| Within the
context of liberal education at Wesleyan, advising is a
teaching and learning experience, and faculty play a
central role in the advising system. Faculty advisors
teach students how to explore the curriculum and develop
coherent academic plans that expand their intellectual,
academic, and artistic perspectives. They also help
students select courses that stress capabilities that
have been identified as essential for a life of learning.
These “key capabilities” are writing, speaking,
quantitative reasoning, ethical reasoning, and critical
and creative thinking. Faculty efforts are supported
and enhanced by many other resources available at
Wesleyan, including class deans, orientation staff,
career resources, and staff members in various
administrative offices. The advising process is designed
to provide opportunities for students to reflect on how
to utilize the curriculum and other University resources
to achieve their educational and personal goals. Other
important elements of the advising system include student
use of WESMaps, the Electronic Portfolio, and
online registration activities.
In the first two years, the advising system provides
direction to help you navigate the curriculum to achieve
balance, rigor, and breadth of knowledge and to explore
potential majors. In the junior and senior years, you are
assigned an advisor in your major field of study, and
your academic programs include more specialized work in
your particular major.
As you pursue your interests, you are expected to
explore different academic disciplines, develop
capabilities essential for a liberal education, and
become knowledgeable about cultures other than your own.
Your faculty advisor guides your exploration and may be
the instructor of one of your first-year courses or may
be assigned based on an academic interest that you
express. You and your advisor will work together to plan
a schedule of courses that introduce you to the
curriculum, provide a mix of class sizes and
instructional approaches, and expose you to the skills
required for a Wesleyan education. Faculty advisors help
students identify interests and strengths, assist them in
making curricular decisions that will achieve their
goals, and prepare them to make informed choices about a
major by the end of the sophomore year.
Every student is required to choose a field of
concentration. You will declare your major area of
concentration by the end of the spring semester of your
sophomore year and will be assigned a major advisor who
will supervise your academic progress. Applications for
admission into the College of Letters and the College of
Social Sciences are submitted at the end of your first
year.
In consultation with your major advisor, you will
build a program of study that pursues a set of questions
in a particular discipline or interdisciplinary setting
in greater depth. As part of this program, you may
undertake a senior project, senior essay, or senior
thesis that allows you to pursue a particular topic in
considerable depth under the expert guidance of a faculty
member in your department or program.
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The Wesleyan faculty is committed to working with
students to develop coherent academic plans. With advice
from faculty, you are expected to find and articulate the
connections among your interests, courses, and other
educational activities. By the end of your undergraduate
career, as a Wesleyan student, you will have a strong
background in the liberal arts and skills to thrive in a
rapidly changing world.
Through your conversations with your faculty advisors,
you will be challenged to pursue your interests by
examining various disciplinary approaches and to acquire
the capabilities that the faculty believe are essential
for a life of learning and effective citizenship.
To develop an academic plan, learn to utilize the
resources of the University, particularly WESMaps,
to know the varied collection of courses that span a wide
range of topics, cultivate different skills, and expose
you to different teaching styles; and the Electronic
Portfolio to record your interests, goals for each
semester, and course preferences. Faculty advisors can
access this information to prepare for your advising
sessions and help you develop an academic plan.
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Some students will have more than one faculty advisor.
Students whose interests, goals, and needs change often
seek new advisors who are better suited to assist them.
When faculty advisors are unavailable due to a
sabbatical, leave, or special assignment, their advisees
are assigned to new advisors, or students may select new
advisors based on their academic plans. In all cases,
every effort is made to ensure that students receive
appropriate and consistent guidance.
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