Academic Advising
Student advising is a key component of the academic mission of Kent State University. It is important for all students at all points in the educational process. Advising helps students clarify their life/career goals, reach their maximum educational potential and achieve academic success through interactions with faculty, professional advisors and administrative personnel. It promotes academic success by addressing student needs that are related to learning, personal development and career aspirations; recognizes and responds to diverse individual needs and differences among students; and helps students plan and implement academic programs of study in a manner that will ensure timely progress toward graduation.
Academic Advisor Roles
The primary role of academic advisors is to guide students in the development of meaningful educational plans and appropriate career choices that are compatible with their life goals. As part of the advising process, these interactions may also promote students’ intellectual growth, ability to communicate effectively and ability to work independently and collaboratively, as well as assist students with realistic self-appraisal, clarification of values and achievement of personal goals. Academic advisors provide information about current and changing curricular requirements and about career opportunities and resources. They monitor student progress in meeting program requirements and help students develop the ability to assess their own academic progress. In addition, advisors provide a number of related services, including interpretation of policies and procedures; assistance in registration processing; assessment of transfer credit; support for students who are at risk; and referral, as appropriate, to campus resources that address academic or personal issues.
Student Advisee Expectations
Students are responsible for understanding and following academic program requirements and expectations as well as university policies, procedures and deadlines. While advising is a shared responsibility between students and advisors, students should be proactive by contacting the appropriate advisor regularly, by being prepared for each advising session and by participating in the academic planning process. Students are expected to follow through with the agreed upon academic plan and notify their advisor if changes or alterations occur. They should utilize Kent Academic Progress System (KAPS) reports and program requirement sheets to monitor progress toward degree completion. As a supplement to in-person advising, students may also obtain advising information from FlashLine; campus, college and department/school Web pages; electronic mail; or video advising (where available). To ensure continuous improvement of advising, students should participate as requested in evaluations of the advising system.
Advising Services
Upon admission to the university, students are assigned to a college, school or advising unit based upon their stated interest, academic record and selection procedures for some programs. Academic advisors for students assigned to each unit are available at the following locations:
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
202-C Taylor Hall, 330-672-2780
College of Arts and Sciences
105 Bowman Hall, 330-672-2062
College of the Arts
202-C Taylor Hall, 330-672-2780
College of Business Administration
107 Business Administration Building, 330-672-2872
College of Communication and Information
202-C Taylor Hall, 330-672-2780
College of Education, Health, and Human Services
304 White Hall, 330-672-2862
College of Nursing
113 Henderson Hall, 330-672-7930
College of Technology
123 Van Deusen Hall, 330-672-2892
Honors College*
20 Johnson Hall, 330-672-2312
Undergraduate Studies
Student Advising Center, Lake Hall, 330-672-3676
Students admitted to a Kent State Regional Campus should contact the campus directly for advising assignments and locations.
*Note: Students admitted to the Honors College also maintain a primary membership in one of the degree-granting colleges/schools.