Faculty workshop: ‘Advising for New and Unofficial Advisors’


Here’s a reminder that CATL – the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning – will be hosting a workshop Monday (April 7) from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. in Cofrin Library Room 109B. The topic is student academic advising, and the workshop leader is someone well-versed in its practice. Associate Prof. Alison Gates is CATL’s new faculty consultant, a frequent FOCUS advisor, former chair of the interdisciplinary minor program in Women’s and Gender Studies and current chair of the disciplinary major and minor programs in Art. A recent survey found that up to one-third of faculty members say they do not feel comfortable answering questions from students about their own major or minor programs. Staff advisers in Student Services and designated “official” advisers in the various majors can help students, but this workshop suggests the ability to resolve simple advising questions without referring students elsewhere will benefit both students and departments. (Saving time for the student, streamlining workflow for the official adviser, and better engaging faculty members’ involvement with overall curriculum requirements.) Gates will guide participants in using their own programs’ web resources along with all-university resources to hunt down the answers to advising questions commonly asked by students of their faculty instructors. Another outcome: providing faculty with information on how to direct students to become more empowered to find the answers to certain questions themselves. Please contact Sandy Folsom with any questions, or to register.