Academic Advising offers multi-faceted service

Story and photo by Sharon Feder ‘06

This is the first in a series of department profiles that will be featured in News Pulse throughout the year.

While it is true that the Office of Academic Advising provides direct advisement to undeclared undergraduates, that is only part of the story. According to Ann Minnick, dean of the department, she and her team are responsible for much more.

Members of the Academic Advising team (left to right): Latricia Mills, Patrick Saxe, Ann Minnick, Betsy LaPolla and Todd Quinlan.

Minnick, with the help of assistant dean Todd Quinlan, senior academic advisor Patrick Saxe, career advisor Latricia Mills and secretarial and student support, works with a number of units across the New Paltz campus to deliver a multi-faceted program of academic advisement and retention services.

The office educates students, as well as staff and faculty, about the intricacies of collegewide requirements. This means holding programs at orientation, as well as having individual meetings with students throughout the year, and providing staff and faculty members with the resources and knowledge to advise students once they have declared their majors.

In addition, the office provides information and assistance to students on major selection. Mills, who works in both the Office of Academic Advising and the Career Resource Center, is planning new workshops that will include a student-to-student panel discussion about majors from a student's perspective, as well as a workshop on techniques for decision-making. These workshops are sponsored by both offices.

Another responsibility of the office is retention. In the past eight years, retention among New Paltz students has increased by about 10 percent. This is due in part to the efforts of Minnick's team.

Academic Advising helps coordinate a wide array of first-year programs (FIGS), including first-year interest groups by major, the First Year Initiative (FYI), general education FIGS, the Honors Program and the Scholars Mentorship Program. There are currently 21 FIGS on campus. Having students take courses together, and in some cases live with those same students, has increased retention rates by having students feel more connected to the campus.

The office also generates mid-semester evaluations for first-year students, students on academic probation and transfer students in their first semester. They communicate the results of these evaluations to students and advisors and work with the Departments of Residence Life and Athletics to provide students with resources to succeed academically. This mid-semester outreach has also improved retention.

The office plans to improve the means by which it provides students and faculty with information through their new Web site, which will be launched soon. Minnick said that all of the resources and advising tools they have developed for faculty and students throughout the years will soon be available online. In addition, the Web site will include a link for parents to address questions and concerns that they might have.

For more information about the Office of Academic Advising, visit them on the Web at www.newpaltz.edu/acadadv.

FEBRUARY 14, 2005
Volume 3, Issue 3

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