Responsible Office: Academic Affairs
Policy Officer: Chief Academic Officer
Scope: |Faculty

Approved By: Office of the President

Approved Date: 5/1/2013

Effective Date: 5/1/2013

Category: Faculty and Staff

Description/Purpose:

Freshman Advising Program

Details:

Mission Statement

The mission of the freshman advising program is rooted in the Goals of Franciscan Higher Education at Saint Francis University. Specifically, each individual person is a unique combination of God-given abilities and we know that each person expresses the goodness of God in a particular way. Students especially should be accorded as much personal attention as possible. With the education of the whole person as our goal, we endeavor to foster the intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual growth of Saint Francis students and to prepare them not just for productive careers but for fruitful lives. The freshman advising program is certainly the foundational part of the larger mission to prepare Saint Francis University students for productive careers and fruitful lives.

Program Goals

The main goal of the freshman advising program at Saint Francis University is also rooted in the Goals of Franciscan Higher Education at Saint Francis University. Basically, we extend courtesy and hospitality to all who wish to join this community. The freshman advising program provides resources and support to each student who does join the Saint Francis University community. The program proposed to strive for the goals listed below.

• Provide for full and satisfactory integration of freshmen into the Saint Francis academic community
• Address directly those problems and concerns unique to freshmen
• Increase student retention
• Personalize the transition to college life by establishing a student/advisor relationship even before classes begin in the fall and assuring continued developmental communication between students and faculty

Objectives of Freshman Advising Program

• to serve as a student's first line of referral to appropriate campus services and resources (e.g., Writing Center, Counseling Program, Career Services, etc.)
• to make oneself readily available to advisees by establishing (and publicizing) adequate and convenient advising hours and to become proactive in contacting and supporting freshman students
• to assist students in self-exploration, self-understanding, and self-acceptance (values, abilities, interests, and limitations)
• to assist in the continuous development of the student's academic program consistent with life goals via course selection, course registration and computerized record-keeping
• to help the student to clarify personal, academic and career goals and to provide direction toward meeting these goals
• to acquaint students with the aims and goals of the University's General Education Program and to assist them in becoming a viable part of it
• to familiarize students with the decision-making process so that they will make meaningful personal decisions and assume personal responsibility for outcome
• to know and understand the University's academic requirements and policies and to articulate these to advisees
• to record and keep on file student grade reports, drop/add slips, degree audits, dates of advisor/advisee meetings (as well as notes from these meetings) and all other pertinent materials relevant to the advising process
• to facilitate a student's smooth transition to a departmental advisor at the end of the freshman year (or to continue on as the students advisor if he or she has not yet selected a major).

Duties of Freshman Advisors

• Strive to meet the objectives of the freshman advising program
• Participate in the summer Student Orientation and Academic Registration (SOAR) program as needed to meet with new advisees
• Participate regularly in advisor training programs offered by the University
• Assist in the continuing development of the freshman advising program by helping to evaluate and subsequently refine its objectives
• Participate in the formal evaluation of freshman advisors conducted annually by the Dean of General Education.

Approved by the Faculty Senate - November 17, 1993