The Office of Academic Advising coordinates and supports the effort of faculty advisors,
who are the primary academic resource for students at Skidmore. As the Faculty Handbook attests, faculty are responsible for “informed and conscientious” academic advising.
First-Year Advising and Mentoring through the Scribner Seminar
Starting in Fall 2005, Skidmore moved to a seminar system for all first-year students.
All Scribner Seminar instructors, generally drawn from the full-time faculty at Skidmore,
advise students. The initial faculty advisor for first-year students is the instructor
of their Scribner Seminar.
Transfer Student Advising
Department chairpersons, or a first-semester classroom instructor, serve as initial
advisors to transfer students because these students typically arrive at Skidmore
with advanced standing or come to Skidmore with declared majors. Transfer students
often have specific questions that are best served by connecting them with a faculty
member in their area of academic interest.
Change of Advisor Process
A student wishing to change his or her faculty advisor may do so at any time after
the first semester by completing an application available in the Office of Academic
Advising. A first-year student may want to consider shifting to a new advisor after
the first year or even after the first college semester. The goal is to build a solid
advising relationship with a faculty member with whom the student has studied or with
whom the student has connected through a potential major. The new advisor signs the
application, the student returns the form to the Office of Academic Advising, and
the advising folder is forwarded to the new advisor (in the case of paper-based advising).
In the case of paperless advising, the new advisor is given immediate access to the
student’s electronic records, including any advising notes shared by the previous
advisor. When a student declares his or her major, the change of advisor process is
incorporated into the major application so no separate form is necessary.
Reassignment of Advisees during a Leave
Faculty who intend to take a leave of absence are encouraged to forewarn their advisees.
Advisees may switch to a new advisor through the change-of-advisor process described
above or wait to be assigned a new advisor by the chair of the department. Chairpersons
take responsibility for reassigning a faculty member’s advisees (within the department)
and notifying the Office of Academic Advising of these changes. The Office of Academic
Advising in turn informs students of their change of advisor. We understand that many
advisors returning from leave will want to invite their former advisees to return
to them. This is not an automatic process, however, and requires that student or faculty
member contact the Office of Academic Advising.