1. Your Honors Facilitator presents: The Honors Advising Experience
Today’s Agenda
Your Honors Facilitator presents:
The Honors Advising Experience
Student and Advisor roles
Preparation and Resources
After the appointment
Today we’ll be talking about the Honors Advising experience. The role of the student and the advisor in the advising partnership, the resources you should be familiar with, and what happens before and after your appointment.
Why talk about academic advising?
Academic advisors on campus, and definitely Honors Advisors, 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.
Why now? Students often associate their advisor with registration, and registration is right around the corner. We want to start the conversation now, so you have time to meet with your advisor before registration.

2. The Honors Advising Experience
Mentor pass out handout with the advising/registration timeline
The Honors Program is your home for advising.
You might have friends who mention University College, or who have the same major as you but aren’t in the Honors Program and have a different advisor.
Your advisor is in Honors and we have a different timeline for advising because of your early registration benefit.
It’s the 2nd week of school and October 16 might seem really far away, but time flies. In order for Honors advisors to meet with our 300 freshmen, we have to start early.
There are 5 weeks set aside for appointments, starting on September 11, though some advisors will have appointments as soon as next week to prepare for registration. Please don’t wait to make an appointment. Advisors are available once registration opens and throughout the rest of the semester, but this is for follow up, not planning.
What we cover today will help you be ready for your appointment.

3. What does being an “active participant” look like?
Scheduling an appointment with your Honors Advisor
Articulating how you need your Honors Advisor to help you
Taking ownership of your responsibilities and making your own decisions
Navigating available resources
Being active means you’ll be taking the lead in some ways you might not have before.
You’ll schedule an appointment time that works for you. This also means you’re responsible for cancelling if something comes up. We understand that 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.
We did an initial pass of resources over the summer and we’ll go a little deeper today. Information is out there for the taking and you’ll get to navigate it to find the answers you need.
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.

4. Preparing for your Appointment
Advising Appointment Preparation Worksheet
Mentor pass out the worksheet. 
The preparation worksheet is what you’ll need to bring to your appointment. It’s set up to walk you through what you need to consider ahead of time. The back provides some explanation.
Your advisor will ask to see this at your appointment.
Using your sample plan of study, consider what courses you might take in the spring.
Write down any questions you have for your advisor so you don’t forget.
You’ll use this document at your appointment to take notes and make sure you get all of the information from your advisor that you need.
Emphasize bringing this to the appointment.

5. How can your Honors Advisor help you?
Honors Program expert
Troubleshoot and identify potential road blocks
Clarify policies and procedures
First appointment is for checking in and spring planning
Scheduling a second appointment is your choice
I mentioned that you’ll take an active role in the advising process. So what is your Honors Advisor going to do?
Honors Program information…making sure you’re on track
Help you trouble shoot, identify potential road blocks and how you can handle them.
Clarify policies and procedures and guide you through navigating situations like changing a major or adding a minor.
The focus in the fall is on checking in about your semester and seeing how your semester is going as well as planning for the spring. Suggestions of what classes you should plan to take in the spring. This might be “take 2 General Education classes” and you can choose which 2 you take. You’ll discuss how that matches your plan from the preparation worksheet. Keep in mind that depending on your major and sequencing, you might not have a lot of choice. The more prepared you are, the more time there is to discuss further into the future.
Long term planning will require a second appointment. We ask that you wait until after registration so that all students have the opportunity for a first appointment.

6. Major/Minor Changes/Additions
Most applications are available in September
Adding a 2nd major? Meet early on with your current Honors Advisor.
Changing your major? Schedule an appointment early with the Honors Advisor who works with the major you want.
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 require an ISU GPA, so you might not be able to apply until February.
If you are thinking of adding a 2nd major, meet with your current Honors advisor early on.
If you are thinking of changing majors, meet early on with the Honors advisor who works with that major.

7. How to schedule an appointment
Honors Mentor
From Honors website, go through the process of making an appointment. All the way up to the point of “Submit Reservation.”

