 Section II: Advising Expectations and Functions of Advising The process of student advising is an important part of the successful completion of the Pre-Nursing semesters. Advisors are able to provide students with assistance in course selection and scheduling; information on career options or other related resources; and answering questions that arise regarding curricular issues and career enhancement. The SDSU Faculty Advisor committee has compiled a list of student expectations from the advising system obtained from a variety of sources. There are five advising functions and the student expectations are listed in descending order of importance. You will find this helpful with respect to expectations of your advisor. 1. Information Giving
b. Provide information on courses relevant to student interests. c. Identify opportunities such as new classes and scholarships. d. Provide information about remedial, developmental, and honors programs. e. Explain requirements in courses, majors, college and/or university core. f. Provide assistance with registration and other academic processes. g. Advise on career and professional opportunities, graduate studies, and curriculum alternatives available to the student, or be able to refer the student to resources for additional information. h. Provide information and assist with evaluation of progress towards graduation, including distributing and signing graduation application. 2. Short-Term Course Selection
b. Assist in the selection of course level and total credit load. c. Guide course selection, which further helps the student explore interests and options. d. Guide course selection considering student strengths, needs, and characteristics. e. Discuss drop and add choices leaving the final decision to the student. f. Encourage the student to take courses offering different views and new ideas. g. Assist in planning courses for registration. 3. Discerning the Purpose of the Institution
b. Explain how the university experience prepares students for life pursuits in general. c. Assist the students to make adjustments to the university world, realize responsibilities, and recognize opportunities. d. Discuss and interpret the goals of a liberal education. 4. Facilitating Student Development
b. Encourage the maximum use of the student’s ability. c. Demonstrate an awareness of how advisees are doing in courses. d. Establish rapport with students; got to know the student. e. Assist students in analyzing and interpreting interests and abilities in terms of present-day needs and opportunities. f. Assist students in developing self-awareness and recognizing responsibility for exploring goals and needs. g. Discuss with students plans in terms of self-rapport. 5. Long-Range Program and Career Planning
b. Assist students in looking ahead to decide what they may need for areas of interest. c. Advise students on what is important or may become important if they plan to do further study in a field. d. Guide students to courses, which will be helpful in later work. e. Give students the benefit of the advisor’s experience when the student is deciding what courses will best prepare them for the future. f. Encourage students to take courses that will present new ideas. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Advising Process for Pre-Registration Advising for Pre-registration will occur approximately one to two weeks prior to pre-registration and during registration. Pre-nursing students are advised in group sessions. When the Semester Schedules are available from the Exchange in the Student Union, then the student can sign up for a group advising session on the advisor’s office door, paying attention to time and place of the advising session. If the student has a private question that the student does not want others to hear, then a separate appointment can be made with the advisor on the weekly schedule which is posted on the advisor’s office door. The student is to use the Nursing Curriculum Document to review what courses should be scheduled for the next semester in preparation for the group advising session. The student then consults the schedule booklet for the time and place of courses, using the planning sheet that is in the front portion of the schedule book to record the choices in pencil. During the advising session, the advisor will review the student’s academic progress and make suggestion about the schedule or approve it. The advisor will give the student the PIN number necessary for pre-registration and the dates they may pre-register as well as any updates from the Registrar’s Office, Financial Aid, and Course Schedule Changes. The student will then complete pre-registration by telephone, using the directions and phone number printed in the Semester Course Schedule Book. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Adjusting Schedules 1. To adjust schedules, consult your advisor first, to be sure you are not adjusting incorrectly. 2. If you have other questions, your advisor can help you. 3. Before adjusting your schedule, remember that full-time is 12 credits and you may need full-time for insurance or financial aid purposes. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Adding and/or Dropping a Course 1. Adding or Dropping courses can be done during the dates posted in the current SDSU Course Schedule. You may use the telephone, but if you are having problems, you may need to check with the Registrar’s Office (605-688-6195). You use the same PIN number for the entire semester and the same PIN number for summer and fall. 2. Not attending class does not mean you have dropped the class, it must be done through the telephone registration or by the Registrar’s Office. If a class is not dropped properly, you are considered enrolled in the class and are at risk for receiving an unsatisfactory grade. 