Advising by Phone or Email:
Academic advisors in the Academic Support Center do not advise by telephone under any circumstances. Academic advisors will only advise via email on occasions when every effort for in person advising cannot be attained. These very special situations must be approved by the Assistant Director and thorough email records will be kept in the student’s file.
Advising by Appointment and Walk-in:
The Academic Support Center begins advising by appointment for Liberal Arts Undecided majors approximately three weeks after the beginning of the semester. Appointments continue until approximately a week before the first registration window opens. At this point, advisors begin seeing students on a walk-in basis until a week after the last registration window opens. After the walk-in period ends, advisors take appointments again.
Health Professions advising is by appointment only.
File Keeping:
Advising files contain advising work sheet forms, current transcript, current semester print out, Buckley Amendment Waiver form (pre-online), notes -- including email -- by the advisor, and other documents pertinent to the student's academic records (transfer evaluation, etc.). This file is student/advisor confidential.
Liberal Arts Undecided -- An advising file will be kept for each "Liberal Arts Undecided" student. Each file will remain in the active records as long as the student is still "undecided" and attending UM. Once a student declares a major, or is no longer at the University, the file becomes inactive and is moved to the inactive records. Inactive records will be kept for 4 years from the last semester the student was advised. After the 4 year inactive period has passed, the file will be pulled and shredded.
Allied Health/Pre-Professional Health Professions -- An advising file will be kept for each "Allied Health Professions" student (i.e., Nursing, Clinical Laboratory Science, Cytotechnology, Dental Hygiene, Health Information Management, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Medical Technology). Each file will remain in the active records maintained by the Staff Assistant, Health Professions Advising as long as the student is still in the Allied Health Professions Program and attending UM. Once a student is no longer in the Allied Health Professions Program or is no longer at the University, the file becomes inactive and is moved to the appropriate inactive records. Inactive records will be kept for 4 years from the last semester the student was advised or enrolled at the University. After the 4 year inactive period has passed, the file will be pulled and shredded.
Credentials Service Files -- These files are opened by students who are following a pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-optometry, or pre-veterinary track and are applying to Professional Schools. These records are kept for one year as "active" files. After one year the files become "inactive" but are retained for an additional 3 years. The MCAT, DAT scores, and recommendations are no longer valid after 3 years. After the total 4 year period has passed, the file will be pulled and shredded.
New and Transfer Student Advising:
An orientation session is required for every new freshmen or transfer student to The University of Mississippi. During an orientation session students meet with an academic advisor, learn about options for study at UM, and begin making connections with student leaders and other new students. Students cannot register for classes without signing up for an orientation session. Contact the Office of Orientation and Parent Programs at: http://www.olemiss.edu/orientation/ or 662-915-1185.
Population the ASC Serves:
The Academic Support Center employs four full time academic advisors that provide advising for students declared as Liberal Arts Undecided and Pre-Nursing majors. The Academic Support Center also provides academic advising through the Coordinator of Health Professions Advising. This includes Pre-medicine, Pre-dentistry, Pre-Optometry, Pre-Veterinary, Dental Hygiene, Occupational Therapy, Cytotechnology, Health Information Management, Medical Technology, Clinical Laboratory Science, and Physical Therapy.
University’s Policy on Declaring a Major:
Students can declare or change a major at any point, but must declare a major once 45 academic hours are earned. Students who have not selected a major will be referred to the academic area in which they have expressed an interest. At the 45 hour mark a Major Hold will be placed on the student’s account. The student will be required to declare a major before the hold will be lifted. A student with a major hold will be unable to register for classes until they have declared a major. The only exception to being advised as a Liberal Arts Undecided major past the 45 hour mark is if you do not have the requisite GPA to declare in the desired school.
The mission of the Academic Support Center is to offer professional, quality advising and support to the University of Mississippi community through efficient service, communication of University policy, and open collaboration with University depar tments and support services in an effort to facilitate the educational experience.
