Your first MAP Academic Advising appointment: What to expect and to prepare
Have you met with your academic advisor yet? All first-year and freshmen students are required to meet with an academic advisor during Fall Semester in order to add classes for the upcoming 2021 Spring Semester. This process and program are referred to as MAP (Milestone Advising Program). MAP was created by the University of Utah to ensure every student utilizes their major’s advising office at key points during their time in college. Students who meet with an academic advisor regularly are more likely to graduate.
Meet with your academic advisor by Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, and you’ll get priority registration, meaning and you’ll be able to add lower-division (1000 & 2000-level) courses on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, before other students.
During your MAP meeting, you’ll meet with your academic advisor to talk about two main things: 1) your Spring Semester schedule and 2) how to generate and interpret a degree audit on CIS. We focus on these items so you feel confident in your Spring Semester courses and are set up for success for upcoming semesters. It’s also important to understand your degree audit, as this is what the Registrar checks in order to award your diploma at the end of your time in college. Your academic advisor additionally will want to know more about you — your hobbies, career interests, and goals — so they can take these into consideration when they advise you.
To prepare for your Fall MAP appointment:
- Make a MAP appointment (available beginning Sept. 28, 2020). As a first-year student who intends to major in business, you’ll meet with your assigned academic advisor in the David Eccles School of Business, who advises for all our business majors. To make a business advising appointment, you’ll go to Eccles.link/youradvisor and select “First-Year Mandatory Advising” as your appointment type when you schedule. If you’re considering a major outside of business as well, you’ll want to connect with an academic advisor in that other department. Honors College students should additionally consider meeting with an academic advisor in the Honors College. We suggest making your appointment(s) prior to Nov. 6, 2020, so you can take advantage of priority registration on Nov. 9, 2020, but most students simply ensure they meet with their academic advisor prior to winter break in December. Please be aware that until you meet with an academic advisor, you will have a hold on your account starting Sept. 28, 2020, preventing you from adding any classes.
- Jot down any questions you might have, so your academic advisor can either answer them or refer you to the office that can help.
- Explore classes that are of interest to you. Searching through catalog.utah.edu is a great way to see all classes offered at the U.
- Peruse the Academic Advising Center’s MAP website for tutorials and suggestions for first-year students, like how to register for courses on CIS if you need a refresher.
- Follow the David Eccles School of Business on social media – Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Advising updates are posted regularly. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on social and networking events in the Eccles School.
Your premier Eccles Experience. Eccles students have a dedicated Academic Advisor to assist and guide them through every step of their educational journey. For more information, visit Eccles.link/advising. Peer Advisors are also available for drop-in Zoom appointments. Check out the schedule at Eccles.link/peer-advising.
“As a senior looking back on my experience at the David Eccles School of Business, I credit communication with my academic advisor as one of the reasons for my academic success. For the last four years, my academic advisor recommended the best schedule for me and gave me fantastic advice on how to best balance my academics with my demanding extracurricular activities.
Looking back, I realized I did not utilize my MAP appointment to its fullest potential. Your MAP appointment is not limited to planning out your next few semesters in school, but rather it is a 45 minute time to discuss your academic ambitions, potential major, interests, studying abroad, and more. I struggled with choosing a major and was unclear about which degree would be the best fit for me and my strengths. It would have saved me some confusion down the road if I had discussed my strengths and passions with my advisor during my MAP appointment.
Your first few semesters of college, especially with COVID-19, are understandably very challenging and confusing; however, your academic advisor and the team of peer advisors are here to support you and mentor you. I have been a peer advisor for two and a half years and can confidently say that the rest of my team and I are eager to help you throughout your collegiate experience.”
~ Alyssa Mitchell, Peer Advisor
Your premier Eccles Experience. Eccles students have a dedicated Academic Advisor to assist and guide them through every step of their educational journey. For more information, visit Eccles.link/advising. Peer Advisors are also available for drop-in Zoom appointments. Check out the schedule at Eccles.link/peer-advising.
About the Author
Madeline Rossman is an Academic Advisor at the David Eccles School of Business.