Accessibility
Accessibility plays an important role in effective advising. Advisors are directed by the University to make themselves available to students through consistent office hours that are published and to provide students with contact phone extension(s) and email address(es). When an advisor is unavailable for an extended period of time s/he is required to note this on phone mail and email response messages.
Advisor/Student Relationship
It is important for both academic advisors and students to establish good relationships with each other based on respect. The relationship between a student and an advisor must, however, have a boundary and remain professional.
Career Direction Planning
Individual career counseling is available to students needing help in establishing an academic or career direction through Cooperative Education and Career Services. Career Counselling can help students learn about their strengths, skills and interest as well as broaden their knowledge of the career areas they can enter with various academic backgrounds. It also provides students with access to on-line resources such as self-assessment inventories and useful websites.
Confidentiality
Save for exceptional circumstances, all advising is confidential. Academic advisors keep records, within the student's file, of meetings and the general sense of the discussions for the benefit of the student. Distribution of, or discussion of, these records in any way without the permission of the student contravenes the student's right to confidentiality. Confidentially will only be breached if it is:
- suspected that the student may harm her/himself or others, then this information should be passed along to appropriate sources (see the section on resources below);
- suspected that there is any form of abuse occurring.
Goal Setting
Studies have shown that goal setting leads to an improvement in academic success by encouraging a broader perspective on the day-to-day struggles of studying and a better understanding of the importance of university in concrete, personal terms. Goal setting is the beginning of an effective time management technique and it assists student in finding motivation for otherwise mundane tasks. Goals should be realistic and achievable, concrete and measurable. Goal setting begins with defining broad goals for the short-term, medium-term and long-term with the specific length of these time periods being flexible and determined by the student. Goal Setting information is available from the Learning Commons.