Lakehouse

Making the Most of Advising

Department advising should help undergraduate students fulfill their educational goals, be successful academically, and graduate as quickly as possible. This includes assisting students as they satisfy EMU’s rules and regulations, select courses in their major or minor, and discuss post-graduation plans.

Seeing an Advisor

EMU does not require students to meet with a faculty advisor before registering for classes each semester. In fact, many students never see an advisor after orientation. That is a terrible mistake because advising involves more than what courses to take – it’s really strategic planning for your future. What should you do to have valuable advising?

  1. See one advisor regularly. Choose a professor whose classes you have enjoyed or pick a faculty member in your areas of interest. Professors are obligated to do advising. The many qualified part-time lecturers who teach with us are not expected to do advising, but most are capable and willing to spend time with you. Our faculty roster will give you a sense of what types of courses each person teaches.

  2. Don’t just drop in; schedule an appointment. That gives you guaranteed time, and the professor knows to expect you. You can do this by calling the department office at 734.487.3113 or sending an email to the professor you would like to see. You can also request an appointment by using the "Calendar" feature in EagleMail, which can be synched to most mobile phones.

  3. When you show up for the advising appointment, bring along the unofficial transcript that you can print from your my.emich account and any other documents that could be useful (e.g., syllabi from transfer courses, graduation audit). It is also helpful if you have already reviewed the graduation requirements for your major or minor. You also might need the advisor to fill out a substitution form to count courses in parts of your major where they are not listed.

Specialized Advising

Although every faculty member does advising, some areas have faculty who tend to be specialists, handle admission, or prepare programs of study: