Undergraduate Advising

All Columbian College students are assigned to a group, or POD (Place of Discovery), of undergraduate advisors based on the first letter of their last name. Schedule an appointment online with your advising group, or POD; stop by office hours, which will be held virtually; or email us with quick questions.

If you are looking for a pre-law or pre-health advisor, visit our Pre-Professional Advising page. For questions about study abroad, talk to the study abroad advisor.

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Leadership Team

Stephen Britt

Assistant Director POD 1

Email Stephen Britt

Abigail Nelson-Miller

Assistant Director POD 3

Email Abigail Nelson-Miller

Nakiella Strickland

Assistant Director POD 2

Email Nakiella Strickland

Candace Sumner-Robinson

Director

Email Candace Sumner-Robinson

Find Your POD

Schedule an Advisor Appointment

Appointments are appropriate for discussions about academic planning and exploration, major/career conversations, substantive policy/procedure questions, and longer conversations about your GW experience. The undergraduate advisors are available for in-person and virtual appointments with students. Use the online system to book 30-minute appointments with an advisor from your POD. PLEASE NOTE: Advising Office Hours for the Spring 2025 semester will end on April 28th, 2025.

• POD 1 Appointments
• POD 2 Appointments
• POD 3 Appointments

You may book a virtual or in-person appointment with your assigned advisor (listed on your DegreeMap) or with anyone in your POD. It is very important that you pay close attention to whether you are booking an IN-PERSON appointment or a VIRTUAL appointment. Each advisor's availability for both appointment types is noted for each specific day of the week on the booking page. Virtual appointments will take place via Zoom, and you will receive the Zoom link in your appointment email confirmation and calendar invite.

Please note: The calendar displays availability for two weeks. Students who arrive 10 or more minutes late forfeit their appointment and will need to reschedule.

No-Show Policy

We understand that unexpected academic obligations, work commitments or illnesses can affect your schedule. However, please alert the CCAS Undergraduate Academic Advising Office of any changes to your scheduled appointments as quickly as possible. We have high demand for appointments so your cancellation will allow us to offer your time slot to another student, if cancelled in a timely manner. Be sure to check your schedule carefully in order to avoid multiple appointment cancellations.

If you need to cancel an appointment, please do so by following the instructions in your appointment confirmation e-mail as soon as you know you need to cancel. If you do not cancel the appointment and do not show up, it will be recorded as a “no show” by your academic advisor. Two or more no-shows in a semester will result in you no longer being able to book a 30-minute one-on-one advising appointment during the semester. Accordingly, you will be limited to meeting with advisors for a 10-minute drop-in appointment during office hours, listed below (no appointment necessary!). Office hours during the Fall and Spring semesters take place each day of the week.

A “no-show” is a student who missed an appointment without cancelling it, either via the online scheduler or by calling the office at 202-994-6211. Failure to be present at the time of a scheduled appointment will be recorded in your CCAS advising record as a “no-show.” This includes arriving 10 minutes (or more) late to your scheduled appointment.

Visit During Office Hours

All pods hold the same office hours during the fall and spring semesters. Office Hours are appropriate for quick check-ins, assistance with completing/submitting forms, major declaration process questions, DegreeMap petitions, and other brief questions that can generally be addressed within 10 minutes. Students see the assigned POD advisor on duty.

Spring 2025 Office Hours 

In addition to 30-minute appointments, we will also offer daily office hours for all CCAS students. These office hours will be held VIRTUALLY ONLY on Zoom. PLEASE NOTE: Advising Office Hours for the Spring 2025 semester will end on April 28th, 2025.

Email Us

Do you have a quick question but can't make it into the office? Send an email to your POD advisors and someone will get back to you.

Important things to note before you email:

• Include your GWID in your email.
• Please allow 24-48 hours for a response.
• Your POD advisors monitor the email during regular business hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and do not answer email over the weekends.
• Remember to be clear and concise when describing your situation and questions so that your advisors can provide the most accurate and relevant information.

Special Advisors