3. If you drop a course during the first 30 days of class, you will not have the course recorded on your transcript. 4. You may still drop a course until approximately two weeks after midterm deficiencies are sent. When you drop during the time a “W” will appear on your transcript, indicating a late drop or withdrawal. 5. Review the course schedule book for dropping a course to understand the percent of tuition you will receive as a refund by a posted date. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Auditing a Course 1. Auditing a course allows you to attend class and participate, but without receiving a letter grade for the course. This is done to provide you with an opportunity to be exposed to material on which you may not want to be graded. It frequently is used if you have a low grade in the class. Please consult your advisor before registering for an audit. 2. You still pay for a class that you audit. However, you may select not to complete the course assignments. A class taken for audit does not count toward degree completion. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Absences 1. If you must be absent from class one day due to an illness, injury, or family emergency, please examine the course policy in the course syllabus. It is considered important for you to let your professors know why you are absent and that you will not be in class that day. Extended absences must be reported to the Dean of Student Affairs (605-688-4493) who will contact your professors and advisor to inform them that you will not be attending class the a period of time. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Grade Retrieval and Reviewing Grades can be reviewed by calling (605-688-5180). Students are required to enter their Colleague ID number (of SS#) and PIN number to retrieve their grades. Grades are always available by telephone whenever telephone registration in not taking place. Grades as far back as fall 1997 can be accessed. Grades are also mailed to the student at the completion of each semester. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Advisor Changes Students will be assigned a pre-nursing advisor when they enter the university and begin classes. When students are admitted to the nursing major, their advisor will change to an advisor who teaches in the Undergraduate Nursing Program. It is the goal of Nursing Student Services to keep advisor changes to a minimum to allow the student to develop a close working relationship with the advisor. Nursing Student Services does recognize that there are times when a student and advisor do not develop a close working relationship that is necessary. The student does have the right to request a change in the advisor by requesting the change from the Department Head of Nursing Student Services. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
References Students occasionally need to have a reference written. This can be done by making an appointment with the advisor and bringing any forms required by the reference requestor. A copy will be retained in the students Dean’s file. The student must give written permission to the advisor to have a reference written and sent to a potential employer or to support a scholarship. The advisor can address general information about the student, but may not give the GPA or transcript. The GPA is the responsibility of the student to divulge. An official transcript may be obtained from the Records Office in the Administration Building 208. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Bulletin and Semester Schedule Booklets The University provides a current bulletin or catalog
to all students as they enter the university. The bulletin is a guide
to students, providing the academic rules and regulations while students
complete their degrees.
Semester Course Schedule Booklets are available during the orientation of new students and transfer students, prior to the semester they enter SDSU. Once the student has been enrolled a semester, then the student can acquire a course schedule booklet prior to pre-registration from the Exchange in the University Student Union. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Summary of Family Education Rights and Privace Act Notification 1. For complete information, the student is referred to the SDSU STUDENT POLICIES MANUAL, which is available from the Dean’s Office in the College of Nursing (NFA 255) or at the SDSU Library. 2. Student records, such as grades, are available only to the student. Family members can obtain information only through the student. 3. Information that a faculty member can give about the student is the information that appears in the directory information, such as: Student name
At the beginning of each term, the student may file a Withhold Release of Directory Information form. For that semester, there will be no information available to the public on that student. If continued anonymity is desired, the student must re-file each semester. These forms are available in the Registrar’s Office. Students will want to be sure, however, that their names, phone numbers and addresses are available to the college through Nursing Student Services and their advisor. Students must also inform the advisor that the Withhold Release of Directory Information form has been filed. 4. Copies of the student’s transcript can be obtained from the Register’s Office at $5.00 a copy (charges in gee are subject to change without notice). The advisor may not provide a copy of the transcript for any reason. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Tips for Students The following tips are not in any particular order
and are here for the student’s reference.