8. Resources Sample Plan of Study 2017 - 2018 Catalog
There are a few resources that will help as you plan your spring schedule and work to become familiar with your major requirements.
Click on the image to go to the ISU home page.
Point out the Education section in the top left corner.
You might recall from Preview the links to Majors, Minors, and the University Catalog.
Click on the majors link. Select Actuarial Science and use the Illinois State Students tab.

9. Notes only…you are on the website.
The Illinois State Students tab can be helpful to look at your major, as well as if you are investigating a different major. The application period is listed and if there were any requirements to be met prior to applying, they would be here.
The major pages generally list the major advisor; remember that as a freshman, your primary advisor is in the Honors Program.
The first page of the sample plan shows all of the courses required for the major as well as General Education requirements. The second page breaks down the classes by semester. In some cases, this plan is very prescriptive, in others, there is a great deal of flexibility. When you meet with your advisor, you’ll discuss how closely you need to follow the plan for your major.
Recall from Preview that 120 hours are required to graduate. On some plans you might see “university wide elective.” These are place holders, meaning you need those hours to reach 120 hours. Electives can be most anything…as long as you meet the requirement to take a class.
The sample plan of study is based on requirements from the University Catalog.

10. Notes only…you are on the website.
Navigate to the University Catalog page.
On the surface some of this info will seem easy and straightforward. Our focus is the info that isn’t so straightforward as well as the lingo that is new and can be tricky.
We’re going to look at the General Education section of the catalog and a specific department/school as an example.
Click on General Education section and scroll to page 50
Category abbreviations, which you might see your advisor use in written communication.
Full list of options for each category.
Scroll to bottom of 51 to the Language in the Humanities category.
There are two English classes in LH that seem interesting.
To learn more, you’ll visit the English section for more information about the classes and to make a choice.
Return to the main catalog page of website and click on the English section

11. Notes only…you are on the website.
Notes only: You are using the website!
Page 165 shows some of the classes we saw in the Language in the Humanities category. Note the Gen Ed abbreviation to the right of the course title.
Let’s look at the information included in a course description.
Back to the power point.

12. Catalog Course Description
Course Title
Credit hours
General Education category: Language in the Humanities
Title, hours, Gen ed

13. Catalog Course Description
May not be taken under the Passing or Not Passing option.
Some Gen Ed classes, major/minor classes, must be taken for a grade. Any credit generating HLE must be taken for a grade.
P/NP…Passing or Not Passing

14. Catalog Course Description
“cross-listed” means another department offers the same course. You’ll see this in General Education. Same content, but different perspective.
Example… Some of you might be in HIS 111 or SOC 111.
American Diversity in Sociology vs. American Diversity in History. Sociological view as compared to Historical view. Same Gen Ed category.
“cross-listed”

15. Catalog Course Description
This course is for General Education purposes. What an English major/minor would take is more advanced, so this cannot count towards their major/minor requirements
English majors/minors can’t count for major/minor credit

16. Pay special attention to prerequisites
Catalog Course Description
Prereqs can include a course you need to take BEFORE registering, or concurrent registration with a course- meaning you’re taking that course at the same time, or a certain number of credit hours. For example, you need 60 credit hours earned, you need to be a junior before you can register for this course.
If you can’t register for something, check the prerequisites first.
Pay special attention to prerequisites

17. Moving Forward Schedule and prepare for your advising appointment
Start planning to register
Course Finder
I’ll be here the week prior to registration to review how the system works and what to do if you have challenges
Your appointment, in combination with the next time I’m hear to talk about registration, will leave you confident about what you should take in the spring and prepared to register yourself
Catalog has requirements and descriptions, Course Finder will be show what’s being offered...specific times, instructors. It’s the catalog in action. Spring and Summer 2018 information will be available in October.

18. After the Appointment Drop-In Hours Mondays, 11 am – 12 pm
Wednesdays, 2 – 3 pm
Illinois State account
Please include your name
2nd Appointment is your choice
After registration
Drop-In hours:
include your name and basic formalities
2nd appointment is OK after registration, to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to have a 1st appointment prior to registration.

19. 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.

20. 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:
Bring your laptop/tablet to class the week of September 11