Academic Advisement

Academic advisement is the ongoing process of assisting students to learn to use the resources of Mount Saint Mary College to meet their individual needs and aspirations. To facilitate this process, each student who has declared a major is assigned by the division chair to a faculty member who acts as an academic advisor. Freshmen students within the School of Business and the School of Nursing will be assigned to an advisor within the Office of Student Success. Students in the teacher education program who have not declared a major will initially be advised by a member of the teacher education faculty and an advisor for undeclared majors. When such students declare a major, they will receive dual advisement from an assigned major advisor in addition to their education advisor. All other undeclared majors are assigned to an advisor by the Office of Student Success, who will serve as academic advisor until such time as they declare a major.

New students admitted to the College through the Student Transition and Engagement Program (STEP) are assigned a faculty advisor within their academic division and a secondary advisor within the Office of Student Success. 

Transfer students receive an official evaluation of transfer credit once they have been accepted to the College. Upon acceptance, transfer students with a declared major are assigned an academic advisor from their major by the division chair. The Office of Student Success will assign an advisor to transfer students who are undeclared. With their academic advisor's assistance, these students integrate their previous college experience and transfer credits into their chosen degree program.

All students must declare a major area of studies upon completion of 45 academic credits to ensure the proper development of their program. If a student decides to change a major, a new academic advisor will be assigned.

Students entering the College via non-traditional programs are assigned an academic advisor from their major by the division chairperson and receive additional support services from the program staff. Preliminary advisement is also available to new students before fall enrollment.