Student Roles & Responsibilities

Students share a significant responsibility for the success of the advising relationship. You should take the initiative in seeking advice and developing a relationship not only with your primary academic advisor, but with a wide range of Cornell faculty and staff.  To develop an effective advising relationship you should:

• Learn your advisor's name, office location, on-campus phone number, and e-mail address during New Student Orientation. Also ask your advisor his/her expected means of communication. 
• Begin to familiarize yourself with the college rules and regulations in the Compass and academic requirements (first sections of the Catalogue), both are on line.
• Seek out your advisor (or other faculty member) when you are having academic difficulties. Early contact and discussion is essential given the pace of One Course At A Time (OCAAT). If your advisor is away from campus and he/she has not arranged for a colleague to handle unexpected situations, you should contact the Registrar, staff in the Student Success Center, and or the Dean of Students. All of these people can be of great help. 
• You are ultimately responsible for your own choices, but advisors need to know what is going on in order to be helpful. Consult with your advisor before you make a decision about adding and/or dropping courses or otherwise change your approved course schedule. Make sure you understand the guidelines for withdrawing from a class after the third day of a term.
• If you choose to drop/add a course before the block has started, you can usually make the changes online.  If you change a course you are responsible for making sure it does not derail your general education requirements, major requirements or time table towards graduation.
• Schedule appointments with your primary advisor early in each registration period, often it take more than one meeting to finalize registration.
• Write down at least two courses per term that you would like to take before going to see your advisor about selections for the next registration period. You should be prepared to discuss your course selections in terms of your interests and academic objectives.
• Take responsibility for your academic choices. Keep track of your progress by utilizing Stellic regularly (our degree audit software). It is also a good idea to maintain an electronic file with your academic records: transcripts, course schedules, degree progress, relevant correspondence, copies of petitions for waivers, and a copy of your declaration of major card.
• Become familiar with the full range of opportunities and services at the College and take advantage of them.
• Attend class regularly, take careful notes in class, and study both alone and in groups.