Advising and Counseling

Advising & Counseling

During summer orientation, all new JMU students are assigned a faculty adviser who keeps them abreast of academic policies, various programs of study and registration procedures and who works with them to develop educational goals. These advisers are familiar with honors requirements and policies. Later in the first year, students are assigned an academic adviser in their area or major who will assist and advise them through the remainder of their college years. Students who have not declared a major by their second semester will be assigned to the Center for Academic Advising and Career Development until they are ready to declare a major. 

Honors scholars and their parents meet with the Honors Program staff during summer orientation to get to know one another, ask questions and obtain information concerning Honors Program policies, activities and curriculum. Later, in consultation with their faculty adviser, they complete their general education preference sheets and indicate those courses they wish to take in the fall semester. After summer orientation, the Office of the Registrar, in consultation with the students’ adviser, builds the students’ schedule according to their program of study and indicated preferences. Should students need to make adjustments, they may do so after meeting with their faculty adviser when they return to campus in August.

Throughout their honors experience, honors scholars, subject-area honors students and senior project students receive advising assistance in a number of ways: 

    •       meeting individually and in groups with their assigned freshman adviser. Most entering honors scholars will be assigned to one of three faculty advisers who specialize in honors advising. Students in selected programs such as computer science, health sciences, integrated science and technology, music, and nursing and social work are assigned immediately to an adviser within their major program. 

    •       meeting with a departmental honors liaison adviser. In a number of departments, a faculty member has been designated honors liaison adviser for that major. This faculty member will serve as a special resource to help honors students within the major successfully combine major and honors requirements.

    •       attending group advising sessions.  These meetings, announced by both memo and e-mail, are scheduled in the fall for each class level. They provide information appropriate to the students' progress through the program and allow opportunity for students and staff to raise questions, share mutual concerns and offer suggestions for program improvement. Each spring workshops are held for students planning to submit senior project proposals and for those in the final stages of completing senior projects. Students should always attend these group meetings. 

    •       checking their RAP (Report of Academic Progress) on line or available in printed form upon request to the Records Office at the end of each semester. These reports allow students to track their progress in meeting honors requirements as well as general education, degree, major and minor requirements. Separate check sheets are also available in the Honors Office for students who wish to monitor their progress in this way. 

    •       directing questions to the secretary of the Honors Program. She is quite knowledgeable concerning program policies and requirements and can answer many questions. She also maintains records of all grade point averages, honors option applications and seminar abroad and senior project proposals for honors students. She has computer access to each student's complete academic record. 

    •       meeting with the director or assistant director, the principal advisers of honors study. This meeting may be initiated by the director, the assistant director or the student. Students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with one of the directors whenever they feel a need.  To talk with a director, students should call (x6953) or stop by the Honors Office and schedule an appointment.  Students may also contact the Honors Office by email <honors@jmu.edu>. 

    •       consulting one's individual project advisory committee—adviser and readers—in matters concerning research procedures and content requirements of the senior honors project. Such meetings should be regular and frequent. The Senior Honors Project Handbook will provide guidance in matters of timing and format, and Honors Program staff members are available to answer questions.