Academic Advising
As a leading Catholic university, Dominican takes this responsibility very seriously. The university鈥檚 faculty and staff work to provide each student with the support needed to create a thoughtful, challenging and successful curriculum.
Part of the university鈥檚 advising responsibility is to ensure that students are asking the right questions.
鈥淲hat courses do I have to take?鈥 may seem like the optimal starting point of the student/advisor relationship. Ideally, the required courses question comes much later in the advising process. A skilled advisor will guide the student to ask more basic鈥攁nd more meaningful鈥攓uestions before focusing on course requirements. For example:
- Why am I at Dominican?
- What subjects excite me?
- What subjects do I want to study? Why?
- What subjects should I study? Why?
- How will my coursework help me reach my academic, personal and professional goals?
What We Do
Here at Dominican, we guide our students through the advising process from the moment they attend student orientation until graduation. We begin the process with:
- Holistic academic advising during Summer Orientation, Advising and Registration (SOAR), Dominican鈥檚 new student orientation program. SOAR is offered for all incoming students, both summer and winter.
- Multiple advising appointments throughout the year provide more opportunities for each student to make appropriate academic choices and begin formulating long-term goals.
- Supportive Peer LEADers to help students transition to university life and develop new ways to succeed in college. Peer LEADers are embedded into the First-Year Seminar courses for all incoming first-year students.
Once the student declares a major, the major department chair assigns the student to a faculty advisor from the department. This advisor typically oversees the student鈥檚 academic growth until graduation.
International students can find more information here.