Advising

One important, and often overlooked, means of participating in your own education is through regular advising appointments. Many students advise themselves with the use of a Miami Bulletin, especially during their first year. Students who have not yet declared a major are even more likely to advise themselves, selecting Miami Plan courses that seem to fit requirements as they understand them. Not all Miami Plan courses work for every major, and some difficult or unsuitable courses can be avoided if students meet with an advisor in the Advising Office on the first floor of Rentschler Hall.

Even if you have not yet declared, or even decided on, a major, an advisor can help you to select courses and determine a plan for education that may save you many difficulties later. I have worked with many students who have relayed to me their disappointment and anxiety about having to extend their education beyond what they expected because they did not take the proper courses at the proper times. Students who have declared a major are encouraged to meet with an advisor in their major, a list of which is available on-line and from the Advising Office in Rentschler Hall.

Miami Hamilton's advisors can help students with and without majors select courses to fulfill their Miami Plan and their major requirements during their work here at the Hamilton Campus. But advisors have much more information as well. They know which courses are offered when and in what order to help students meet pre-requisites and other requirements. They can help steer students toward a course that matches students' learning styles. {They can also help students determine what their learning style might be.) Advisors can help students select a well-balanced course load that fits within their other obligations: work, family, church, athletics, volunteering. Advisors know about new courses being developed, changes in major requirements about to be implemented, and other sometimes changing policies that will affect student success in their course selection.

Students should make an appointment with an advisor at least once every semester before Registration begins. In addition to working with students on course scheduling, however, advisors also welcome students who would like to discuss major selections, career opportunities, study skills, and relocation. Advising is an important way for students to claim an education at Miami University.