Academic Advising
Academic advising is an integral part of the academic program of the College. All academic advisors are full-time faculty members. Faculty advisors serve as a central academic resource and mentor for Hendrix students. Each student has a faculty advisor who provides guidance in academic planning and who is available for counseling on academic and related issues and concerns. Each student is expected to work closely with his or her faculty advisor in the design and pursuit of a coherent course of study shaped by his or her goals and interests and by College and departmental requirements.
Academic advising at Hendrix is viewed as a cooperative educational partnership between advisor and advisee, grounded in mutual respect and a common commitment to student growth and success. The advisor/advisee relationship respects the autonomy and intellect of each student and acknowledges the broader developmental and educational contexts within which academic advising occurs.
Though advisors and advisees work together in all areas related to academic planning, academic decision-making responsibilities, including the responsibility for meeting each of the graduation requirements of the College, rest ultimately with the student. Primary responsibility for timely, effective use of the academic advising system also remains with the individual student.
Academic advisors are responsible for providing their advisees with appropriate, accurate information concerning the academic policies, programs, procedures, and resources of the College. Advisors also assist advisees in defining, developing, and pursuing an educational plan consonant with their academic, career, and life goals, including the selection of an academic major consistent with their interests and abilities within the broader liberal arts curriculum.
Each new student at Hendrix is assigned a faculty advisor who is a member of the Council of New Student Advisors (CNSA), a group of faculty selected and trained specifically to work with new students at the College. Though students may change advisors at any time after their initial registration, new students are encouraged to remain with their CNSA advisor at least through their first year of study. Typically, at an appropriate point during the second year of study, when a major has been identified and confirmed through work in courses and with faculty in that discipline, each student chooses an advisor in the department or area of his or her major. Junior and senior students are expected to work with a faculty advisor in the department or area of their major. Forms and instructions for changing advisors are available in the Office of the Registrar.
In addition to their CNSA advisors, new students are paired with Academic Peer Mentors for their first year at the College. Academic Peer Mentors are upperclass students who are committed to helping new students flourish in the Hendrix academic community.
Advisees are encouraged to meet regularly with their advisors in order to realize the full educational potential of the advising program. More specifically, each student works carefully with his or her advisor each spring to structure an appropriate course schedule for the upcoming year, based on the student’s short and long-term academic objectives as well and his or her career interests and goals.
In addition to ongoing general discussions concerning academic planning and scheduling, career goals, and academic progress, students and advisors will want to discuss at least the following:
- Taking less or more than a standard load (four courses) in a given semester;
- Dropping a course in progress;
- Receiving an Interim Report in a course;
- Changing the year’s schedule in any way;
- Selecting and declaring a major or minor;
- Changing a major or minor;
- Study abroad opportunities;
- Transfer credit procedures;
- Internship possibilities;
- Going on leave or withdrawing from the College.
To assist students and advisors in understanding the academic programs of the College, including appropriate sequencing of courses in each major, and to promote each student’s initiative and autonomy in directing his or her own academic program and progress, Hendrix publishes a Hendrix Guide to Academic Planning each year. The Guide contains both general guidelines and specific recommendations written by departmental and program faculty to facilitate effective academic planning. The Hendrix Catalog and the Hendrix Guide to Academic Planning are the two principal academic planning resource documents of the College.
Academic advising at Hendrix is coordinated through the office of the Associate Provost for Advising and Retention. Questions and inquiries regarding academic advising may be directed to that office.