About

Our Approach

A student smiling among the crowd at a CCAS Celebration Ceremony

Vision

The CCAS Undergraduate Academic Advising Office seeks to empower students to make intentional, educated decisions in achieving their personal and academic goals.

Mission

The CCAS Undergraduate Academic Advising Office supports a diverse community of students in the exploration of a liberal arts education. Through meaningful conversations with advisors, students learn how to connect with resources, engage in opportunities, and think critically about developing individualized academic plans. Advisors introduce strategies to foster personal and academic success in a welcoming, supportive environment that values each student’s experiences and strengths.

Goals

Provide an inclusive environment in which students feel safe and understood
Cultivate students' knowledge and appreciation of an engaged liberal arts educations
Promote approaches for effective problem solving in all aspects of the students' undergraduate experience
Encourage students to own and be accountable for their undergraduate experience

Our Advising Model: PODs

CCAS Undergraduate Advising is determined to support our students comprehensively and with continuity. Students are assigned to a POD (Place of Discovery) based on their last name and have the opportunity to utilize the various skills and knowledge sets of each advisor in their POD. Students interested in pursuing graduate work to prepare for health care programs or law school can also meet with our pre-professional advisors.

Each POD consists of a team of advisors and CCAS students. Through one-on-one appointments with POD advisors, office hours, group advising sessions and workshops specific to each POD, students will be able to engage in a diversity of meaningful interactions with both POD advisors and POD peers such that they are contributing members to a community and a welcoming academic environment.

POD advisors will know the students in their POD — their stories, their strengths, their challenges — so that students won’t have to re-tell their stories each time they arrive at our door. POD advisors will meet as a group for consultation sessions, where they discuss students in their POD in order to gain perspective on student situations and more proactively reach out to meet students’ needs.

We will encourage students to be more introspective and intentional when choosing reasons they wish to make advising appointments, and as such they will have access to the advisors in their PODs who have the knowledge to assist them, creating a well-rounded approach to supporting students.