Academic Advising
Advising is an important part of academic success. It allows you to build a relationship with an advisor and get answers to your questions about courses, majors, minors, careers, internships, study abroad programs, student activities, and anything else you may need to know.
UMD Academic Advising Student Learning Outcomes:
- Students know and understand their talents, values, and interests.
- Students use information from credible sources in making decisions.
- Students effectively craft and revise educational goals and plans.
Students engage with faculty through classroom lecture, active learning, laboratory classes, and research. Learning also takes place by keeping current with changes in degree programs and meeting with advisors prior to course registration.
Each Swenson College student is assigned a faculty member in the discipline of their interest or a professional advisor in the advising office. Assigned advisors are found in the MyU portal under the Academics tab and also at the top of a student's APAS report (Academic Progress Audit System).
Swenson Advisor's Role:
- help you clarify your educational values and goals;
- provide accurate information on educational options, policies, and procedures;
- guide you toward an academic program in which you can be successful;
- acquaint you with campus resources that support your academic and personal success.
Swenson Student's Role:
Learn about Academic Right and Responsibilities.
- Be responsible for scheduling, preparing for, and keeping advising appointments.
- Meet with your advisor each term to plan your course schedule for the next term and to review your degree requirements.
- Seek out information to understand the degree and program (major and minor) requirements.
- Take final responsibility for making your own educational decisions.
Get to know:
While faculty and professional advisors assist students, ultimately students are responsible for their own progress through their degree. Students should track academic progress by reviewing their APAS report before and after course registration each term.
The UMD Academic Website and Academic Catalog contain information about programs, degree requirements, course descriptions, and policies. The catalog is an academic planning tool. It is the responsibility of every student to be familiar with the information in the catalog and about catalog year policy.
The first term enrolled at UMD determines the student’s “Bulletin Year.” The Bulletin Year defines the set of requirements for a student’s major or minor listed in the UMD Catalog.
- View program requirements for specific years by using the archived majors/minors search tool.
- Students may update their Bulletin Year by submitting an APAS Amendment request to follow the current program requirements.