Faculty Advising FAQs

Here are some Questions to use while advising

Faculty advisors are responsible for general advising and particularly advising of declared majors. In addition, faculty advisors are primarily responsible for helping students discern which major and classes are best suited for their post-graduate plans. Faculty advisors can provide field-specific guidance about careers, research, graduate school, internships and fellowships.

The Drahmann Center meets with students from all colleges to discuss university-wide core and policy. The Drahmann Center has a particular mission to support undeclared students and can assist students in choosing majors and minors, planning for the year and creating 4-year course plans, and explaining core requirements. In addition, the Drahmann Center also works with students in academic difficulty and those seeking explanation of or exceptions to university policy. Faculty advisors in the Drahmann Center also provide Pre-Health Professions and Pre-Law advising.

Students can find their faculty advisor in Workday by looking at their Student Cohort - Support Network. Students typically email their faculty advisor to ask about meeting availability.

Students can make an appointment with an advisor at the Drahman Center on Workday under Academics - Request an advising appointment. Appointments are 30 minutes and meet over Zoom or in the Advising offices in Kenna 101. Students can also request a drop-in advising appointment in person at Kenna 101.

The Core website is a comprehensive resource for explaining the goals of the University Core, the different requirements and the classes that fulfill them.

The University Bulletin explains university graduation requirements.

Students are in good standing when they are making adequate progress toward graduation based on the criteria outlined in the Bulletin. Briefly, students must maintain a 2.0 cumulative and major GPA and maintain full time status of 12 units per quarter. The Drahmann Center evaluates all students every quarter to ensure they are making progress toward graduation. Students who fall below the required cumulative GPA or have not completed enough units over 3 quarters will be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation must meet with a Drahmann Center advisor before registration for the next quarter. Failure to make adequate progress towards graduation over two or more quarters can result in disqualification from the university. 

Students receive an academic warning letter when their quarterly GPA falls below 2.0 or when they complete fewer than 12 units in one quarter. The warning does not result in notation on their transcript. Academic probation can negatively affect a student’s financial aid, eligibility for clubs, student government and sports, and their ability to graduate on time. 

Here are some common examples of mistakes that students make in assuming they have filled all of their graduation requirements. Faculty advisors can help students catch these common mistakes.

• Total units for graduation: students must complete 175 (A&S and Business) or 189-195 (Engineering) to graduate. Of these 60 must be upper division units. Just fulfilling the required classes is not enough, students must meet the total unit requirements. Unit completion is at the top of all requirements listed in the Academic Progress tab in Workday.
• Pathway requirements: Students must complete their pathway classes before graduation. Note that only two classes can be taken for the pathway from each department. This means most students must take classes not in their major to fill the pathway requirement.
• Missing core foundations classes: All students must complete the Critical Thinking and Writing and Cultures and Ideas sequences to graduate. Most students take these their first year. Students who do not complete these sequences in the first year should contact the Drahmann Center for guidance to complete their sequences or to start their sequences after the first year.
• Withdrawing from classes: Students often stay in classes they are not successful in and then fail the class. This negatively affects a student’s gpa. Students can drop a class by the end of Monday of week 5 and it is fully removed from their transcript. Students can drop a class by the end of Monday of week 9 and receive a W instead of a grade, with no impact on their GPA. After that, students must take the grade they earn. Grades of D or lower can only be removed from their transcript if they retake the class at SCU and achieve a higher grade.
• Too many majors and minors: Students must complete all graduation requirements for the majors and minors they have declared. Sometimes students choose not to complete a second major or minor, but do not remove it from their record. This can prevent graduation, and students should make sure they plan to complete all declared majors and minors before graduation. Students can drop unwanted majors or minors using the Program Petition Form.
• Workday student record incorrect: Students are responsible for making sure that Workday accurately represents their academic progress. When faculty advisors or students find mistakes in Workday student records the student should fill out the Workday Student Academic Record Corrections.
• Approved exceptions to requirements: Sometimes faculty advisors and departments work with students to waive or replace major requirements. For example, this might happen when necessary requirements are not offered in time for a student to graduate, or when a student needs classes offered at the same time. Department Chairs can approve changes to major requirements, and must email the Office of the Registrar to have the exception updated on Workday. Any exceptions to core requirements must be approved by the Core Director.
• Second language requirements and testing out: All Business and A&S students must complete the second language requirement. Students generally take a class at SCU to complete the required level based on their Placement Test. Students can also test out of the language requirement for approved languages with the Proficiency Test, but must do so before graduating.
• Required courses are not offered: Students can plan for courses in future quarters using the tentative schedules. This can help students plan for when courses are available. However, these tentative schedules are not updated, so if department class schedules change over the year the tentative schedule can become incorrect. Students should check with the academic department if they need specific classes to graduate.
• Transferring credits after matriculation: Students may transfer in classes taken before they matriculate by working with the Office of the Registrar. Once students matriculate, they may only transfer 2 classes to SCU. Some core areas may not be transferred at all, including: Civic Engagement, all Religion, Theology and Culture, Science and Technology, ELSJ and Pathway classes. Students seeking to transfer in major or minor requirements must get approval from the department chair, who will coordinate with the Office of the Registrar to update Workday. 

Students sometimes grapple with many different problems that affect their academic success. SCU has a Culture of Care that supports student well-being and faculty are an important part of identifying students who need help. Faculty concerned about student welfare, inconsistent attendance, or other issues should complete a CARE report.  

Various resources exist for students facing mental health and wellness support at CAPS. The Dean of Students Office on campus supports students experiencing extraordinary non-academic pressures, have stopped attending classes, or are exhibiting other behavior inconsistent with academic success. Faculty can also call the Drahmann Center to discuss student issues like attendance or very low grades with a university advisor.

FERPA regulations protect student privacy and limit how much information faculty can give out to parents. Parents can be referred to the Drahmann Center where they may be able to attend a meeting between a university advisor and their student. 

The Drahmann Center can also provide information to parents regarding university policies. Students can sign a FERPA agreement designating who has access to their information in Workday. Even when students have signed a FERPA waiver faculty are still limited in release of information.

Advising is part of teaching at SCU and should be included as part of your FAR as well as promotion materials. The TESE format used by departments to evaluate teaching includes advising. 

• Keep track of how many students you regularly advise and how often you are asked to help students in particular areas of advising such as career mentoring, study abroad advising, graduate school preparation and overcoming academic or personal difficulties.
• Integrate advisor training and workshops into your professional development discussion. If you work as an advisor for Summer Orientation integrate that into professional development  and university service.