ADVISING

“Do I need to meet with my faculty advisor every quarter?”
You are required to meet with a faculty advisor prior to registration each quarter until you have been accepted into a major. Your faculty advisor will work with you by providing information about the limitations, alternatives, and consequences of academic choices available to you; developing quarterly class schedules that meet your immediate and long range objectives; explaining the general requirements for completion of a baccalaureate degree; outlining the requirements of a given major and tracking your progress toward completion of the major; assessing your academic performance so that any problem areas can be detected early; and directing you to other campus services and resources that can enhance your education experience. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their faculty advisors occasionally even after being admitted to the major.

If you are a freshman, the instructor of your University Seminar will be your faculty advisor for your first year at Seattle Pacific University . If you are not in a University Seminar, you will be given the name, campus address and phone number of your faculty advisor prior to registration for your second quarter at SPU.

When you're ready to apply for a major, you may request that a major advisor be assigned to you if you do not already have a faculty advisor in the department in which you are interested. You may request a new advisor online through the Banner Information System. Enter the system and choose “Student Menu” followed by “Academic Progress Menu,” which includes the online Change of Advisor option.

“ What if I want to change advisors?”
A faculty advisor will be assigned to you within your first few weeks at Seattle Pacific University . A freshman student's University seminar professor serves as the faculty advisor until the student requests a change of advisor. Freshmen are encouraged to identify an intended major—or at least an area of academic interest, such as the social sciences or the humanities—by spring of the freshman year and to request a new advisor in that major or area of interest.

Whenever possible, students who indicate a preferred major are assigned an advisor who is on the faculty of the School or department in which that major is offered. Only students who have formally been accepted into a major, however, are guaranteed an advisor in their major.

In order to change advisors, you simply enter the Banner Information Systerm and choose “Student Menu” followed by “Academic Progress Menu,” which includes the online Change of Advisor option.

FAQ Home