Importance of Advising

The Tift College of Education believes that one of its most important roles is accurate, timely, and wise counsel to students who are prospective teachers.  Because of the complexity of state requirements, students must receive professional advice on the nature of the Professional Education Program of choice, the curriculum, and standardized test scores.  Each student who is accepted into a Professional Education Program is assigned a full-time faculty member who is responsible, jointly with the student, for his or her progress through the program. Because of the sequencing of courses and because of pre-requisite courses, all Professional Education students should meet regularly with their advisors to ensure progression toward certification.  Students should bring a copy of the individualized program of study developed for them to every advising session/registration.

Students are encouraged to develop a good working relationship with their advisors and to meet with those advisors as often as needed in order to plan their programs of study.  All advisors have regularly scheduled office hours and generally schedule additional hours during registration periods.  An advisor is assigned to each student at the time of admission.  It is the responsibility of each student to stay informed regarding dates for pre-registration, application for graduation, etc., and to contact his/her advisor as needed for assistance and for signatures on forms for registration, drop/add, withdrawal, etc.

Students should not self-advise or register for education courses without consulting their advisors.

Responsibilities of Advisors

The primary responsibilities of advisors are:

1. to offer timely and accurate academic information to prospective teachers.
2. to design a degree completion plan and give a copy to the student and file a copy  for departmental  information and  tracking.
3. to sign all forms as required during registration and advise students on all other pertinent forms from the Registrar’s Office.
4. to offer competent and professional advice to all  advisees.
5. to consult with the appropriate Chair, the Certification Office, and with Field Placement personnel on any relevant aspect of an individual student’s work, progress, or problems.
6. to track actively advisees’ progress and alert them and/or the appropriate college official to any changes in the program.
7. to address constructively any documented deficiencies that are brought to the attention of the advisors.

Responsibilities of Students

The primary responsibilities of students in relationship to their advisors are:

1. to confer with assigned advisors prior to registering for any course and prior to withdrawing from any course.
2. to respect the professional judgment of their advisors.
3. to complete all forms requested in a timely manner
4. to set an appointment with their advisor at least once a semester.
5. to be responsible for reading and adhering to the University Catalog and Professional Education Handbook.
6. to work cooperatively with the Registrar’s Office concerning graduation requirements and all other pertinent information kept by the office regarding their academic progress.
7. to be responsible for all deadlines, forms, and procedures that are required by the Tift College of Education for program completion and by the state of Georgia for certification.