Academic Advising Services
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Advising Resources

As you advise students, reference the information below to help your students.  Please document all notes in the 'Activities' section of CampusVue.

Create a Four-Year Plan

The Four-Year Plan is used to help first-year students in their UNV classes to plan for their academic progression throughout their coursework at Mercer.  The Four-Year Plan allows students to outline their transfer credit, general education requirements, major and minor coursework, and pre-professional goals while recognizing what should be achieved each semester as they work toward graduation requirements.  Review the Creating a Four-Year Plan details>>

Navigate General Education Requirements

General education courses exist to provide curricular exploration and experiential development.  These courses supplement  major, minor, and specialization coursework by offering an overview of several broad knowledge bases.  Review the general education requirements for each of the colleges and schools below. 

 College of Liberal Arts

  

 Stetson School of Business and Economics

  

 School of Engineering

  

 Tift College of Education

  

 Townsend School of Music

  

College for Health Professions

Declare a Major

Try and ascertain the student's interests and suggest majors within that area of interest.  Career Services>> also has great resources for these students.  Also encourage students to attend Majors in Minutes>> to learn about Mercer's major options from peers currently completing coursework in those areas.  

When students are ready to fully declare their major of study, discuss the necessary steps as outlined on our Declaring a Major webpage>>.

Create an Individualized Major

Ascertain which areas the student wants to study and give them contact information for the chairs of those departments.  Help the student coordinate this information by potentially setting up meetings with the various people who would be involved.  For more information on designing an individualized major or minor program, reference p. 125 of the University Catalog>>.

Change Majors
Talk with the student about the hours implications, especially if this change takes the student from one college or school to another.  Sometimes it's easy to do and the student will gain hours. Other times, such changes might dictate a need for summer school or additional time at Mercer.  Remember to review not only the major hours requirements, but also the core curriculum for the new college or school, if the major change takes the student from one to another.  Once the student has decided, s/he must complete the Major/Minor/Specialization Declaration Form>>. Note: This form applies to changes in and out of pre-professional tracks and concentrations as well.

Take Summer Classes Elsewhere

Reminder: Participants in one of the health-related Guaranteed Admission Programs need to be reminded to check their program's track-specific student handbook before making plans to take transient coursework.  If the student has no program restrictions, talk with the student about the transient process.

For students eligible to take courses away, advisors should encourage them to decide which course they want to take that they think will count at the transient school.  Students then fill out the Transient Request Form>>. The Registrar will evaluate and mail the form back to the student and to you, the advisor, either denying or approving the course.

Seek Additional Resources

For more information, contact the offices listed below:

 Questions Regarding

Point of Contact 

Registration and Scheduling

 Registrar's Office: 478-301-2680

Student Holds Preventing Registration

 Bursar's Office: 478-301-1111

College of Liberal Arts Academic Policy and Procedure 

 Associate Deans: 478-301-2916

School of Engineering Academic Policy and Procedure

 Associate Deans: 478-301-2012

Tift College of Education Academic Policy and Procedure

 Teacher Education Program 478-301-5394 

Townsend School of Music Academic Policy and Procedure

 Undergraduate Programs: 478-301-2748

Stetson School of Business Academic Policy and Procedure

 Program Office: 478-301-2140 

College of Health Professions: BSPH degree
Dr. Mary Mathis: 478-301-5574

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