1. After the new student orientation, the student is expected to contact the advisor as needed. Reasons the student might contact the advisor are varied, but any trouble that the student is having academically is reason the meet with the advisor. At pre-registration time, the advisor will advise the student and provide the PIN number needed to register. 2. Non-emergency appointments with the advisor should be made by signing up on the weekly schedule on the advisor'’ door (NFA _________) in any open space. 3. Emergency appointments can be made by telephoning
or e-mailing your
4. Pre-registration advising is done one to
two weeks prior to and during pre-
5. The Semester Schedule Book has information about how to register, financial aid, special dates to remember through the semester, department location and phone numbers, course schedules, course location and the professor teaching. For this reason, the Course Schedule Book should be retained for the semester as a reference. 6. The University Catalog or Bulletin contains the rules and regulations of the University. The student should retain this book as a reference, since the current bulletin at the time of the student’s admission to the university contains the regulation that the student must meet academically for graduation. If the student leaves the university form more than one semester, when the student returns the student will then be considered under the most current bulletin with readmission. 7. Scholarship applications are usually during January for the next year. Scholarships for pre-nursing students are the same scholarships available for all university students and are listed on the bulletin board outside the Financial Aid Office in the Administration Building. Students may also check with the advisor for other scholarships available. Once admitted to the Nursing Major there are many more scholarships available and applications are handed out in nursing classes. 8. Financial Aid questions can be answered by the Financial Aid Office. If students are having financial problems, they are encouraged to discuss the problem with the Financial Aid personnel. There are times that adjustments in loans can be made and the student should not hesitate to discuss this possibility with the Financial Aid personnel. Ask the Financial Aid personnel about reduced interest rates on Stafford Loans for Nursing Students. 9. An application to the major is made as the student completes the last semester of pre-nursing courses. Applications are available from Nursing Student Services, NFA 131, at the first of the fall and spring semesters. Applications are due approximately one month into the semester and the due date is posted on the application. See the advisor for guidance with the application as needed. 10. All pre-nursing courses must be completed by the time the student is admitted to the Nursing Major with a minimum requirement of a 2.5 GPA. The advisor can answer any questions about the application, or entrance into the major. 11. CAP Center, in Medary Commons 123, is available to students needing counseling about text anxiety or help with study techniques. The CAP Center also houses Job Service for the University and can be used to find a job or to locate a tutor. The CAP Center also provides information about writing resumes or career exploration for those students who may be uncertain about which career path to take. 12. Counseling about emotionally charged problems such as alcohol and drug use, and/or other health issues is available at the Student Health Center. 13. Students who are having difficulty in a course are to see their advisor for counseling about improving the grade or dropping the course. This should be done before the last day to drop a course. (See the Course Schedule Book for this date) 14. Students receiving deficiency notices during any semester must see their advisor immediately. 15. To switch majors, the student should discuss the decision with the advisor, then go to the new department or college office and complete a “Request for Change, Addition or Deletion of Program and Advisor Change Form” at that office. 16. Academic Petition is a method of resolving an academic problem that is beyond the regulation or rules of the university. Students should see their advisor if they feel they have one of these situations. Academic petition forms are available from the Registrar/Records Office. 17. Official transcript evaluation is done through the Registrar/Records Office; the transfer student should see this office for information about the progress of the evaluation. 18. From the “College of General Registration Handbook”: Successful college students…
Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Academic Problems and Midterm Deficiencies 1) Help I’m having trouble! At the first sign of difficulty you should: a) Talk to the faculty teaching the class. You may need to make an appointment outside of class or perhaps talk to the faculty after class. Ask for suggestions on how to be successful in the class. b) Go by your advisor’s office and make an appointment on the weekly schedule to discuss the problem and what to do to help yourself. 2) There are several reasons new students to the university may have difficulty: a) Not knowing how to study. To improve your study skills you can:
b) Not know how to manage you time. To manage your time better:
c) Not knowing what direction you want in your career goals or doubting the choices you have made. · Take the course, Academic and Career Exploration,
GR 101. This is a one-credit course that allows you to explore career options.
3) Midterm Deficiencies
If you receive a deficiency in a course, you are expected to make an appointment and discuss with faculty teaching the course how you can improve your grade and where your difficulties are for the course. Also, make an appointment with your advisor to discuss other strategies to improve your grade. Return to PreNursing Handbook Table of Contents
Last Update: January 2006
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