Advising Resources for Graduate Students
Welcome to the College of Education! Amongst all of the supports and resources available to you as a graduate student, we recognize academic advising as crucial to your success. The relationship you have with your academic advisor is an opportunity to engage in a collaborative teaching and learning experience in a consistent and enduring manner throughout your studies.
Quite simply, advising matters.
This page is dedicated to providing you with important information about advising in the College and how the relationship you have with your advisors, formal and informal, help to shape a pathway to the completion of your degree.
Academic Advising Values Statement
Academic advising is a collaborative process in which the academic advisor and the student form a partnership to assist the student in their learning by:
- exploring academic and professional opportunities;
- building the capacity to achieve academic and career objectives;
- thinking critically and making informed decisions about available options.
Academic advising is characterized by a multidimensional relationship between the academic advisor and the student in which both commit to:
- communicating clearly, honestly and respectfully;
- maintaining a working knowledge of college policies, procedures, practices, requirements and resources;
- working together to meet the student’s academic goals and objectives.
Academic advising occurs formally between a student and their assigned primary academic advisor.However, advising may also occur informally between a student and numerous other contacts with faculty, staff and others across the college and at the University.It is equally important for students to seek mentors, who often serve as informal advisors throughout a program of study.
Effective academic advising is dependent upon the primary academic advisor to:
- be familiar with College/University policies, procedures, including milestone requirements for the student’s program of study;
- be available and responsive to the student by appointment, telephone or email;
- be mindful of cultural or personal differences, know the availability of academic services and resources, and refer the student appropriately as needed;
- comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and maintain appropriate confidentiality of information at all times.
Effective academic advising is dependent upon the student to:
- be familiar with College/University policies and procedures and program/concentration requirements and make informed decisions;
- be responsive in communication with the academic advisor and prepare for scheduled meetings by reviewing/submitting appropriate materials in advance and responding to all feedback provided by the advisor;
- use appropriate academic services and resources as recommended by the advisor.
General Practices
Drawing from recent literature, graduate advising handbooks, and practical experience we have framed the advisor/advisee relationship as being composed of four essential building blocks: Communication, Time Management, Mentoring, and Advocacy.
Communication
For advisors
- Be aware of the expectations of your advisee. Unacknowledged expectations of advisors and advisees are present and can impact a relationship (Harding-DeKam, Hamilton, & Loyd, 2012)
- Set purposeful scheduled meetings at least monthly. (Harding-DeKam, Hamilton, & Loyd, 2012)
- Be accessible and approachable (Regularly scheduled meetings, side-by-side work is appropriate), be open to new ideas and problems (Bloom, Propst Cuevas, Hall, & Evans, 2007)
- Remain flexible. Understand the dueling roles of the advisee. (Schroeder & Terras, 2015)
- Be clear on publishing expectations and encourage advisees to collaborate in publishing (Stanford University, 2016)
- Be familiar with College/University policies, procedures, including milestone requirements for the advisee’s program of study
- Be available and responsive to the advisee by appointment, telephone or email
For advisees
- Be clear on your preferred mode of communication.
- Set purposeful scheduled meetings at least monthly. (Harding-DeKam, Hamilton, & Loyd, 2012)
- Communicate your dueling roles (Schroeder & Terras, 2015)
- Be explicit about your learning environment and geographical location (Schroeder & Terras, 2015)
- Have your own deadlines and discuss those with your advisor (Schroeder & Terras, 2015)
- Ask about publishing expectations. Be open about collaboration. (Stanford University, 2016)
Time Management
For advisors
- Keep an eye on advisee’s progress and goals (Bloom, Propst Cuevas, Hall, & Evans, 2007)
- Establish a goal for meeting times, and ask if the advisee is making progress on their timeline (Bloom, Propst Cuevas, Hall, & Evans, 2007)
For advisees
- Be responsive in communication with your advisor
- Prepare for scheduled meetings by reviewing/submitting appropriate materials in advance and responding to all feedback provided by the advisor
Mentoring
For advisors
- Have a personal relationship with your advisee. This has a positive effect on advisee satisfaction (Lunsford, 2012)
- Encourage graduate advisees to engage with other graduate advisees to help increase their success (Brill, Balcanoff, Land, Gogarty, & Turner, 2014; Fugate, Patricia, & Robert, 2001)
- Offer your perspective on different career opportunities
- Point out to your advisor where they can look for job postings
- Advise your advanced advisee during job negotiation processes—what can they ask for?
- Conduct exit interviews to gauge the effectiveness of the advisee’s experience (Duranczyk, Franko, Osifuye, Barton, & Higbee, 2015)
For advisees
- Seek out other advisees, and find mentorship in them (Fugate et al., 2001)
- Use appropriate academic services and resources as recommended by your advisor
- Tell your advisor what type of careers you are interested in
- Take the initiative on publishing papers from your dissertation
Advocacy
For advisors
- Care for your advisees and their success (Bloom, Propst Cuevas, Hall, & Evans, 2007)
- Be familiar with college/university policies, procedures, including milestone requirements for the advisee’s program of study
- Be available and responsive to the advisee by appointment, telephone or email
- Interact with advisee as they enter in their field as they now become your colleague (Bloom, Propst Cuevas, Hall, & Evans, 2007)
- Support opportunities for career advancement, attendance at conferences, publication opportunities and chances to network with other scholars (Young & Brooks, 2008)
- Help resolve problems related to advisee work relationships, including with the advisor
- Be mindful of cultural or personal differences, know the availability of academic services and resources, and refer the advisee appropriately as needed (Brown University, n.d.)
- Attempt to create an approach that fits each advisee, while at the same time keeping the support provided consistent (Di Pierro, 2012)
For advisees
- Comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and maintain appropriate confidentiality of information at all times
- Be familiar with college/university policies and procedures and program/concentration requirements and make informed decisions
Contact Information
Shane Hammond, Graduate Program Director: shammond [at] umass [dot] edu (shammond[at]umass[dot]edu)
Kristin Tyler, Graduate Program Manager: ktyler [at] umass [dot] edu (ktyler[at]umass[dot]edu)
Department Administrators
Lynelle Kuzontkoski, EPRA: lkuzontkoski [at] umass [dot] edu (lkuzontkoski[at]umass[dot]edu)
Sovann-Malis Loeung, TECS: malis [at] educ [dot] umass [dot] edu (malis[at]educ[dot]umass[dot]edu)
Emily Walker, SD: pichette [at] educ [dot] umass [dot] edu (pichette[at]educ[dot]umass[dot]edu)
Advising Resources
How do I know who my advisor is and how to contact them?
Your program will notify you when your advisor has been assigned. You may also look up your advisor in SPIRE or contact your department administrator to learn the name of your advisor and to obtain their contact information.
When am I assigned an academic advisor?
Your program will assign you an academic advisor after you have been admitted to the College and accepted the admission offer.
May I change advisors during my program?
Yes, if you decide you would like to change advisors during your course of study, please contact the Graduate Programs Manager, Kristin Tyler, and she will assist you with this request.