Orientation Advising Checklist

Advisor Expectations

As a reminder from the Advising Syllabus, advisors are expected to:

• Assist students in understanding degree requirements articulated in the Course Catalog
• Assist students in selecting courses for exploration and pursuit of intellectual interests
• Assist students in monitoring academic progress through degree requirements
• Check in with students regarding academic difficulties (e.g., conditional enrollment, progress reports)
• Support students in defining and re-defining their goals and priorities
• Encourage students to remain open to opportunities, flexible to change and resilient to travail
• Recommend campus resources to students based on their questions, needs and concerns

Things to Do

1. Please visit the Returning to Kenyon page and the Key Dates and Cohorts page for up-to-date information for the 2020-21 academic year.

2. Familiarize yourself with the New Student Orientation page for Fall 2020 which includes 'next steps' and 'when to arrive' for the class of 2024.

3. Review the shared document, Department Updates for Advising First-years. Thank you department chairs for contributing links, changes and guidance for advising faculty. 

4. You might also want to check out the Virtual Academic Fair to see how your colleagues are introducing themselves and their courses to first-year students.

5. Here's the link to Plan Ahead where you will be able to view plans that were submitted by your advisees. The Office of the Registrar has provided instructions to access and view an advisee plan for registration in Banner's Plan Ahead tool -  Plan Ahead instructions.  

6. Read through the First Things First guide. Please note the following sections in particular:
• Orientation tasks (pages 2-3)
• Degree requirements (4)
• Academic divisions/departments, interdisciplinary programs (5)
• Schedule change deadlines (6-8)
• Honesty in academic work (8)
• Academic resources (9-11)
• Starting points for first-years/introductory courses (12-13)

7. Stay connected with your Orientation Leader (OL) and faculty mentee/mentor/partner over the summer. Discuss how you’d like to approach the group advising meeting. Do you have a spiel? Do you want to tag-team? Make sure your OL knows what your concerns might be. Do you want your OL to do some reconnaissance with your advisees? Do you want your OL to focus on registration logistics so you can focus on big picture? How can your OL support you and your advising style/efforts?

8. Reach out to your advisees after you receive your list of names. (Admissions materials, academic transcripts and Personal Data Forms are available in Etrieve.) All students have active Kenyon email addresses at this point. If you wish to answer questions, please feel free to do so. If you wish to have your OLs answer questions, please let them know. Most importantly, please remind (and/or have your OLs remind) students to:

• Review the First-Year Students section of the Academic Advising webpage. A guide to helping them build their first schedule has been added, as well as links to the First Things First guide, useful introductory courses, and general registration advice.
• Review the Advising Syllabus, the First Things First guide, departmental websites and the Virtual Academic Fair to familiarize themselves with basic advising, degree and departmental information. 
• Submit and/or re-submit AP/IB scores and take all relevant placement/proficiency exams during Orientation to obtain applicable credit and/or know appropriate placement.
• Visit the Office of the Registrar's Searchable Schedule page for access to Banner where students can Browse Courses and use the Plan Ahead tool to search the schedule of courses to create a plan/plans for registration. These plans are shared with advisors so you can see what your first-year advisees are considering for their first semester at Kenyon.
• Review the Academic Calendar and use the Google Calendar option – to stay on top of course enrollment and other important deadlines for the academic year.

9. Regarding fall semester course loads, incoming students should generally be taking no more than 2.00-2.25 units. In addition to this being a typical load, it’s important to consider the amount of time that incoming students will need in terms of overall adjustment to college life.

10. Regarding fall semester course selections, make sure to have students consider the following factors in putting together a reasonable and balanced course list:

• 10-12 courses of interest (to mix and match based on course availability)
• Timing of courses (morning vs. afternoon vs. evening, during lunch or practice, MWF vs. TR vs. other)
• Length of courses (shorter vs. longer)
• Size & type of courses (“large” lecture vs. “small” seminar vs. lab course)
• Qualitative vs. quantitative coursework (reading/writing vs. numbers)
• Familiarity with course content (previous exposure vs. limited awareness)
• Level of coursework (introductory vs. advanced)
• Type of assessments (quizzes and exams vs. papers and projects)
• Application toward degree and major/minor/concentration requirements

11. Please emphasize that students should reach out to you, their OL, their course faculty (especially during office hours), the Registrar’s Office, the Advising Office and all other campus resources including Library and Information Services (LBIS), Student Accessibility and Support Services (SASS), the Math and Sciences Skills Center (MSSC), the Writing Center, the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI), the Center for Global Engagement (CGE), the Health Center, the Counseling Center, Residential Life, New Student Programs, and the Dean of Students Office for academic and non-academic support throughout their time at Kenyon.