AA/PPS 02.02.30 - Undergraduate Academic Advising Policy

POLICY STATEMENT

Texas State University is committed to providing students with academic advising that ensures successful educational planning.

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

   1. The provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs (EVPAA) has supervisory responsibility for academic advising at Texas State University. Administrative responsibility for coordinating advising services and practices at Texas State is delegated to the vice provost for Academic Success.

2. ADVISING AT TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY

   1. Academic Advising Mission Statement:

      As an integral part of teaching and learning at Texas State University, advising is a student-centered, collaborative process that engages students in educational planning to promote academic, personal, and professional development, while considering their interests, abilities, and goals.

   2. Texas State embraces the concept of advising supported by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising). Advisors and students meet individually or in small groups, assisted when and where appropriate by technology. Both have responsibilities and rights in a learning environment that fosters the retention and graduation of students. This interaction is best understood as a special opportunity for teaching, learning, and mentoring where each individual student’s aspirations and skills are the focus of the conversations or communications. Serving as a guide and mentor to the students, the advisor helps students establish or refine academic and career goals, while learning the value and responsibilities of higher education. The advisors’ responsibilities will include the transmission and translation of policies that affect students’ completion of their undergraduate degrees.

3. PROFESSIONAL ACADEMIC ADVISORS

   1. Professional academic advisors are hired by the university and directly overseen by the associate vice provost for Academic Advising and Transitions (AVPAAT). Professional academic advisors, functioning as teachers and mentors, must hold at least a baccalaureate degree and preferably an advanced degree or coursework toward such a degree. Their primary responsibilities are:

      1. to advise and interact daily with undergraduate students;

      2. to process the information derived from these interactions; and

      3. to provide communication and information for others with supporting responsibilities.

   2. Professional positions related to academic advising are:

      1. Director of Academic Advising – directs advising services and manages daily operations and personnel of the center. This position is selected and hired by the AVPAAT. The supervisor or director may also advise undergraduate students.

      2. Academic Advisor II or Assistant Director – encompasses all the responsibilities of the academic advisor I; also performs unit supervision responsibilities and specific project responsibilities assigned by the center’s director.

      3. Student Development Specialist I – has primary contact with undergraduate students; encompasses all the responsibilities of the academic advisor I; performs specific project responsibilities assigned by the center’s director.

      4. Academic Advisor I – has primary contact with undergraduate students; may provide indirect supervision of administrative assistants and student workers in the center.

4. ADDITIONAL ROLES IN ADVISING

   1. Faculty may serve as mentors to students seeking consultation about careers or graduate education. Some faculty, however, continue to serve as departmental or school advisors, functioning as teachers and mentors.

   2. At the discretion of the dean of each respective college and in collaboration with the AVPAAT, administrative staff may exercise some responsibilities normally performed by professional advisors or faculty mentors.

   3. Academic advisors facilitate the maintenance of program audit updates for their assigned colleges.

5. EXPECTATIONS FOR ADVISING, ASSESSMENT, AND RECORD-KEEPING

   1. Texas State has established the following expectations for professional academic advising, assessment, and record-keeping:

      1. academic advisors will advise each new or returning student prior to the start of their first semester;

      2. academic advisors will encourage new students to meet with them during the students’ first semester following entrance into the university;

      3. academic advisors will contact students on academic probation prior to registration;

      4. academic advisors will meet with student athletes. In consultation with a representative of the Athletic Academic Center, academic advisors will review the student athlete’s degree programs, guide their course selections, and verify their records (e.g., changes in majors, minors, teacher certification plans) so that certification officers can ascertain these students’ academic progress, status, and eligibility;

      5. academic advisors will encourage students to meet with them prior to each registration period to ensure that students are engaged in planning their course selections. Students will also be encouraged to use the degree audit prior to these meetings to use as basis for course progress and to determine that other standards such as grade requirements for courses, major and minors are maintained;

      6. academic advisors will develop and keep secure advising records for students, either in their advising centers, or in official electronic repositories;

      7. academic advisors will affirm and update the catalog of record for students and monitor application of credit to degree requirements in the degree audit;

      8. academic advisors will facilitate the maintenance of program audit updates for their colleges;

      9. academic advisors will attend regular meetings at college- or institutional-level where changes in policies and procedures will be explained and their implications discussed;

      10. academic advisors will provide students with access to an electronic assessment instrument to provide feedback on advising services;

      11. assessment of advising services will be coordinated by the AVPAAT; the results of the assessment and recommendations for change will be shared with the college deans, the provost and EVPAA, and the university community; and

      12. academic advisors and others with advising-related responsibilities will take reasonable precautions to ensure the security, retention, or appropriate destruction of all convenience copies or non-permanent student records under guidance from the person charged with oversight of records retention, in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).

6. ADVISING SUPPORT OF INSTITUTIONAL PRIORITIES

   1. Academic advisors will provide support to administrative priorities of institutional significance, such as:

      1. affirming coursework applicability to the degree for federal financial aid, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Education Abroad, and Veterans Affairs programs;

      2. commencement ceremonies;

      3. developing and approving plans designed to promote continued eligibility for Title IV financial aid according to Satisfactory Academic Progress guidelines;

      4. evaluating functionality and accuracy of technologies used within the academic advising program on campus;

      5. new student outreach and recruitment activity, including reviewing and approving transfer planning guides, supporting new student orientation;

      6. ensuring that students are appropriately advised on making timely degree progress;

      7. providing proactive outreach and responsive support at key academic risks, transitions, or milestones to connect students with resources and ease barriers to success;

      8. receiving and forwarding transfer equivalency requests to the appropriate faculty;

      9. processing of students for graduation; and

      10. responsibilities associated with UPPS No. 03.01.13, Tuition Rebate Program and UPPS No. 03.01.17, Undergraduate Excessive Hours Fee.

7. STUDENT ADVISING APPEALS PROCEDURE

   1. Directors of Academic Advising will investigate student allegations of inaccurate or misadvising, report their findings, and communicate their recommendation to the appropriate college dean or representative, to the AVPATT, and to the student. Students will have the right to appeal such recommendations to the appropriate college dean, whose decision is final.

8. FUNDING OF ADVISING SERVICES

   1. Texas State uses a student success fee to fund professional academic advisors, to provide necessary training and professional development associated with undergraduate advising, and to purchase and maintain necessary equipment and supplies for professional academic advisors.

   2. In consultation with the undergraduate college deans, the AVPAAT will be responsible for providing to the provost and EVPAA recommendations for the allocation of the student success fee, which will be apportioned to advising centers so as to provide equitable services to all students receiving advising services.

9. REVIEWERS OF THIS PPS

   1. Reviewers of this PPS include the following:

      Position	Date
      Associate Vice Provost for Academic Advising and Transitions	June 1 E5Y
      Vice Provost for Academic Success	June 1 E5Y

10. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

    This PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents Texas State Academic Affairs policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

    Vice Provost for Academic Success; senior reviewer of this PPS

    Senior Vice Provost

    Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs