Williams College Employee Handbook

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Advising Students

The advising and mentoring of students are considered to be integral and vital parts of a faculty member's duties as a teacher and member of the College community (see Service to the College Community and Non-tenured Faculty Evaluation. In fulfilling these duties, all teaching Faculty on regular, permanent appointments after their First-Year, will serve as First-Year academic advisors. The implementation of this policy will rest with the offices of the Dean of the Faculty and the Dean of the College. The advising and mentoring activities of faculty take a great many forms, both formal and informal. The more formalized ones are described here.

First-Year Student Advising

All faculty are expected to serve as academic advisors to first-year students; in addition some members of the professional staff choose to serve as well. The Associate Dean for Academic Programs (Dean's Office) assigns a group of up to four advisees to each faculty and staff advisor. Advisors are invited to review their advisees' application materials prior to meeting them in September, and they receive course registration, placement, and other relevant academic information for each of their advisees during First Days. The Dean's Office provides each advisor with a copy of the Handbook for First-Year Advisors, which thoroughly reviews the College's policies and opportunities for first-year students. Additional information on the registration process for first-year students is sent to academic advisors in April. Prior to arriving on campus in the fall, each first-year student has completed and submitted a course registration form. Once on campus, the student may make course changes after consulting with his or her advisor, particularly in light of the student's scores on placement tests and the Quantitative Studies test. All first-year student course changes must be approved by the academic advisor. After their initial meeting during First Days, academic advisors meet with their advisees during preregistration for second semester and during the spring preregistration for their sophomore courses. At all of these meetings, the advisor should discuss with each advisee the student's academic interests and goals, possible majors and plans to study away, and how these priorities relate to the Williams curriculum, including divisional requirements, prerequisites, programs, and majors. Issues such as work load, balance among types of courses, and balance between course work and extra-curricular activities, should also be discussed.

Special Advising

Certain faculty also serve as advisors to students on graduate schools, fellowships, and career opportunities. Some of these advisors are listed in the Catalog issue of the Williams College Bulletin. A list of departmental advisors for students considering graduate study appears in the Williams College Guide to Graduate Study, available from the Dean's Office.

Publications Useful in Advising Students

There are three publications which faculty members will find especially helpful in advising students. The Williams College Bulletin, course catalog issue, published yearly, describes in detail the academic programs and regulations of the College. What's What, also published yearly, contains pictures of each First-year Student, as well as pictures of many of the transfer and exchange students who entered Williams at that time. The Williams College Student Handbook discusses College rules and regulations that affect students, and discusses both curricular and extracurricular aspects of student life.

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