Appointments
One of the special features of the honors program at SIUE is its dedication to student success and engagement. Through honors-specific academic advising, we provide guidance, support and direction for your entire SIUE career.
Honors advisors are provided to every honors student and remain engaged with you throughout your four years. We encourage a holistic approach to your experience: helping to identify and connect your curricular and co-curricular activities, guiding you on additional opportunities that are available because of honors, and enhancing your learning.
Most students will meet with their honors advisor at least four semesters (the first two years at SIUE). Transfer and continuing SIUE students will meet with their honors advisor at least two semesters. Once the mandatory meeting semesters have passed, students still maintain access to their honors advisors, but on an as-needed basis.
We know that each student is different. Each of you brings in a unique set of goals and aspirations, as well as your own college credits, academic experiences and expectations for your college career. Honors advising will help you pull all of those things together into a long-term, coherent plan that will get you to graduation and beyond. Each advising appointment has a different approach, where we prepare differently, ask individualized questions and have a specific outcome. The table below walks you through each of those appointments.
Pre-Enrollment Advising at Springboard to Success
Springboard advising is VERY different from our regular advising appointments. The point of advising at Springboard is to make sure you are enrolled in the right classes for your first semester, and to introduce you to all the new concepts and software you will use.
Student Pre-Work
Students should complete the honors enrollment survey that includes your intended major, program of study and/or minor(s), and asks you to list all your earned college credit (dual enrollment, AP, etc.).
Advisor Pre-Work
Based on the honors enrollment survey, the advisor will pre-enroll you in any required major or minor coursework before you arrive at Springboard.
Questions to Think About
We always ask a lot of questions in advising. For this appointment, you should be thinking:
- Why did you choose SIUE?
- What are you interested in studying?
- How confident are you in your intended major?
What We Will Do
In this appointment, we will
- Provide a general outline of the honors curriculum and how it works with your intended program of study
- Review your options for your first honors classes (HONS 120 and 121), and discuss how you are placed into those classes
- Introduce you to two-year plans for your program of study, giving you a preview of your potential courses for your first semesters at SIUE
- Explore SIUE’s registration program (CougarNet) and make any changes to your registration as needed
Outcome
You should have your non-honors schedule complete by the end of this advising experience. Your HONS 120 and 121 classes will be added to your schedule by the first part of July.
First Advising Appointment (fall semester of your first year)
The first few weeks of the first semester can be overwhelming. Advisors will be there to help you navigate them, and to help you make any changes that did not get finished over the summer. But you don’t need to worry about scheduling your official advising appointment too early!
Advisors will visit your honors classes during the third week of classes to talk about how your semester is going, to introduce you to advising, and to discuss how advising and honors work together. Once we visit your class, you will be able to schedule an appointment with your honors advisor.
This is the first appointment where you will use Starfish to schedule.
Student Pre-Work: All Links to Pre-Work Located on the Forms & Resources page
You should complete the first semester pre-planning activities, including the strengths and interests inventories and the related reflection activities. These activities will be discussed when we visit your honors class.
Advisor Pre-Work
We review the information you submitted over the summer, including any college credits you have already earned. We create a unique honors audit document to help track your progress throughout your first two years.
Questions to Think About
Be thinking about these questions:
- How are things going?
- How is your honors experience so far?
- How are you feeling about your major choice?
What We Will Do
We will talk a lot about how your experience has been so far, and how you came to your decisions. We will also:
- Review your first proseminar class, which you will take in the spring semester
- Review your advising tools, especially how to use CougarNet
- Troubleshoot any concerns that have arisen in your first few weeks of school
- Model how we put together your course schedules for future semesters
Outcome
At the end of our appointment, you will have an advising plan that will guide you for your first attempt at registration on your own.
Second Advising Appointment (spring semester of your first year)
Student Pre-Work: All Links to Pre-Work Located on the Forms & Resources page
You will complete an advising pre-planning worksheet, similar to what was completed in the first semester.
Advisor Pre-Work
We will update your audit.
Questions to Think About
- How did your fall semester go? What went well and what needs to change for the future?
- How is your major feeling? Is there a need to consider adjustments or changes?
- How would you like to use your summer?
- Are you interested in declaring your major, if you have not yet done so?
What We Will Do
Now that you’ve gotten more comfortable with your classes and your options, we will begin looking a little further into the future. This includes:
- Planning any summer classes or other summer educational plans
- Plan your fall classes, including any plans that require completion of work over the summer
- Begin looking toward other opportunities for your educational career, including internships, study abroad, etc.
- Provide plans that will allow you to begin planning for your junior and senior years
Outcome
You will have a registration plan for the summer semester (if applicable) and for the fall semester of your sophomore year.
Third Advising Appointment (fall semester of your sophomore year)
Student Pre-Work: All Links to Pre-Work Located on the Forms & Resources page
You will be expected to complete a preliminary plan to graduation: a document that outlines what you have already taken in your first year that will lead you to completing your degree.
Advisor Pre-Work
We will again update your audit, and complete your declaration if you haven’t already done so.
Questions to Think About
- What co-curricular activities do we need to include in your plan?
- What else do you need to be doing to enhance your college experience?
- Are there specific courses or activities that you need to integrate in the coming semesters to be prepared for post-college plans or to be competitive for applications?
What We Will Do
This is one of your most important appointments, because it is part of our transition to you taking responsibility for understanding your curriculum and your planning.
- We will review your plan to graduation, largely to ensure that you have the remaining honors courses in the right places.
- We will ask you to take the lead in telling us what your future courses will be, rather than us taking that role.
Outcome
We will confirm that your courses are correct for your spring semester and give you suggestions for updating/correcting your plan to graduation.
Fourth and Final Advising Appointment (spring semester of your sophomore year)
This is your final required honors advising appointment. From this point forward, you will still be required to meet with your major advisor. Your honors advisor will remain available for consultation.
Student Pre-Work: All Links to Pre-Work Located on the Forms & Resources page
You must have a plan to graduation before this meeting. Your advising appointment will be cancelled if you do not have the plan for your appointment.
Advisor Pre-Work
We will provide you with your final honors audit, as well as an outline of your remaining honors courses.
Questions to Think About
- What have you learned about your program of study? What questions remain that you can ask your major advisor?
- Have you fully integrated the courses, activities and experiences into your plan so that you are prepared for your remaining college and post-college career?
What We Will Do
By this point, you should understand your major and how to progress through your remaining classes to graduation. So instead of fully reviewing your courses, we will:
- Ask you to reflect on your advising appointments with us, and how they may be different from your major advisors.
- Encourage you to have high expectations for your future advising appointments, including using your advisor(s) for guidance, not just about classes, but about your post-collegiate plans.
Final Outcome
You will have a final plan to graduation that you can input into Degree Works.
These are general outlines of each semester of required honors advising. They may change based on each student’s individual need, as well your standing in the program. Students who are below the required honors GPA may have meetings in addition to these required meetings.
Students in accelerated programs like pharmacy or dentistry, students who are planning to graduate early, or any other deviations from a regular schedule may need to accelerate some of their advising expectations.
New transfer students or SIUE students admitted to honors will also have some adjustments made to this schedule. In most cases, we will try to “catch up” to your regular class so that your experience matches that of your classmates.
