Faculty Advising Handbook
Introduction
Advising Responsibilities and Expectations
Advisor/Advisee Assignment
Program Requirement Information Resources
Admission to the Business Program
Career Advising
Supplemental Advising
Student Support Offices
Remedial Course Requirements
Dropping Courses
Probation and Retention
Withdrawing from the University
Registration Advising
Advising Hints for CBA Faculty
This website has been created to assist College of Business Administration faculty in their role as academic advisors. The University, as well as the CBA, places a high priority on ensuring that our faculty have the information and support necessary to effectively meet this challenge.
UW-L’s strategic plan identifies these values and goals for students:
- Student learning and personal development will be the highest priority.
- UW-L faculty and staff will genuinely care about students and will seek to enhance their intellectual and personal development.
- UW-L will promote student success through effective instruction, through effective student advising programs, and through effective student development support services.
The advising handbook has been designed to provide information about some university and CBA policies and procedures, academic requirements and student support services. It also contains specific curricular information for advising students in each business major.
Updates regarding registration, advising workshops, curriculum changes, policy changes, etc. will be communicated to you via e-mail and memos from the Dean’s Office, throughout the year.
Suggestions for additions to this handbook are welcome, anytime!
Thank you for your extra efforts ensuring our students are well advised!
Amelia Dittman
Assistant to the Dean
Advising Responsibilities and Expectations
Based on the College’s commitment to providing quality programs for our students, and the students’ expressed needs, it is expected that every faculty advisor should, at the minimum, be able to competently address these academic advising areas:
- Requirements in the General Education program
- Requirements in the business core and major
- Admission to the Business Program
- Career possibilities related to your area of expertise
- Probation/Retention Standards
All students with declared majors in business are assigned to faculty in the following manner:
ACCOUNTANCY majors to accountancy faculty
ECONOMICS majors to economics faculty
FINANCE/RISK AND INSURANCE majors to finance faculty
INFORMATION SYSTEMS to information systems faculty
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS to faculty from the second major department
MARKETING majors to marketing faculty
MANAGEMENT majors to management faculty
UNDECIDED majors to economics faculty
Advisor assignments are made, randomly, within the above departments. Some departments have designated advisors for certain major tracks. Assignment is done in the Dean’s Office.
New Freshmen are assigned in the summer after they’ve registered. Notice of advisor assignment is sent them before they arrive on-campus in the fall.
New Transfer Students are assigned within the first week of each term.
Students changing majors are assigned at the time they submit the major change to the Dean’s Office, up until mid-semester. Advisor and major changes are not done while registration is in progress.
Advisor/advisee assignments are posted on the bulletin board outside the Dean’s Office, 223 WCW Hall. New/updated lists are posted twice each semester; by the end of the second week of classes and just after mid-term. Each semester faculty can view or obtain a current list of advisees using the ADVISE trancode on the Enterprise system, and through the AERIE system. All academic program associates are able to access this information, as well as the Dean’s Office.
Occasionally, a student may request to change advisors, though they are not changing their major. A form for such a request is available in the Dean’s Office. Approval by the "new" faculty advisor, department chair and Dean is required to effect the change.
Advising for the Four-Year Graduation Guarantee program is a cooperative effort between the student, Dean’s Office and selected faculty. New freshmen, only, may enter into the guarantee program within the first seven weeks of their first semester. They must contact the Dean’s Office for details.
Program Requirement Information Resources
All requirements and information for programs, general education and university policies and procedures is found in the University catalog. Students are issued a free copy when they enter the university. The undergraduate catalog is published every two years. Students’degree requirements are determined by the catalog in effect when they enter the university.
CBA checksheets are issued from the Dean’s Office and are continually updated. The checksheets include the requirements for general education, business core, business majors and minors. Incoming freshmen and new transfer students are given the current copy when they register.
