Dear Faculty Colleagues,

As we prepare for the upcoming fall semester, preliminary schedules have been received by students and PINs have been distributed to their faculty advisors. As you may recall, for the past few years there has been an online adjustment period two weeks prior to the start of the semester, which the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee once again endorsed as part of their significant advice this past April. The online course adjustment period began on Monday, August 14th, and students will be able to make adjustments to their course schedule through Banner Self-Service through September 1st. Remember, FYS classes do not carry a waitlist; students will need to select an open section to add. For all other courses, waitlists will be cleared on Friday, August 25th. Between Monday, September 3rd and Friday, September 8th students can add a course by the instructor’s permission only.

The course adjustment and add/drop periods can be a critical time for our students as they finalize their course selections and ensure that their academic plans align with their interests and goals. In this regard, we are reaching out to kindly request your availability and support as a faculty academic advisor during this period. If you are not available to connect with your students before the semester starts, please consider adjusting your Out of Office message to reflect when you are able to respond and who students can contact for information/PINs in the meantime.

Your expertise and guidance play an essential role in helping our students navigate their academic interests and potential challenges they might encounter while making changes to their schedules. Your insights can make a significant difference in ensuring that each student’s academic journey remains smooth and successful. If they haven’t already, students will begin to reach out to discuss their course options, ask questions, and request their PIN. Please try to be as responsive as possible to requests for PINs and academic advice to avoid potential delays in course registration changes.

Similar to last year, we will not host a Meet Your Advisor session at orientation. Instead, we encourage you to reach out to your advisees at your earliest convenience to set up a time to connect with them before or after the semester begins.

If you are new to advising, have questions, or need a refresher, you can always contact your class dean. You may also consider attending our virtual drop-in session from 3:00 – 4:00 pm on Wednesday, August 30th. The class deans will also host a pre-registration session in advance of the spring registration period.

As always, we appreciate your dedication and commitment to our students’ success. Your engagement truly makes a difference, and we are grateful to have you as integral partners in academic advising.

Tim H. Cox
Dean of Advising and Co-Curricular Programs