Academic Advising

Upon declaration of the Major in Psychology and acceptance of the application by the Department Chair, each student will receive a Handbook for Psychology Majors, which provides information about the goals and requirements of the Psychology program. The Department Chair will highlight the contents of the Handbook and then assign each student a Psychology Advisor.

Effective advising depends on both the advisor’s and the advisee’s meeting their responsibilities.

The Psychology Advisor’s responsibilities are as follows:

1. To provide appropriate information, or to direct the student to an authoritative source for information, regarding

• academic policies and requirements of Roanoke College
• requirements for the B. A. and B. S. majors in Psychology
• options for minors, concentrations, double majors, and teacher certification
• options for co-curricular learning and improvement of academic skills
• opportunities for careers in Psychology
• opportunities for graduate school in Psychology

2. To discuss with each advisee a long-term plan for achieving the advisee’s career goals, including preparation for graduate school, by helping in selection of

• major and elective courses
• a second major, concentration, or minor
• internship and/or research opportunities
• co-curricular activities

3. To be reasonably accessible to advisees for appointments and to advisees’ parents for consultations throughout the academic year

4. To maintain a professional relationship with advisees, which includes providing assistance in solving academic problems and appropriate referral for personal problems

The Psychology Advisee’s responsibilities for advising are as follows:

1. To read the appropriate sections of the Roanoke College Catalog to learn about the requirements for graduation and for the Psychology Major

2. To read the Handbook for Psychology Majors to learn about requirements for the Major, opportunities in the Psychology Department, and information about careers and graduate school

3. To keep a record of her/his progress toward fulfilling the requirements for graduation, the Major, and any other programs in which the students is involved, such as teacher certification, second major, concentration, or minor

4. To schedule appointments with the Advisor for pre-registration, for discussing career plans, and for assistance with any academic problems; i.e., the student should not assume that the Advisor will be available without notice (Advisors are also Professors who have teaching responsibilities) and should not wait to "be called in" to discuss academic problems

5. To come to each pre-registration advising appointment with a tentative schedule based on the current Courses Offered List and the requirements the student needs to fulfill.