Who is your faculty adviser?
For most new students, your tutorial professor is your faculty adviser, and they will continue in this role until you declare a major in your fourth semester. If you are a transfer student and you have met the Tutorial requirement, you are assigned an adviser in the department in which you have expressed an interest.
A faculty adviser is someone who will take an interest in you, listen to you as you share your personal goals, and help you plan a course of study grounded in the liberal arts. Because Grinnell does not prescribe a set of classes you must take, you have a lot of freedom as you plan your academic journey. Your faculty adviser will serve as a guide, helping you understand the facets of a liberal arts education, how to complete the requirements for your major and graduation, and how best to explore Grinnell’s many curricular opportunities.
Advisers encourage you to:
- Create an academic plan that relates to your personal and professional goals
- Explore subject areas that will help you develop a range of academic skills
- Engage with subject areas that may challenge your beliefs and values
- Find your community at Grinnell by participating in campus activities and events
- Be proactive in using campus resources to support your academic, personal, and professional interests
- Celebrate your successes
You will also be assigned to a who will help you explore ways to create and meet personal, civic, and career goals.
You’ll meet both your faculty adviser and your CLS exploratory adviser when you get to campus.
Your Role As an Advisee
You have a big role to play in creating a successful advising relationship that will form the basis of developing your academic plan.
In secondary school, you likely received prescriptive guidance about how to be on a “college track” and you may have had limited choices among your electives. At Grinnell, your faculty adviser will not direct you to a prescribed set of courses. Instead, you and your adviser will decide together what you will take each semester, guiding you toward an individualized program of study in the liberal arts.
Advisers want to get to know you as a person, learn what your goals are, and think with you about how you can engage Fulao2 to meet these goals. In August, after you arrive in Grinnell, you’ll start a series of conversations with your adviser. Preparing for meetings with your adviser is key, so these modules are designed to give you a running start.
To facilitate forming an advising relationship, all new students complete an Advising Information Form in the summer prior to arrival. Your comments on the Advising Information Form will help your adviser understand your academic background and interests prior to your first meeting together.
Enter into conversations with your adviser about course planning with an open mind. You never know which class might change your life!