The purpose of this process is to describe the structure, purpose, roles and responsibilities of the University’s Advising and Mentoring.

Scope

This is an academic policy, affecting students and academic staff of the University.

Referenced Laws, Regulations, and/or Policies 

This is the University process.

Process

Advising and mentoring play a crucial role in education and nearly every undergraduate student will seek some kind of academic advice from faculty members during their academic career. Strong and supportive advisor-advisee relationships are crucial to scholarly and professional development of those directly involved and to the intellectual excellence and vitality of any program.

The University will have full-time Academic Program Advisors and Tutors available to students throughout their four years of studying at the University. They will be trained on how to advise students under the Dean of Academic Affairs and will work under the supervision of the Dean of Academic Affairs. They work within the Program graduation requirement policy guidelines to advise students so that they can graduate in time.

While advising and tutoring are related, they are not the same. The advisor focuses on advising the student so they will achieve their academic and professional goals. The tutor provides support aimed at building the students’ competence and character, caring for their professional as well as personal development. As a result, often the relationship between tutor and student tends to be more personal than the advisor - student relationship. The differences in goal setting bring some differences in the kind of support the advisor or tutor gives to the student, which will be described below.

Next to Academic Program Advisors and Tutors, students are encouraged to proactively seek advice from Faculty, EdTech officers, Admissions and Financial Aid Officers, Student Affairs Officers and the

Librarian.

Academic Program Advisors

The University has dedicated Academic Program Advisor(s) to offer guidance to students so they can meet their academic and professional goals. Students can turn to the Academic Program Advisors for help on evaluation of their skills, talents and performance next to assistance on the selection of coursework and other academic programs that will benefit their academic and professional development. An important goal of the Academic Program Advisor is to help students stay on track with their academic progress. In the end it is the student who needs to take responsibility for educational planning, selecting courses, meeting course prerequisites, and adhering to policies and procedures. However, support will be offered as a team effort of the Academic Program Advisor, faculty and the

University as a whole.

Students are expected to monitor their own academic progress and seek timely advice from Academic

Program Advisors during dedicated office hours using the Calendly appointment           tool. Academic

Program Advisors will organize

●   an entire cohort-group advising session at the beginning of each academic year for all first-year students on program requirements;

●   monthly small group advising sessions for first year, second year, third year and fourth year students.

Academic program advisors will collaborate with the Dean of Academic affairs, the Division Chairs, and the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs (especially the Unit of Registrar) to ensure all parties are aware of the student’s progress through the program and appropriate action can be taken when expectations for academic progress are not met. Following the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined as the maintenance of the minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 at any point in a student’s academic study.

Tutors

The University has dedicated Tutors to establish and foster relationships with students, with the aim to enhance the undergraduate experience of students. Students can turn to Tutors with different kinds of concerns, not limited to academic or professional matters. Tutors are appointed to care about students’ personal and professional well-being. Tutors will support students’ development of their strengths, help them deal with challenges, achieve academic excellence, and advance professionally in career paths of their choosing.

Tutors will provide guidance, support and encouragement. Tutors are generally not much older than students, which is why they are sometimes referred to as peer mentors. This is to enable an egalitarian relationship, where the student feels free to express concerns of professional as well as personal nature. The Tutors act as advocates and role models for the student and are committed to helping graduate students meet their personal and professional goals. If the tutors believe that the student feels and shares that he or she is at risk of any personal danger, they will share the concerns with the Officers of

Student Affairs to to support the student.

The Tutors will organize 2–3 small group meetings per year in consultation with the Academic Program Advisors and are available for one-on-one meetings with students through the Calendly appointment tool.

Academic Program Advisors and Tutors will facilitate the Academic and Research Skills workshop developed within Parami University. This workshop focuses on the integral component of academic integrity and research methods and will be delivered during the summer after the first academic year.

Review

The Academic Department is responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy in various offices of the University.

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