Academic Advising

Advising at Geneseo is a one on one relationship between a student and a faculty advisor and/or a student and a professional advisor in which the student shares their interests and career plans and the advisor assists in building an academic and co-curricular path through the institution. 

Academic advisors are faculty or staff members who assist students in planning their academic programs. Students who have declared majors are assigned advisors in their major departments. Students who have not yet declared majors are assigned faculty advisors by the Office of Advising. Students in their first semester are mandated to contact their academic advisor when planning their programs for their next semester and all students are highly encouraged to build an ongoing relationship with their advisor. 

Although the advisor’s role in offering assistance is very important, the ultimate responsibility for devising suitable schedules, fulfilling degree requirements, meeting college deadlines, and adhering to College policies rests with the student. Thus, before they meet with their faculty advisors, students should become familiar with the College’s requirements, their department’s requirements, and their own academic transcripts.

 Owl Sculpture

Academic Supports

In addition to the full-time and part-time advisors in the office, the Office of Advising supports and trains faculty, students, and staff from across campus to support academic success in a variety of ways:

  1. Academic Peer Mentors - Students who are hired by the Advising Office to offer peer-to-peer support navigating campus resources like DegreeWorks, Navigate, and KnightWeb and connecting students to advisors.
  2. Geneseo Points of Service (GPS) Guides - we are working to build out this service that's been in existence the past few years. Of the three roles, this is the lowest time commitment. It is intended to be short-term relationships that aid in connecting students to support offices and people and plays a key role normalizing help-seeking behaviors for all students.  Description: Oftentimes, students aren’t seeking support staff offices because they don’t know the office exists, they don’t know what the office is called or who in the office/dept. they need, or they are intimidated by the people or office structure. GPS Guides work to break down these obstacles by being visible, present, and friendly. These are faculty and staff who know about campus services and are interested in engaging with students and learning more. They are available if students have a question about where to go or how to do something.
  3. Academic Coaching - this program is the most familiar to campus partners and has a variable commitment that depends on student need; intended to be a 1 semester commitment, sometimes is 2 semesters; specifically for students who are NFA or in their first semester of Probation.  Description: This support role focuses on changing specific, self-identified, student behaviors that are harming academic success.  A coach's goal is to help the student identify 1-2 strategies that will improve outcomes, develop a plan of action with the student, and then serve as an accountability partner for that plan for the semester.  Commitment can vary from weekly to monthly depending on the student's need and plan and usually lasts the one semester of NFA or probation, but may be 2 semesters if the student remains in poor standing and the relationship is strong.
  4. Academic Champions (NEW in Spring 2024!) - this is our new program aimed at supporting students who struggled in their first semester on campus; this program asks the highest commitment of volunteers; intended to be 2-3 semester relationship, meeting weekly or every other week; for students who are in poor academic standing after their 1st semester (or for students who are further along, but in and out of good standing). Description: This role is for faculty and staff interested and skilled at connecting with students, trust-building, and listening to and understanding all the obstacles impeding academic success at Geneseo.  The goal of this relationship is to learn about the student's unique experience and then develop a holistic and multiple semester academic plan and accountability structure to address the obstacles.

If you are a student and interested in being connected to these services, email advising@geneseo.edu or schedule a meeting with an advisor on Navigate.

If you are a student or employee interested in volunteering for the above services, email advising@geneseo.edu.

For your Advisement Meeting:

Other Advisement Links:

Questions? 

Contact:

Email: advising@geneseo.edu
Phone: (585) 245-5541

Mailing Address:

SUNY Geneseo
106 Erwin Hall, 1 College Circle
Geneseo, NY 14454

 

Related Pages
Office of the Provost