Academic Advising Syllabus

University of Maryland Department of Theatre

Appointments: Advising questions, adding a major, transfer or degree reviews are handled by appointment only. Students who are 10 minutes late will be asked to reschedule. Students who miss appointments will not have priority in rescheduling.

Walk-Ins: Walk-In hours are for signatures and electronic stamps only. Dates and Times are posted on the bulletin board beside each office.

Text/Materials:

Academic Advising Description/Definition

Academic advising is an educational process that, by intention and design, facilitates students' understanding of the meaning and purpose of higher education and fosters their intellectual and personal development toward academic success and lifelong learning. (NACADA, 2004)

At the Department of Theatre, mandatory advising provides students with the opportunity to build a relationship with their advisor for the purpose of gaining assistance in planning their educational career, in learning the skills needed for academic success, and in learning how to access the variety of resources and services available to them on the Maryland campus. Academic advising is a collaborative educational process whereby students and their advisors are partners in meeting the essential learning outcomes and outlining the steps for academic achievement. This advisor/student partnership is built over the students' entire educational experience at the university and has clearly outlined responsibilities to ensure its success.

Advisor Responsibilities

You can expect your advisor to:

• Understand and effectively communicate the curriculum and graduation requirements, as well as University and College policies and procedures
• Encourage and guide students to define and develop realistic educational plans
• Provide students with information about campus resources and services
• Assist students in understanding the purposes and goals of higher education and accurately document students' progress toward meeting their goals
• Assist students in understanding the importance of meeting departmental benchmarks
• Be available to meet with advisees via office hours, appointments, by telephone and e-mail
• Assist students in gaining decision making skills and in assuming responsibility for their educational plans and decisions
• Maintain confidentiality
• Assist students in developing relationships with Theatre instructors

Advisee Responsibilities

In order to be successful, advisees are expected to:

• Schedule their registration advising appointment on a timely basis each semester
• Come to each appointment prepared with questions or materials for discussion and participate fully in the advising experience
• Ask questions if you do not understand an issue or have a specific concern
• Keep a personal record of your progress toward meeting your goals and organize official documents in a way that enables you to access them when needed.
• Complete all assignments or recommendations from your advisor - especially those in regard to departmental benchmarks and other academic criteria
• Gather all relevant decision-making information
• Clearly articulate your goals with accurate information regarding your interests and abilities
• Become knowledgeable about college programs, policies, and procedures
• Accept responsibility for decisions and actions (or inactions) that affect your educational progress
• Be proactive in checking Degree Navigator to keep track of your academic progress
• Complete your College advising plan as required

Expected Student Learning Outcomes for the Academic Advising Experience

Through the academic advising experience at the Department of Theatre:

• Students will demonstrate the ability to make effective decisions concerning their degree and career goals
• Students will develop an educational plan for successfully achieving their goals and select courses each semester to make progress toward fulfilling that educational plan
• Students will identify and utilize the resources and services on campus to assist them in achieving their academic, personal, and career goals
• Students will be able to accurately read and effectively utilize a degree audit in their educational planning
• Students will graduate in a timely manner based on their educational plan

 Demonstrating Your Achievement of Learning Outcomes

In order for the advisor and advisee to accurately measure and document that the student has achieved the learning outcomes for academic advising, the partners will develop an on-going portfolio of advising work. This portfolio will consist of a variety of documents including: basic contact information and a UM email address, the 4-year educational plan, the Departmental Curriculum Form, academic transcript(s), email correspondence, collaborative work based on various campus referrals, and a variety of documents that the advisor and advisee will develop together to demonstrate the achievement of these outcomes.

 Assistance With Issues Involving Disabilities

The University of Maryland is dedicated to providing equal opportunity and access for every student. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact Disability Support Services at www.counseling.umd.edu/DSS/ to explore the campus resources available.

Resources

Academic Achievement Programs: http://www.aap.umd.edu/

Learning Assistance Service: http://www.counseling.umd.edu/LAS/

Returning Students Program: http://www.counseling.umd.edu/LAS/html/returning_students.html

Tutoring Resources: http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/tutor.html

Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education: http://www.omse.umd.edu/

Academic Integrity: http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/code.html

Career Center: http://www.careercenter.umd.edu/

CORE: http://www.ugst.umd.edu/core/

Equity and Diversity: http://www.umd.edu/diversity/

The Writing Center: http://www.english.umd.edu/programs/WritingCenterWebsite/