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Section 1: Academic Advising at VT

Mission

Advising at Virginia Tech is a collaborative process between student and advisor, which empowers students to make informed academic and career decisions.

What is an Academic Advisor?

Academic advisors are university professionals and/or faculty members who support students in understanding academic requirements, selecting courses, exploring major and career options, and connecting with campus resources. Academic advising is a collaborative process in which both the student and advisor play an active role. Additional information about advisor responsibilities can be found in the Undergraduate Advising Handbook.

Student Responsibilities in Advising

The student shares the responsibility for developing an advising partnership with their advisor. Over time, the partnership results in increased responsibility for the student as they learn how to navigate their academic journey. To better assist you with your academic decisions, advisors need to understand your needs and goals. You should: 

Communicate your goals, needs, wants, and concerns to your advisor in a respectful and sincere manner:

  • Know where to find your assigned advisor and their contact information.
  • Share relevant information with your advisor.
  • Clearly articulate your academic goals to your advisor and inform your advisor if your goals have changed, or if you are considering changing them.
  • Inform your advisor about circumstances which impact your academic performance such as long-term illness, familial obligations, or other challenges. 
  • Ask your advisor about requirements for your degree, such as those found in the Catalog or Degree Audit Report (DARS), that you do not understand.

Keep abreast of your own academic progress and requirements related to your academic program: 

  • Review appointment summaries for previous advising appointments in Navigate to double-check what you discussed with your advisor.
  • Be familiar with how to run a DARS and what requirements are needed for graduation. If you are planning on changing your major, adding a second major, or adding a minor, be familiar with how to run a “What-if DARS.”
  • Review DARS once every semester to confirm your academic plan.
  • Review the requirements for your major in the Catalog.

Make, keep, and be prepared for appointments with advisor: 

  • Schedule appointments in a timely manner for topics such as discussing academic standing and course registration.
  • Leave a detailed comment in the comment box when scheduling an appointment to let your advisor know what you wish to discuss in the appointment (e.g. “course request for Fall,” “struggling in a class,” etc.).
  • Be respectful of advisors’ time and attend the meeting or cancel in advance so another student can use that appointment time.
  • Review DARS prior to your advising appointment to aid in asking questions.

Advising Basics

Email

Your VT email is the official contact method for the university. You are responsible for reading your Virginia Tech email daily as some information vital to academic and personal success will be communicated by email only. If you choose to redirect your VT emails to a different email account (e.g., @gmail.com, @aol.com, @hotmail.com, etc.), you do so at your own risk. Having email redirected does not absolve you from the responsibilities associated with communications sent to your official vt.edu email address.

Advisor Assignments

You will be assigned an academic advisor based on your academic major. Generally, these assignments are made during your first semester of enrollment at Virginia Tech. To determine the name of your academic advisor, log in to Hokie Spa click on "View your General Student Information." If no advisor is indicated, contact your academic college directly and request an advisor assignment. Students typically retain the same advisor throughout their program. However, if you change your major, a new advisor from the new major may be assigned.

College Advising Websites

Class Level

Your class level (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) is determined by your total number of earned credit hours:

  • 0 to 29 credit hours - you're a freshman
  • 30 to 59 credit hours - you're a sophomore
  • 60 to 89 credit hours - you're a junior
  • 90+ credit hours - you're a senior regardless of how many courses you have yet to complete to graduate

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords you certain rights with respect to your education records. If you have not already done so, visit the Registrar’s FERPA website to review further explanation of these regulations and pertinent contact information. FERPA allows you the right to review, to control access, to request amendments, and to file complaints regarding your educational record at Virginia Tech.