Faculty Adviser Assignment and Course Schedule Information August 23, 2024

From the time you enter as a first-year student (FY) until you have declared a major during your sophomore year, you are served by an initial faculty adviser.

W&L emphasizes holistic advising, meaning that your relationship with your adviser can go well beyond the mechanics of just registering for classes. Your conversations should broadly address your interests and concerns so you can begin developing a relationship with your adviser and connecting with resources and opportunities. We encourage you to utilize your adviser by keeping them informed proactively throughout the year, and we expect you to respond to your adviser in a timely and appropriate manner.

We made a concerted effort to place you with an adviser in a discipline that matches one of your initial interests; however, it is not possible to do this 100 percent of the time due to the limited number of professors advising within certain disciplines. If, for example, you are interested in economics and you were placed with an art professor, there is no need to worry. Your first year is a great opportunity to explore a variety of courses and W&L professors serving as advisers are well-versed in our entire curriculum.

We strongly encourage you to speak with multiple faculty from disciplines that interest you in addition to your adviser. The first, best opportunity to meet and speak with a wide variety of professors is during the Academic Fair on Tuesday, September 3 from 10am-Noon.

Your adviser will more than likely contact you in the next week, but feel free to initiate contact at any time, especially if you have not heard from your adviser before orientation begins. You will find contact information for your adviser through our online directory at http://go.wlu.edu/Directory/.

You are scheduled to meet with your adviser during orientation on Tuesday, September 3 between 1-3:30pm. Your adviser will communicate to you how they plan to schedule the time.

Your schedule should be viewable utilizing Workday. Please use the resources available on the Registrar's website at https://my.wlu.edu/its/workday-student.

Please use your initial adviser instead of the summer registration specialist to address any questions going forward. While most FYs should not need to drop/add anything, you do have the option to do so beginning September 4 at 9am, after you have met in person with your initial adviser during orientation. Please note - your initial adviser must give you web authorization in order for you to be able to drop/add. There is also an academic fair and registration helpdesk available during orientation.

We look forward to having everyone on campus soon!

Sincerely,

Jason Rodocker
Associate Dean of Students and
Dean for First-Year Experience

Paul Youngman
Associate Provost