both the Office of Academic Support Programs and the University Advising Center from their pre-first semester orientation until they have chosen a major or concentration.

Even after students have chosen a major or concentration in CLA, CSM, or CM, University Advising Center staff members are always available to discuss questions and concerns about college requirements and University regulations. Other Advising Center services, available to students in all the University's colleges, include

• a skills assessment program

• services for international students, including academic concerns and issues of immigration status

• internship placements

• study abroad programs in any one of more than twenty countries

• access to the National Student Exchange Program

• comprehensive career services, including an on-campus recruitment program.

Related to advising, the Office of Academic Support Programs provides courses and tutoring designed to enable students to succeed in their studies. Its primary focus is on instruction and tutorials in critical reading and writing and mathematics skills, but students can also seek help through this office with any problems that affect their academic careers. Offerings include

• the Subject Tutorial Program: individual and/or group tutoring for students enrolled in 100- and 200-level courses in the humanities, languages, mathematics, and social and natural sciences

• tutorials in analytic language development: special attention paid to the reading, writing, and thinking skills necessary for success at all levels of study, offered to undergraduates through the Reading, Writing, and Study Skills Center

• degree-credit courses in critical reading and writing

• non-degree-credit-bearing courses in mathematics skills and English as a Second Language.