The Advising Program

Throughout their time at Washington College, and with the support and guidance of advisors, students will define current and future success for themselves, and establish responsibility and self-efficacy.

Student participation is crucial to the success of a liberal arts education. That is why students are expected to design—with the help and guidance of faculty advisors—an academic program best suited to their individual interests and talents. To help in charting the course, Washington College has established a set of guidelines concerning its General Education and Distribution Requirements, which are designed to ensure a broad intellectual foundation in the arts and sciences. Explore how to engage your advisor here.

Advising Assignments

Who is my advisor?

You can find your current advisor on Self Service, choose the Plan & Schedule screen, and then ‘Advising’. You can see who your advisor is and even send them notes.

When should I see my advisor?

All the time! Your advisor is part of your support system in college. They have a ton of knowledge about policies and requirements, and who can be helpful in just about any situation. Advisors are there to support you, advocate for you, and help you grow! How often you meet with them or communicate with them will change based on the semester, and your personal needs, questions, and preferences. But we think- the more, the better- our advisors are awesome!

Summer Advisors, First Year/Pre-Major Advisors, and Major Advisors

Summer Advisors advise you the summer before your first semester at WC. They are a faculty member, typically in the department or a closely related field to the major you indicated you were interested in exploring. They work with you to review the course selection worksheet, learn about your interests, and help you design your first semester course schedule.
First-Year advisors are typically assigned based on the FYS section you register for. They may be faculty or staff advisors, but they are there to guide you through your first year at Washington College and help you to design a path towards your goals. In most cases, students stay with that advisor until they declare a major in late freshman/early sophomore year.
Major Advisors are assigned the Chair of the department you’re declaring your major in. That advisor will work with you to make sure you are on track to complete that major, gain experience in the field you’re interested in, while still pursuing a liberal arts education and learning about many different subjects. Your major advisor will always be a faculty member in the department of your major.

How to Prepare for Advising

First meeting with your advisor?

Understand the purpose of advising: supporting the student towards their educational, career, and personal success. Advisors can provide guidance on policies, curriculum, and campus resources.
Think about what you want out of an advising relationship. What has been helpful to you in the past? What do you wish you’d gotten out of interactions with guidance counselors, teachers, advisors, and others that would be helpful?
Think about what your advisor should know about you- your goals, your strengths, your challenges, your passions.
Consider what you need to know. Do you have questions about distributions? Do you have questions about career paths with a certain major? Did your roommate tell you about a policy they heard of from a teammate that you want to find out if it’s true?
Be proactive- don’t be afraid to reach out to set up an appointment or drop by their office. Advisors try to meet the needs of lots of different students, but you may have questions earlier and that’s great, so reach out!

Meeting to discuss academic challenges?

Think about what type of problem(s) you are having. Is it difficulty of course material, time management, both or something else trying to get in your way of success?
Are there strategies that have helped you overcome academic challenges in the past?
Are you getting enough sleep? Lack of sleep can lead to difficulty concentrating and memory problems.
Thinking about these questions in advance will help prepare you to determine what campus resources can best help you with the academic challenges you are facing. Some examples of campus resources are tutoring, workshops, adjustments to your daily schedule and other approaches to tackling academic challenges.

Meeting to discuss choosing or changing a major?

Think about your long-term educational and career goals. What major(s)/ minor(s) can help you reach your goals? Are there any cocurricular/ experiential learning opportunities that can assist in accomplishing your goals.
Review the Major/ Minor Requirement sheet.
Think about the kind of work you most enjoy. Do you like to read and interpret texts? Do you want to work with visual materials? Do you like to solve quantitative problems? Do you enjoy lab work? Do you want to invent or create? Do you like to learn languages? You will do different kinds of work in different majors – how do you want to spend your time?
Once you have narrowed down your selection of majors you are considering, look at the requirements for each major/ minor. Try to map out a possible plan of study for each. Be prepared to discuss your options with your advisor. Be ready to talk about some of the following questions. Which major/minor appeals to you most? How much time would this major/ minor take to complete. Does this hinder your ability to pursue another opportunity, studying abroad or other college programs for example?

Meeting to discuss course selection?

Think about your long-term educational and career goals. What major(s)/ minor(s) can help you reach your goals? Are there any cocurricular/ experiential learning opportunities that can assist in accomplishing your goals.
Review the Major/ Minor Requirement sheet.
Think about the kind of work you most enjoy. Do you like to read and interpret texts? Do you want to work with visual materials? Do you like to solve quantitative problems? Do you enjoy lab work? Do you want to invent or create? Do you like to learn languages? You will do different kinds of work in different majors – how do you want to spend your time?

Once you have narrowed down your selection of majors you are considering, look at the requirements for each major/ minor. Try to map out a possible plan of study for each. Be prepared to discuss your options with your advisor. Be ready to talk about some of the following questions. Which major/minor appeals to you most? How much time would this major/ minor take to complete. Does this hinder your ability to pursue another opportunity, studying abroad or other college programs for example

Advising by the Year

The First Year

Familiarize yourself with the Washington College Catalog, including distribution credits and important policies and procedures.
Take a range of courses who subject matter interests you. This can be related to your anticipated major or other academic interests.
If you already know your degree program or experiential learning programs, review the program requirement sheets and/or experiential program requirements.
Explore some of the many co-curricular possibilities available on campus.

The Sophomore Year

Familiarize yourself with the Washington College Catalog, including distribution credits and important policies and procedures.
Take a range of courses who subject matter interests you. This can be related to your anticipated major or other academic interests.
If you already know your degree program or experiential learning programs, review the program requirement sheets and/or experiential program requirements.
Explore some of the many co-curricular possibilities available on campus.

The Junior and Senior Year

Complete any remaining distribution credits and make sure you are on course to complete your degree.
Work towards completion of your major, and any additional major(s) or minor(s).
Take non-required experiential learning opportunities/ internships or externships to explore your academic interests and diversify your skillset and world outlook.
If you plan to apply to a professional or graduate program, educate yourself about the requirements (e.g., academic course prerequisites, entrance exam, etc.) and work with the Center for Career Development to compose an appropriate CV or resume and pursue opportunities that will help you become a competitive applicant.

The Potential Benefits

The impact of this research will be particularly important for students in Title I-eligible public schools, for whom there is a demonstrated achievement gap and opportunity gap when compared to students at more affluent schools (Loeb & Bassok 2007, Borman 1996).

Opportunities for such enrichment experiences as author/illustrator visits come with a range of associated costs—from speaking fees and travel expenses to books to instructional materials—that often put these experiences out of reach for low-income students.

Demonstrating the benefit and impact of these experiences could help many students, teachers, administrators, grant writers, and literacy advocates by promoting sustained funding for future literacy programs and legitimizing their integration into school curricula as standard learning experiences.

This research will yield insights that help teachers best foster student interest and engagement with reading and lifelong learning—while disrupting the narrative that learning disparities are the product of unmotivated or disengaged learners.