The SNAP report (Student Notice of Academic Progress) is the university’s automated degree audit. Each registration period, students’ SNAP reports are sent to their faculty advisors. SNAP provides lots of useful information (grade point average, placement test scores) and are especially helpful for checking the progress for students entering their final year.
Students can also obtain SNAP reports of their current, or other programs through the Academic Advising Center at their website.
Questions concerning the accuracy of advisee SNAP reports should be referred to the Dean’s Office.
Catalog Requirements and Substitutions
Students are subject to the program requirements listed in the catalog in effect when they enter (or re-enter) the University. The SNAP reports are driven by these requirements. Students may move to a newer catalog, but not back to an older version. Except in special circumstances, they must meet the requirements as stated, in total, for their major, minor, etc.
Occasionally, students may need to seek exceptions or substitutions, especially in cases where a required course is not offered. Students seeking course substitutions or waivers should be referred to the Dean’s Office for review, appropriate paperwork and, when necessary, action by the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. Requests for substitutions for graduating seniors will not be considered after the first four weeks of the semester.
Prerequisites for courses frequently change, and students are subject to these changes regardless of what catalog they are following. You should be aware of prerequisites for courses in your own program, at least. When advising students be sure to use a current catalog for course prerequisites, especially for courses outside the business areas.
Admission to the Business Program
This is a vital advising issue for students in the first half of the degree. Requirements for admission are listed in the catalog, the checksheets and identified on SNAP. However, you need to counsel your advisees, during the freshman and sophomore years, to complete the requirements in an appropriate way so they will be eligible for admission at the start of the junior year.
Before the start of each registration period, the Dean’s Office sends you reminder information on appropriately scheduling. Applications for admission to the business program are available in the Dean’s Office. They are due by mid-term and must be accompanied by a copy of the students’ transcripts.
Career advising in your area of expertise should be provided as part of the advising process. You should be able to at least identify careers/career titles that are associated with your major area. Refer to your department’s handbook, brochures, and Career Services Placement Report for helpful information. There are also numerous WEB sites, which can be used. An extensive list of addresses can be obtained from Amelia.
When your advisees need information outside your area, and you don’t feel competent to provide such advice, refer them to the department/colleague that does, or to the Dean’s Office.
Undecided students may need to be referred to Counseling and Testing, Career Services or the Academic Advising Center. These offices will provide printed, audiovisual and on-line information, and will administer "interest inventory" tests to help students make choices. These are located in Wilder Hall.
Career Services, also located in Wilder, provides staff to help students get ready for and begin the job search. They provide workshops on various related topics, and work one-on-one with students. Karla Stanek works mostly with our business majors. She is also available to speak with classes or organizations. Ms. Stanek also coordinates CBA internships.
The Dean’s Office coordinates the CBA advising program, and tries to provide services and information to address all advising needs of faculty and students. The Assistant to the Dean, Amelia Dittman, is the expert reference and prefers staff and students contact her with questions regarding curriculum and policy questions. The Dean’s Office is also responsible for confirming to the University that students have met all degree requirements. All students should be referred to Ms. Dittman for a "credit check" before they begin their final year, or at any time.
The Dean’s Office also advises new transfer students and coordinates the summer freshman orientation/registration program.
Other offices and personnel, who provide various types of support for students, and to whom you may need to refer students for assistance, are listed on the next pages.
It is not reasonable to expect that every faculty member can give their advisees the answers to every question they may have, but you should be able to refer students to an appropriate office or staff member. If in doubt, call the Dean’s Office.
ADMISSIONS
115 Graff Main Hall
Admissions is responsible for the admission of new, special and transfer students.
SCIENCE AND HEALTH COLLEGE
124 Mitchell Hall
Provides information for students contemplating majors/careers in areas served by that college, including physical therapy, medical technology, physician assistant, science, math and the exercise/sport science, community and school health education, and recreation.
CAREER SERVICES
2nd floor Wilder Hall
Assists business students in the job search and internship placement.
