[노스다코타주립대학교]
Guidance from academic advisor helps stu
Guidance from academic advisor helps student succeed
Hannah Arbisi French’s major required her to meet with her academic advisor regularly until her junior year.
But she didn’t stop when she met that obligation. She did even more.
The mentoring, feedback, advice and guidance helped steer her into her career path and set her up for success inside and outside the classroom.
“I have used my advisor as an extremely valuable resource since my first day here,” said Arbisi French, a senior majoring in psychology from Minnetonka, Minnesota. “They know what classes you should take and when you should take them, and they give you a ton of options about where you can start to get where you need to be.”
Many of Arbisi French’s peers agree. NDSU’s STEPS to Success research showed 19 of 20 students meet with their academic advisor at least once a semester.
Regular meetings with an advisor helps a student:
find courses most appropriate for their abilities, interests and career choices.
connect with academic resources most applicable to their situation, including tutors.
help quickly identify and avoid potential obstacles.
schedule courses at the proper time to graduate on time.
Arbisi French said the thought of meeting with her advisor was intimidating at first because she didn’t know what to expect. However, those thoughts quickly faded as the advisor helped her discover her passion for working with children.
Psychology professor Kathryn Gordon helped her get work as a research assistant in the human development and family science department. The research deals with suicide ideation behaviors and eating disorders. Arbisi French asked Gordon to be her advisor last academic year.
Some day Arbisi French wants to work in the eating disorders department at Children’s Hospital in Minnesota. She’ll gain valuable experience working with kids when she begins work as a school assistant leader at Legacy Elementary School in Fargo this academic year.
“I would tell incoming freshmen to reach out to their advisor right after orientation, thank them for helping you with registration and schedule a meeting during the first month of school to let them know how you are doing,” she said. “They are so helpful and always have your best interests and your future success in mind.”
STEPS to Success
NDSU’s STEPS to Success initiative highlights the actual attitudes and behaviors held by the majority of NDSU students, like Arbisi French, and gives tips on how to achieve success in college.
The information is based on research. The STEPS to Success team gathered information from a large sample of NDSU undergraduates in spring 2016, asking both about their own academic behaviors and attitudes and their perceptions about other students’ academic behaviors and attitudes.
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