Your Honors Facilitator presents: The Honors Advising Experience Today’s Agenda Your Honors Facilitator presents: The Honors Advising Experience Today we’ll talk about academic advising; how the process generally works on campus, and the added bonus of an Honors Advisor. Why talk about academic advising? Academic advisors on campus want students to be actively involved in the advising process. Advisors want you to take ownership of your academic choices and responsibilities. Advisors will help you understand and navigate the requirements and share information so you can make the choices that are right for you. You know you best, so we want you to be able to make informed decisions and feel confident about the academic path you’re on.

What does being an “active participant” look like? Scheduling an appointment with your advisor Articulating how you need your advisor to help you Taking ownership of your responsibilities and making your own decisions Navigating available resources Being active in academic advising means you’ll be taking the lead. You’ll schedule an appointment time that works for you. This also means you’re responsible for cancelling if something comes up. Certainly life happens, but please do your best to cancel in advance if possible. Your advisor may have a certain expertise, but you are the expert about YOU. What questions do you have? Your advisor likely has a list of things that need to be covered, but they also want to make sure to answer your questions. You get to make the decisions. Your advisor can help you work through the pros and cons of various scenarios and can share past experience. The bottom line is that you know you best and given all the information, you’ll choose what you want. There are a lot of resources available to help students be students; your advisor can point you in the right direction, but only if you share what you need to be successful.

The Illinois State Advising Experience Team of advisors: Major(s) advisor Minor(s) advisor Honors advisor Other specialized advisors: Study abroad Athletics ROTC You will likely encounter a variety of people as part of your advising experience on campus. You’ll have an advisor for your major, or maybe two if you have a double major. If you have a minor, there would be another advisor for that. And you all have an Honors Advisor. If you are pursuing study abroad, or ROTC, or maybe you’re an athlete, there are advisors for each of these experiences. The key is that you are at the center of your “team” of advisors.

The Illinois State Advising Experience Importance of your Department/School Advisor: Experts regarding major requirements “Power” to give “class permissions” for major classes Ability to adjust or “substitute” major requirements   Your advisor in your Department/School is your #1 resource and is your primary advisor. This advisor should be your first stop. They are experts on your major and have the power to get you in to major classes and to make adjustments or substitutions to major requirements. However, your major advisor is likely not an expert on your responsibilities as an Honors student.

The Illinois State Advising Experience Who are my advisors? Your advisors are listed in My Illinois State

The Honors Advising Experience Mentor pass out handout with the advising/registration timeline. Ask mentor to discuss how it is important to meet with major advisor early. The main reason we’re talking about academic advising so early in the semester is that students generally associate their advisor with registering for classes. Since Honors students receive the benefit of early registration, you’ll have access to register for the spring starting on October 16. This is likely much earlier than you have experienced in the past, so we wanted to give you plenty of time to meet with your major advisor before registration starts.

The Illinois State Advising Experience Added value of your Honors Advisor: Aware of Honors Learning Experiences Review Honors Program expectations Second set of eyes Knowledge of how past Honors students have approached Honors in a specific major Your Honors Advisor is an added resource and another part of your “Advising Team.”  They are the expert on Honors Learning Experiences and your options each semester. Honors Advisors can be an additional set of eyes, but are not experts in specific majors. They can share how past Honors students have approached Honors Learning Experiences in specific majors. Your major advisor is your #1 advisor.

Major/Minor Changes/Additions Most applications are available in September You might be interested in adding a 2nd major or changing majors, or maybe adding a minor. The application process is in My Illinois State. Most applications are available in September (some only the first half of the month). Some majors have very specific requirements to be met prior to applying. If you would like help navigating this change and are unable to meet with the advisor for the major you want, you could meet with an Honors Advisor.

Moving Forward Make an appointment with your major advisor Start planning to register Course Finder I’ll be here again the week prior to registration to review how the system works and what to do if you have challenges. You may have noticed that My Illinois State has a new look, and this includes a new format to the registration system.   Course Finder will be one way you can look up classes for next semester. Spring and Summer 2018 information will be available in October.

Honors Advisor Availability Honors Advisor Drop-In Hours Mondays, 11 am – 12 pm Wednesdays, 2 – 3 pm Email Illinois State email account Please include your name Honors Advisor Appointment Your choice After registration has started Please consult your major advisor to plan for the spring semester. Your Honors Advisor is available as an additional resource via Drop-In hours or email. You can schedule an appointment after registration has started with your Honors Advisor if you’d like to discuss Honors related info. We ask that you wait so that new freshmen are able to meet with their Honors Advisor, which in their case is their primary advisor.

Review this presentation on the Honors Mindset Seminar website. Go to the Honors Program website and look for the Honors Mindset Seminar link in the footer.

Announcements Honors Mindset Seminar does not meet next week. Honors Program Welcome Picnic: Pack the Park on Wednesday, September 6; 5 – 7 pm Please RSVP: http://bit.ly/honorsrsvp Bring your laptop/tablet to class the week of September 11