The Paul McGhee Division

ADVISING

ADVISING

FORMS

OTHER LINKS

Contact Us:
(212) 992.9055
mcghee.advising@nyu.edu

Starting college or returning as an adult is a life-changing decision. At McGhee, we help you make the choices that are right for you. Staffed by professional advisors with advanced degrees, the McGhee Advising Office is dedicated to helping students navigate their educational experience.

Your academic advisor assists you in developing educational plans consistent with your life goals. Academic advisors provide information about academic progress and degree requirements and carefully review your academic and educational needs, performance, and challenges.

As a new student, you are assigned an academic advisor who orients you to the educational opportunities and resources at New York University. With your advisor, you discuss your strengths, identify gaps in your learning, set goals, and map out your academic and professional plans. You also learn course registration requirements and plot your course schedules. As you progress through your degree requirements, you are assigned a faculty advisor from your program of study to assist you with your chosen major or concentration. Your faculty advisor provides you with discipline-specific advice and widens your horizons about your chosen field. Students meet with an advisor at least once each semester.

Reasons to visit the Advising Office

To discuss your ability to meet program requirements
To make informed decisions about your academic and professional future
To receive assistance in dealing with educational and personal issues
To learn how to connect your college experience with your plans and goals for life after college
To explore career options
To find support, advocacy, and student services for your academic and personal growth
To discuss transfer credit options
To change your major
To learn more about campus resources
To learn how to balance personal and academic responsibilities
To understand academic policies and procedures

ADVISOR AND ADVISEE ROLES

At McGhee, academic advisors are available to provide you with assistance, support, and a personal connection to the university. If you encounter any academic, personal, financial, or health-related difficulties that may impact your studies, an advisor can help. With an advisor, you can also discuss any concerns or questions about your academic and career goals, degree requirements, student services, and campus resources.

The goal of advisement is for you to be successful at McGhee. Academic advising is a collaborative relationship between a student and an academic advisor. Therefore, effective advising requires the ongoing involvement of both the advisor and the student. Each has unique roles and responsibilities.

Your academic advisor’s role:

To provide information about academic progress and degree requirements
To review your academic and educational needs, performance, and challenges
To suggest options concerning majors, concentrations, electives and general selection of courses
To assist you in making decisions and solving problems
To help you identify gaps in your education, set goals, and map out your academic and professional plans

Your role as advisee¹:

To craft a coherent educational plan based on assessments of abilities, aspirations, interests, and values
To gather information from various sources to reach decisions, set goals, and achieve those goals
To inform your advisor if you are having any issues that might interfere with your studies or impede your progress
To assume responsibility for knowing and meeting academic program requirements, which include:
- Familiarizing yourself with your general degree requirements and the requirements for your particular degree program and/or concentration
- Consulting the McGhee course descriptions, paying particular attention to any pre- and/or co-requisites required for those courses
- Before meeting with an advisor, consulting the schedule of classes and preparing a tentative schedule of the classes you are considering taking during the upcoming semester
- Collaborating with your advisor to select courses for the upcoming semester, to add or drop courses, and to discuss your academic progress and career considerations

Below are some guidelines that might be helpful when seeking advisement:

Seek advice. Contact and keep in touch with your advisor. If a crisis arises, call your advisor immediately at (212) 992-9055 or email mcghee.advising@nyu.edu.
Know the questions you want answered. Make a list of questions or issues you want to discuss.
Do your homework before your meeting. Review degree requirements; check the schedule of classes for course offerings.
Be open about workload, outside responsibilities, study habits, academic progress, etc.
Listen carefully to advice given. Make certain that you understand what your advisor has said. Ask questions to emphasize points that may have been overlooked and question what you don’t understand.
Try to be receptive and open to the advice that is being given. Advisors are always looking out for your benefit.