Advising

The educational approach of Friends World is empowering to students. It allows them a great deal of latitude in planning their own educational agendas. It provides access to far richer learning experiences than in institutions that rely solely on classroom-based lectures. And it offers far more resources around the world than almost any other college or university. But in other fundamental ways our educational goals remain similar to that of other schools. Our faculty have a responsibility to guide student learning and to teach, even if our form of teaching is expressed more through advisement or in tutorials than in more formal institutions. We must also try to help students identify and insist on their own and others' high academic standards, whether in a research, artistic or action-oriented project.

Since it is our primary mode of instruction, advising must be done regularly and conscientiously. It is the responsibility of the advisor to be available to the student and for the student to take advantage of advising as needed. Since advisement is so important in our Program and we base our curriculum around it, advisement cannot simply take the form of casual hallway chats or the occasional phone call. Advisement is to be scheduled, planned for, and documented by both the student and the Faculty Advisor. The China Center has developed an Advisement Record Forms that includes the date (of actual or attempted/scheduled contact), the form of contact (e-mail, in-person, letter or paper to/from, phone call, fax, etc.), and brief notes regarding the status of current work and/or questions, suggestions, and steps to be taken. It is the China Center policy and expectation that advising must take place every two weeks for a minimum of thirty minutes and up to one hour, but more frequent advising should be made available if deemed necessary by both the student and faculty, but only during the semester and not prior to or after the semester. Ideally the student and Faculty Advisor meet and discuss in person, but if this is not possible, weekly advisement sessions may be done by other means. Lack of regular attendance to advising sessions by the student may result in poor performance and the loss of credit.

It is the responsibility of each Faculty Advisor to orient current students about advisement procedures at the first appointment, which is to be called by the Faculty Advisor and should discuss: What form of advisement is preferred, and under what circumstances? (office only? phone calls to home? how late? what days? how frequently?) What format does an advising session typically follow? Students bring different advisement experiences—and, consequently, different assumptions—with them to the China Center, and unless these expectations are made explicit, severe misunderstandings can occur between an advisor and her or his advisee.

It is the responsibility of the advisee to make bi-monthly advisement appointments and to prepare the Advisement Record prior to each meeting to submit to her or his Faculty Advisor. This form is available from the Advisement Forms section of the Download Forms page of the this website. The advisee is also responsible for completing the Junior Review with the advisor once 60 credits have been posted to the student's official record.

To facilitate an understanding of these expectations, the following checklist for advising has been developed by faculty and students at the spring 2005 World Conference in London:

Responsibilities of Both Advisor and Student

• Brainstorm ideas and dialogue about ideas for papers, internships, independent studies etc.

• Familiarize oneself with the Friends World Educational Model, Methodology, and Philosophy (found in the Friends World Program Handbook and the China Center Guidebook)

• Develop and maintain a timetable for advising and academic progression

Responsibilities of Advisor

•Guide students through the process and practical requirements of the semester

• Provide critical analysis by evaluating writing and research skills as well as ensuring there is academic continuity of the students work

• Individualize advising to address students' needs and issues

• Gain confidence of students that she/he understands the educational model and can help the student benefit fully from it.

• Respond to students' work turned in prior to advising sessions

• Review the Evaluation Rubric at the first advising meetings

• Record students attendance to Advising sessions, keep a record of repeated absence to be reflected in evaluations

Responsibilities of Student

• Schedule and attend regular meetings with advisors

• Prepare and turn in work prior to advising sessions

• Prepare for each advising session with questions and concerns in order to play an active role in the process and outcomes

• Be punctual

The student is also responsible to complete and submit the 60 Credit and 90 Credit Review Form to the advisor for approval once this number of credits has posted to the student's official record, typically during the first semester of the junior year and senior years, respectively. These forms are available online at the China Center Download Forms page and the Friends World Program website under the Office of Records & Registration.


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