Welcome to faculty advising at Santa Clara University! Here you will find an explanation of your role as a faculty advisor. You will also find resources and suggestions for getting started with your advisees. In addition, you will find tools to help you use Workday to identify your assigned advisees.
The Role of Faculty Advisors at SCU
SCU undergraduate students are assigned a faculty advisor within weeks of beginning their first term. Students are assigned to faculty in their declared major.
Undeclared students in the College of Arts & Sciences are assigned to faculty advisors, and will be reassigned to advisors in their major when they declare a major.
First-year students in the Leavey Business School are assigned to peer advisors. They may also work with the faculty specializing in undeclared student advising. Business students are assigned to faculty advisors when they declare majors.
Incoming School of Engineering majors are assigned to faculty advisors in their majors and to peer advisors.
Faculty advisors provide a wide range of advising for students including:
- Major advising
- Assisting with scheduling and planning out college career
- Search for classes that fulfill graduation requirements
- Mentoring about internship, research and career options
Faculty advisors are uniquely qualified to help students consider their college experience as part of their long-term goals. Faculty advisors teach students how to maximize the opportunities at SCU, through coursework and co-curricular activities, and to prepare for their next steps.
Additional advising support for students can be found at the Drahmann Advising Center, which offers advising for all undergraduate majors, as well as support for students who are, for example:
- Struggling academically
- Changing majors or planning out multiple majors and minors
- Taking a leave from SCU
- Seeking health professions and pre-law planning
- Seeking exception to university policy
The Drahmann Advising Center and SCU Faculty Development office provide quarterly training workshops for faculty. Faculty are also encouraged to call or email the Drahmann Center with advising questions.
Advising support is also available from the colleges through:
- College of Arts and Sciences - Student Engagement Team (Assistant Dean and Advisor/Engagement Specialist)
- Leavey School of Business - Undergraduate Business Programs Office (Senior Director of Academic Advising and Support Services)
- School of Engineering - Engineering Undergraduate Programs (Asst. Dean of Undergraduate Studies)
Finding your advisees
Faculty can access their list of assigned student advisees in Workday under the teaching and advising tab.
Reaching out to your advisees
Students are encouraged to meet with their faculty advisors at the beginning of the school year. Students also generally seek advising assistance from faculty when they are preparing to register for an upcoming quarter.
It is good practice to reach out to your advisees via email during fall quarter. In particular, students who are new to campus should be informed of how to meet with you prior to registration for the next quarter. You can find your advisees’ email addresses in Workday.
Here is a template for an email to your advisees at the start of the year, and instructions on how to generate an email list for advisees.
Here are suggestions for questions to help guide your meeting with a student advisee.
Mandatory May Advising
All students planning to enroll in courses in the following fall quarter will have an advising hold placed on their accounts in the spring, before registration for fall. This is called Mandatory May Advising. Many departments require students to meet with their faculty advisor to have this advising hold removed. Holds will be removed by the department manager or administrative assistant. In addition to meeting with your assigned advisees, you may also get advising questions from students in your classes during this time.
