Definition of Advisor

As defined by the Graduate College, an advisor is “a member of the graduate faculty who is formally charged with assisting a student in planning the course of study; this person may or may not also be the student’s director of research.” 

The College of Education requires that a student’s academic advisor, or “advisor of record,” belong to the student’s home department.  This includes 0% appointments. 

Responsibilities of an Advisor

An advisor is responsible for but not limited to, the following:

• Assisting the student with course selection and awareness regarding timelines for satisfactory progress towards degree completion
• Reminding the student of deadlines with regards to completing the student portion of the annual evaluation by the deadline
• Completing the faculty portion of the annual evaluation by the deadline and monitoring the student’s progress in the program
• Conferring with the student regarding exam format, content, committee selection, deadlines and evaluation criteria for the qualifying examinations for doctoral students
• Conferring with the student regarding committee selection, deadlines and requirements for the preliminary and final examinations for doctoral students

Changing Advisors or Assigning Co-Advisors

If a student would like to change advisors or add a new co-advisor they will need to submit a Change of Advisor form.