About Us

• Ensuring undergraduate students receive consistent, high-quality support in achieving their educational, personal, and professional goals and to best prepare them with lifelong skills such as critical and independent thinking.
• The Highlander Success Center and individual academic colleges, together,  will provide students with accurate, timely, and holistic advising to promote student success, retention, and degree completion.
• Academic Advising strives to teach students to cultivate intellectual habits and self-advocacy that will be valuable to them as productive members of society and lifetime learners.
• Academic Advising provides accurate information about institutional policies, procedures, resources, requirements and programs. Making referrals and connecting students to other campus and/or community support services, as needed.
• Academic Advising will guide students in their evaluation or re-evaluation of progress toward established goals and educational plans through monitoring processes.

The academic advisor's role is an active rather than passive one. The process of effective advising requires the following objectives to be met for and with each student:

• Provide centralized advising support for freshmen, sophomore, and first term junior and senior transfer students, including curriculum requirements (majors, minors, and general education), understanding university policies and technology like Degree Works, exploring majors, career paths and academic success resources and opportunities.
• Help students define and develop realistic educational career plans through schedule planning for each academic semester. Each student will have an up-to-date academic plan through to graduation.
• Track progress towards students’ curriculum completion and maintain accessible advising services for students within the center, including clear communication on advising expectations and availability.
• Review and assess returning student applications and provide recommendations on readmission, such as academic renewal, repeating courses, and deferment.
• Collaborate with academic colleges to create a seamless student advising experience.
• Consult regularly with faculty colleagues in order to have current and accurate academic program information. For career and graduate school options, students are referred to the Center for Career and Talent Development or the College of Graduate Studies and Research when more information is needed.
• Offer professional development and training opportunities for campus academic advisors to ensure consistency and best practices in advising.
• Meet with students during incoming student orientation to assist with their initial adjustment to university academic life.  Schedule at least two face-to-face or virtual meetings with students each semester throughout the academic year.
• Meet at least once each semester with continuing students to plan for the subsequent semester and to review/revise long range academic program schedules.
• Follow-up with the student on any report of unsatisfactory work (notice of class probation for poor attendance, notice of withdrawal from courses and/or failing grades, incomplete grades from past semester(s), etc).  Special attention is paid to students who are admitted provisionally or have been placed on academic probation.
• Approve all designated educational transactions (e.g., pre-registration/registration schedule, drops/adds, withdrawals, change of major and advisor, waivers, graduation requirements, etc).
• Connect the student with campus-wide and community-based resources and opportunities.
• Maintain up-to-date advising notes, including a summary record of performance to date and any referrals made (grade reports, transcript, requirements completed, etc.), dates of advising sessions, notation of special circumstances, up-to-date information and details, etc).

The advisee is an equal partner in the advising process. As an advisee, the student is ultimately responsible for their educational choices and decisions. Students are, therefore, expected to:

• Take primary and increasing responsibility for their academic progress and requirements related to their degree program.
• Clarify personal values, abilities, interests and goals in regard to academic outcomes and life.
• Proactively contact and schedule regular appointments with their advisor each semester as required or when in need of assistance.
• Prepare for advising sessions and bring appropriate resources or materials. Students should maintain their own advising portfolio, including educational plan and other details.
• Become knowledgeable and adhere to institutional policies, procedures, requirements, and deadlines when making decisions about their academic goals.
• Review centralized system for academic updates, like notes from faculty and academic advisors, registration updates and other purposes.
• Read their Radford University e-mail and other important communications from the University and academic advisor.
• Remain open-minded. Advisors may suggest possible alternative courses and sequencing to complete degree requirements.