COUNSELING AND TESTING
1st floor Wilder Hall
This office can help students with career and majors search questions, as well as counseling for other personal issues. Administers national and international testing programs. Helps coordinate the ACADEMIC DISCOVERY LAB located in the basement of Wilder.
DISABILITY RESOURCE SERVICES
Murphy Library
Provides special advising and tutoring services for students with diagnosed physical and learning disabilities.
TEACHER EDUCATION
260 Morris Hall
They can provide advice for students interested in teaching programs, elementary, secondary, early childhood and special education.
FINANCIAL AID
215 Graff Main Hall
Handles all matters regarding federal and state financial aid programs.
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
116 Graff Main Hall
This office is responsible for the admission of international degree and exchange students; study abroad programs for UW-L students; ESL program; advising international students.
INVOLVEMENT CENTER
2nd floor Cartwright Center
A connecting point for students interested in becoming involved in volunteer activities on and off campus.
LIBERAL STUDIES COLLEGE
ARTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
260 Morris Hall
Can advise students considering majors in the liberal studies and fine arts areas.
MULTICULTURAL STUDENT SERVICES
223 Graff Main Hall
Provides a multitude of services for minority/multicultural students, including special tutoring and study skills. Also coordinates social and cultural campus events and community outreach efforts.
RECORDS AND REGISTRATION
117 Graff Main Hall
Coordinates most aspects of registration, commencement and maintenance of student academic records.
STUDENT LIFE / STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
149 Graff Main Hall
Coordinates the process for withdrawing from the University. Will notify instructors of student absences. Coordinates legal aid program; student conduct policies and procedures.
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
109 Wilder Hall
Provides various special advising and tutoring services for qualified students (first generation; low income) for the federally funded program.
UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT / FOUNDATION
Cleary Alumni & Friends Center.
Among other things, this office handles student scholarships. Students may apply for any scholarships awarded by or through UW-L at this office.
All new freshmen are required to submit ACT and placement test scores before they register for their first semester. Occasionally, the scores place students at the remedial level in math and/or English (MTH 050, ENG 050); such students are required to complete the remedial courses by the time they’ve earned 30 credits or during their freshman year. Students are advised about this at summer freshman orientation, and are encouraged to register for the course(s) their first semester.
Students required to complete remedial coursework will have such a message on their SNAP report. This message will disappear once they have completed this requirement.
After students’ first two semesters on campus, they may not drop courses more than four times for the remainder of their academic program. [This does not include courses dropped or sections changed through the first five class days of a semester; first three in a regular summer term.] This is important to know, because students are required to secure an advisor or instructor’s signature to drop classes. Advisors may want to remind students about this when signing drop slips.
Further, it is appropriate to caution students who want to drop any pre-business courses. They need to consider what dropping such courses will mean to their progress in and admission to the business program.
Current policy allows dropping courses through the eighth week of class (one week past mid-semester). No grade is recorded.
Probation and retention standards are issues advisors may need to address from time to time. The standards are outlined in the University catalog; a copy is included in Part III of this handbook. Questions about the standards should be directed to the Dean’s Office.
Many faculty and most students are unaware that it is possible to be suspended from the University for ONE bad semester. If a student’s semester grade point average is ever less than 1.5 (after their freshman year) they are automatically declared ineligible to return to the University. Thus, a student who’s had a decent, or even exemplary, record can be dismissed for one poor semester.
Students should be encouraged to immediately repeat courses in which they earn unsatisfactory grades, particularly if they have been placed on academic probation.
The Counseling and Testing Office in Wilder Hall can provide help with such issues as time management, study skills, test anxiety, and special needs assistance. This office will also provide counseling for personal problems, eating disorders, substance abuse, etc.
Withdrawing from the University
Students contemplating withdrawing from the University must contact the Office of Student Life in Graff Main Hall, which will provide a checklist of procedures to follow and will also offer counseling about such a decision.
Grades of "WP" or "WF" are recorded if the withdrawal occurs after the established midterm point. "WF" grades DO affect students’ grade point averages.